What You Will Need

Sharing Data
• ArcGIS 9.2 (ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcInfo)
• ArcGIS Data Interoperability 9.2 extension
(evaluation copy available)
• Sample dataset downloaded from ArcUser Online

Between CAD and GIS Environments

Sharing data between CAD and A better way to work with data in different formats
GIS formats is a common data
By Tyson Haverkort, Safe Software, Inc.
interoperability challenge for ArcGIS
users. This tutorial demonstrates Getting Started browse to the Waterworks.gdb file
advanced techniques for moving Before starting this tutorial, download the sample geodatabase. Click Next.
dataset, Waterworks.zip, from the ArcUser 5. From the Select Destination Format
data to and from a CAD environment Online Web site and unzip the archive. For this screen, launch the Formats Gallery again
tutorial, the data is extracted to C:\ArcGIS\ by clicking the ellipses button (…). In
using the data model transformation
ArcUser. If the ArcGIS Data Interoperability the search text box in the lower left, type
capabilities available with the ArcGIS extension is not already installed and licensed, “DGN”. Choose the format MicroStation
an evaluation copy for this extension can be Design, then click OK to return to the
Data Interoperability extension. obtained from www.esri.com/extensions. wizard. Click Next.
Based on Feature Manipulation 6. From the Specify Destination Settings
screen, click Settings to display the
Engine (FME) technology from ESRI Creating the Spatial ETL Tool Design File Output Settings dialog box.
Canada Limited business partner First, you will need to create the spatial ETL Click the ellipses button (…) for the Cell
tool. Once the tool is created, Workbench will Library File text box. When prompted,
Safe Software, Inc., the ArcGIS Data be launched. This is the environment that is browse to C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Data
used to model the translation. Interoperability Extension\design\default.
Interoperability extension adds spatial
1. Start ArcCatalog and enable the ArcGIS cel and click Open. Click OK to accept
extract, transform, and load (ETL) Data Interoperability extension by selecting the settings and return to the wizard. Click
Tools > Extensions. Check the box beside Next to complete the wizard, then click
capabilities to ArcGIS, enabling users Data Interoperability. If ArcToolbox is not Finish to launch Workbench.
to work with data in many different visible in ArcCatalog, add it by clicking the
Show/Hide ArcToolbox window button. Setting Up the Fanout
formats. In ArcGIS 9.2, the ArcGIS 2. Create a new user toolbox by right- The ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension can
Data Interoperability extension has clicking the ArcToolbox node and write out multiple datasets based on the value
selecting New Toolbox. Name the new of an attribute. This is a very powerful feature
been architecturally refreshed to toolbox ArcUserTutorial. Right-click the called dataset fanout. In the geodatabase, there
ArcUserTutorial toolbox, select New, then are two feature classes called Waterworks. Both
allow translations to and from any
select Spatial ETL tool. This will launch feature classes have an attribute called TILE.
Interoperability format. the Create Translation Workspace wizard. This is a reference to the map sheet from which
3. Click the ellipses button (…) to launch the data originated. Writing all data out to a
In this tutorial, data will be prepared the Formats Gallery. From the Formats single DGN file may not be practical for CAD
for use in a CAD environment and the Gallery, type “esri” in the search box. This users. To address this, a different DGN file will
will filter the list down to ESRI formats. be written out for each map sheet or TILE.
target export format is MicroStation Choose the format ESRI Geodatabase (File- 1. In the Navigation pane, expand the
Design format (also referred to as DGN based), click OK, and click Next. Destination Dataset node labeled <Not
4. From the Locate Source Data screen, Set>[IGDS]. Under this, expand the
or IGDS). The source data is stored in
a file-based geodatabase. The same
procedure can be applied using ArcSDE.

Choose ESRI Geodatabase (File-based) from the Formats Gallery.

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 Hands On

Parameters node.
2. Double-click the Destination Design
File node (marked with a purple “gear”).
When prompted for the path to use to create
the destination data, specify C:\ArcGIS\
ArcUser\DestinationData\test.dgn. Notice
that the Destination Dataset is now labeled
test[IGDS].
3. Right-click test[IGDS] and select
Fanout Dataset. This will launch the Edit
Fanout Parameters dialog box.
4. Set the Fanout Prefix to C:\ArcGIS\
ArcUser\DestinationData and use TILE
as the attribute to fan out on. Leave the
Fanout Suffix as the default (.dgn). Click
OK. Note that the icon has changed to
indicate that a fanout is present.

Labeling the PIPE Features

The attribute data will not be immediately
available to the CAD users because they will
not be able to attach the database to the CAD
drawings. To accommodate these uses, the
information will be presented graphically. The
pipe’s diameter will be placed in a label at the In the Search text box, type “label”. This will
midpoint of each pipe. filter all the transformers and show only the
1. Create a new destination feature type ones that are related to labeling features.
by copying and pasting. Right-click the Browse to C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\Data Double-click LabelPointReplacer to place it
destination feature type labeled 1 and select Interoperability Extension\design\default.cel on the canvas.
Duplicate. A new destination feature type and click Open.
called 3 will be created. The Workbench
has many tools to transform geometry and Yellow indicates that the Properties are without relying on attributes. The same process
attributes during a translation. These tools valid but have not been verified and may be could be used to modify the pipe colors or
are called Transformers. incorrect. Red (with an exclamation point) symbols.
2. In the Navigation pane, click the Gallery signifies that there are required parameters Format attributes describe the structure or
tab. In the Search text box, type “label”. This that have not been filled in. symbology of the data. User attributes describe
will filter all the transformers, and show 4. In this case, the Properties button the feature itself. For example, a line in a
only the ones that are related to labeling on the LabelPointReplacer is red. Click CAD file could be described as red (a format
features. Double-click LabelPointReplacer Properties on the LabelPointReplacer. attribute). That same red line could have user
to add it to the Workbench canvas. The When the Parameters dialog box appears, attributes that describe it as a two-lane highway.
LabelPointReplacer will read a feature and pick ANNO_DIAM as the attribute to label Some of the more common format attributes
change its geometry to a point that can be with, and set the Label Height to 4. Click are available by default, while others must
used to create text. OK to accept the settings. Notice that the be exposed from the Properties dialog box.
3. Click the green PIPES output port Properties button has now changed to blue. The Format attribute igds_weight is available
(arrow) and drag it to the INPUT port Connect the LABELPOINT output to the by default. Notice that the igds_weight port
on the LabelPointReplacer transformer. destination feature class labeled 3. (arrow) on the destination feature type is red,
This connects the PIPES output to the which means that, currently, there are no values
LabelPointReplacer. Different colored Transforming the PIPE Features being passed into these feature attributes.
Properties buttons indicate that the Exporting the pipes is straightforward. The Continued on page 56
Properties of the transformers are in DIAMETER attribute of the PIPES feature
different states. Blue means that all the type will be used to specify the width of each
Properties have been verified and are valid. line involved so pipes can be easily identified

