One of the most powerful features of AutoCAD is the ability for multiple people to work concurrently a project. A typical way this is done is by using XREFs. One person can be working on details, while another is working on the base map, while another is working on the preliminary design, and so on.

While working together, it’s nice to know when an XREF has been updated. AutoCAD has a nice little feature called XREF Notify. It’s a system variable that can be set to alert you when an XREF has changed.

To set XREF Notify, type XREFNOTIFY on the command line and you will get a prompt that looks something like this:

Enter new value for XREFNOTIFY <0>:

If you set it to 0 (zero) you will get no notifications. Set it to 1 and you will get notified by a tiny icon that you won’t even notice. But set it to 2 and you will get a nice balloon message telling you that one or more XREFs have been modified and who made the modification. That way if you’re wondering what changed, you can ask them.