CONTENT Command

Finds drawing files, inserts blocks, and attaches xrefs

Insert toolbar:
Insert menu: Content Explorer
Command line: content

The Content Explorer window is displayed.
Tree View
Content View


Content Explorer provides easy ways to find, preview, and insert blocks and drawing files. The Tree View is the left side of the Content Explorer when it's expanded. The tabs on the right side, or Content View, display thumbnail previews or descriptions of

You can insert blocks or attach external references either by dragging or by specifying location, scaling, and rotation values.

Custom tabs that you create act as bookmarks for folders you use frequently, and you can save sets of tabs for later use.

You can move and copy drawing files between folders either by dragging from the current tab to other tabs or by using a dialog box.

Content Explorer Window

File Menu
View Menu

Tab Menu

Tree View

The expanded left side of the Content Explorer window, which displays a hierarchical list of folders and drawing files. Select a folder to display its drawing files in Content View. Select a file to display its blocks in Content View.

Content View

The default Content Explorer window, and the right side when Content Explorer is expanded, which displays icon images of blocks in a drawing or files in a folder. Content View includes at least two tabs:

In Block Insert mode, you can drag a block reference or a drawing file to insert it as a block reference in the current drawing file or in a drawing file listed in Tree View. Double-click the block or file to specify insertion location, scale, and rotation values.

In Xref Attach mode, you can drag a drawing file to insert it as an external reference (xref) in the current drawing file or in a drawing file in Tree View. Double-click the file to specify insertion location, scale, and rotation values.

Preview and icon images in Content Explorer do not display text, wide polylines, 2D solids, raster images, or object colors.

Note: Content Explorer does not support the special capabilities of the My Briefcase folder. My Briefcase is treated in the same way as any other folder.