AutoCAD has its own XREF command that allows you to Attach, Detach, Reload, etc. There are a few tasks that the user has to do manually which I have automated in a new set of XREF control commands.
List of commands:
1) XA - Xref Attach works similar to AutoCAD's Xref Attach, but with additional controls to keep attachments consistent and compliant with customer's CAD specifications. If you are in paper-space, the program can switch to model-space, attach the XREF, and then switch back to paper-space. This is not a feature in AutoCAD’s XREF command. It can be inserted at a specific coordinate and scale factor automatically. You can also setup a folder that contains XREFs that need to stay in paper-space, like drawing notes and legends. The XA command will know to stay in paper-space when attaching these.
2) XO - Xref Overlay that works similar to XA
3) XD - Xref Detach custom dialog interface command
4) XR - Xref Reload custom dialog interface command
5) XL - Xref List exports a list of xrefs to a text file in dotted or comma-delimited format. Windows Notepad will open with this file so you can print it (a feature that you can’t do with AutoCAD’s XREF command).
6) XPATH - Xref Path redefines the folder where the xrefs reside on a system. This can be incorporated into a script file to update several drawings in one step.
These commands provide an alternative method to AutoCAD's XREF command, a method that is user-friendly and has better control features.