You attach a site plan to pick up one corner of it, and the whole sheet spills out past the title block. Erasing part of it would damage the source; leaving it makes a mess. The xclip command in AutoCAD solves exactly that: it hides the surplus without touching a single line.
This article measures it on AutoCAD 2027 at the Institute, including the border frame that so many people want rid of and cannot find. For a full grounding in references and issuing drawings see our AutoCAD for Construction course.
Where to start it
Read straight out of the acad.cuix interface file of the 2027 release on the machine, and the table explains why people hunt for it in vain.
| Command | Alias | Ribbon | Classic menu |
|---|---|---|---|
XCLIP | XC | none | Modify → Clip → Xref |
CLIP | none | Insert → Reference → Clip | none |
XCLIPFRAME | none | none | Modify → Object → External Reference → Frame |
XCLIP has no ribbon button at all. The button at Insert → Reference → Clip is the CLIP command, the general one for every kind of reference, and it clips xrefs perfectly well. Typists want XC.
Autodesk describes it in one line on the XCLIP page for the 2027 release: "Crops the display of a selected external reference or block reference to a specified boundary". The word to notice is display.
The same page describes what the boundary does: "The clipping boundary determines the portion of an xref or block instance that is hidden, either outside or inside the boundary". Hidden again, not deleted.
It is not only for xrefs. Clipping a block works exactly the same way, and so does clipping an attached image or a DWF or PDF underlay. That matters more than it sounds: a title block brought in from another office often carries a border you do not want, and clipping it is quicker and safer than exploding the block to delete a few lines. Attaching images is covered in our article on attaching images in AutoCAD.
Step by step on the command line
The middle column is copied verbatim from AutoCAD 2027.
| Step | What the program asks | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select objects: | Select the xref or block, then Enter |
| 2 | Enter clipping option [ON/OFF/Clipdepth/Delete/generate Polyline/New boundary] <New>: | Enter to take New |
| 3 | Specify clipping boundary or select invert option: [Select polyline/Polygonal/Rectangular/Invert clip] <Rectangular>: | Enter for a rectangle |
| 4 | Click two corners of the area you want to keep |
Step 4 is where people work backwards. The clipping boundary you draw marks what stays, not what goes. To reverse that, choose Invert clip at step 3.
Clipping a block, and what happens to the geometry
This decides how you use the command, and it can be measured.
We built a block from a rectangle, two circles and a horizontal line, then measured its bounding box: 2000 × 1200. After clipping the right-hand half away with XCLIP, we measured again: still 2000 × 1200.
Not one unit was lost. The clipped part simply stops drawing; the data stays in the file.
That has three practical consequences.
First, the file gets no lighter. Clipping a 40 MB xref down to one corner still loads all 40 MB, and it still takes just as long to open. To make a drawing genuinely smaller you have to clip in the source file and save it there, or bind a trimmed copy.
Second, it can be undone at any time. Removing a clip takes three clicks: type XC, select the object, and choose Delete. The boundary goes and everything reappears. Autodesk describes the option as "Removes a clipping boundary for the selected xref or block".
Third, it can be switched off temporarily without losing the boundary. OFF shows everything while the boundary stays on file; ON reapplies it. Handy for a quick look at the whole thing.
The XCLIPFRAME variable and the border it draws
This is what people search for most once the clip is done, because the frame appears on the drawing and they do not want it on the printed sheet.
The XCLIPFRAME variable governs it, and it takes three values. We measured both sides: counting bright pixels on screen, then plotting to PDF and counting the paths inside the file.
XCLIPFRAME | On screen | On the plotted sheet |
|---|---|---|
0 | no frame | not plotted — 3 paths in the PDF |
1 | frame shown | plotted — 4 paths in the PDF |
2 | frame shown | not plotted — 3 paths in the PDF |
Four against three is direct evidence: at 1 the PDF carries exactly one extra path, which is the frame.
Each value was measured twice on screen and gave the same figure both times, so the measurement repeats. That matters because a single reading taken while the screen is still redrawing can be wildly wrong, as our own first attempt was.
The value worth using on real drawings is 2. You keep the frame visible for selecting and adjusting the clip, while the printed sheet comes out clean. At 0 the sheet is clean too, but reselecting the boundary later is awkward because nothing shows.
Other shapes, and the invert clip option
A rectangle is the default, but the other three options at step 3 cover every other shape.
Polygonal lets you click each corner of any polygon. Use it where a site boundary turns corners.
Select polyline takes a polyline already drawn as the boundary. This is the strongest option, because you can draw the boundary accurately first and clip to it afterwards.
That is also how to clip to a circle. The command will not take a circle directly, so convert it to a polyline first, as covered in our article on polylines in AutoCAD, or simply draw a many-sided polygon in its place.
Invert clip swaps the sides: keep the outside, hide the inside. Autodesk puts it as "Inverts the mode of the clipping boundary: objects are clipped either outside the boundary or inside the boundary". It is the option for cutting a hole in a background map to seat a schedule on, or for masking an area still waiting for data.
generate Polyline at step 2 does the opposite job: it draws a polyline along the existing boundary so you can see and measure it. It is the quickest way to find out exactly where somebody else put a clip on a drawing you have inherited.
What Clipdepth is actually for
The word Clipdepth in the prompt puzzles people working on flat drawings. It is not meant for them.
That option clips by depth, setting a front and a back plane to limit what shows in three dimensions. On a flat plan it makes no visible difference, which is why so many people try it once, see nothing change, and conclude the command is broken.
One more habit worth forming on a big set: put the clipped reference on a layer of its own. Then the whole reference can be turned off for a moment without disturbing anything you have drawn over it, and the clip survives untouched when you turn it back on.
If you only draw in two dimensions, pass it by. The four words worth remembering are New to clip, Delete to unclip, OFF to suspend and ON to restore.
Three things people say that are not true
| What people say | What the 2027 release actually does |
|---|---|
| Clipping an xref makes the drawing lighter | It does not. The bounding box stayed 2000 × 1200 and the data is all still there |
| Set XCLIPFRAME to 0 to keep the frame off the print | 2 is better: the frame stays selectable while the sheet prints clean |
| The area you draw is the part removed | The opposite. It is the part kept, unless you choose Invert clip |
In short, the xclip command in AutoCAD is a mask rather than a pair of scissors. Understood that way it is quick, safe, and always reversible.
Frequently asked questions
What is the alias?
XC. On the ribbon use the Clip button at Insert → Reference, since XCLIP has no button of its own.
How do I remove a clip and show everything again?
Type XC, select the object, and choose Delete. For a temporary look, choose OFF.
How do I stop the border printing?
Type XCLIPFRAME and enter 2. The frame stays on screen but never reaches the paper.
Does clipping make the file smaller?
No. We measured the bounding box before and after, and both were 2000 × 1200.
Can I clip to a circle?
Not directly. Draw a polyline or a many-sided polygon first, then use Select polyline.
Does it work on blocks or only on xrefs?
On blocks too, as well as attached images and underlays.