Similar to instances referencing local geometry, linked documents/parts would link to a file on the server (NAS or NLS for example) or local file and cache the visible elements in a fully usable form (snapping etc) locally. When the original file changes an icon appears in the layer stack indicating an update is available. Once the user can deal with it, one click on the icon loads the new version of the selected element. syncs all available updates.

First use tells the user in a dialog what’s about to happen. A checkbox states . This solves the issue of new users exploring the UI and accidentally linking large files without knowing what is happening and thinking they broke something because the app hangs for a moment.