Copy objects from xRef and Blocks in AutoCAD

If you want to copy objects from xRef or blocks in AutoCAD drawing then the usual method that comes to mind is by exploding the block or xRef and then copying components.

But that is a destructive approach and it is not recommended in most of the cases.

Another method of copying objects from blocks is by opening block editor and copying components of the block from there.

For x-ref, you can type XOPEN press enter then select the referenced file to open it in the current window and then copy paste component from the reference file.

But in this article, I will tell you about an easier and nondestructive method for copying nested objects from blocks and X-ref using NCOPY command.

Using NCOPY

Type NCOPY on the command line and press enter to start the command. 

Now click on the object which you want to copy from block or X-Ref and press enter.

Then specify a base point to pick the copied object and click at destination point to paste the selected object.

A similar approach can be used for copying nested objects from X-ref, see image below for more.

Insert and Bind options

When you select NCOPY command and select settings from the option of the command line you will see a prompt as shown below.

Here you can decide whether to insert or bind copied objects.

By default insert is selected, when you select Insert the newly copied objects will be placed on the same layer on which object was initially present in source drawing.

If the layer is not available in current drawing then AutoCAD will automatically create the layer with same name and properties and place the object on it.

When you select bind a new layer will be created with the name that follows syntax “drawing name $XX$ layer name of source drawing” where XX is the number assigned automatically.

Summary

So these are the quick ways of non destructively copying objects from xRef or blocks of a drawing and reusing it.

If you have questions related to this tip let me know in the comments area down below.