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Sharing Data Between CAD and GIS Environments
Continued from page 55

1. Click the plus symbol (+) to expand

the attribute lists for the PIPES source and
destination feature types.
2. Connect the DIAMETER attribute
from the source to the igds_weight on the
destination feature type 1.

Transforming the VALVE Features

The next task is to take the geodatabase points
and create DGN cells from them. Three
classifications represent the size categories for
the valves in this dataset—R1, R2, and R3.
The same symbol will be used, but the size and
color of the symbol will change based on the
classification.
Use the LabelPointReplacer to place the pipe’s diameter label at the midpoint of each pipe.
1. Sort the pipes based on their value for
VALVESIZE by adding an AttributeFilter
from the Gallery (double-click to place it
on the canvas).
2. Delete the connection from the
VALVES Source to Destination feature
type 2, then connect the VALVES source
to the input port on the transformer.
3. Open the Properties dialog box of the
AttributeFilter by clicking the ellipses
button. Set the Attribute to Filter By to
VALVESIZE. Enter the Possible Attribute
Values as R1, R2, and R3. Click OK.
These values are case sensitive. (Note: if
all variations of the VALVESIZE were
unknown, the Import button could be used
to read the source data and populate this
table automatically.) Notice that three
output ports, labeled R1, R2, and R3, have
now been added to the AttributeFilter.
4. Expand the attributes for the destination
feature type 2. Click Properties and select
the Format Attributes tab. Expose igds_
cell_name, igds_cell_size, igds_color, and
igds_type by checking the boxes beside the
attributes. Some of these format attributes Connect the DIAMETER attribute from the source to the igds_
will have static values assigned to them, weight on the destination feature type 1.
while others will have values passed into
them based on the AttributeFilter.
5. Add threeAttributeCreator transformers
to the canvas. Connect the output from each
AttributeCreator to each of the R1, R2, and
R3 AttributeFilter inputs, respectively.
a. Click Properties of the
AttributeCreator connected to R1. In
the Properties dialog box, create an
attribute called igds_cell_size and set
the value to 400. Then create another
attribute called igds_color and set the Sort the pipes based on their value for
value to 2. Click OK to close the dialog VALVESIZE by adding an AttributeFilter from
box. the Gallery.
b. Connect the R1 AttributeCreator to
the destination feature type 2. Notice
that the two ports with the same names
on the destination feature type have now
turned green. This means that values are

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 Hands On

Right-click igds_type and select Set to

Constant Value. Enter igds_cell as the value.

being passed to them. This happens To compare the

automatically because the new attributes original geodatabase
that were created have the same name with the newly created
as the existing format attributes. If one DGN files, all tiles
was spelled incorrectly or the letter must be viewed in a
case was different, the ports would not single window. This
automatically connect. They would can be done by creating
have to be manually connected similar an Interoperability
to the destination feature type 1. Connection.
c. Open the Properties dialog box for
R2. Create an attribute called igds_
cell_size with a value of 200. Create
another attribute called igds_color with In the Interoperability
a value of 3. Click OK to close the Connection dialog box,
dialog box. select MicroStation
d. Open the Properties dialog box Design as the format.
for R3. Create an attribute called
igds_cell_size with a value of 100 and
another attribute called igds_color with
a value of 5. Click OK to close the
dialog box.
e. Connect all the AttributeCreators to These format attributes have been exposed select MicroStation Design as the format.
the destination feature type 2. automatically by Workbench and can be 2. To specify the dataset, click the
6. All the valves will use the same cell, so left as is. Select File > Save to save the Multifile Selector button (with the plus
this information can be set in a constant. tool. sign), click the Add Folder button, and
On the VALVES destination feature type, browse to the location of the destination
right-click the igds_cell_name attribute. Running the Tool DGN files. Click OK. Click OK again to
Select Set to Constant Value. When Now that the tool has been created, it is ready create the Interoperability Connection.
prompted for a value, enter STRLIT. to be run. This is the point where the actual 3. The connection will be named using
Note that this value is case sensitive. This translation occurs. the first DGN file that is read. Expand
is the name of the cell that exists in the 1. To run the tool, simply click Play. The the connection. Click the Preview tab in
cell library named default.cel that was Destination Design File must be specified, but ArcCatalog to cache the connection data,
specified when the workspace was set up the values entered here are irrelevant since the then right-click the connection and select
(see step 6 under the section Creating the output folder has already been specified as part Refresh. This step will remove any empty
Spatial ETL Tool on page 54). A different of the fanout parameters. feature classes. Notice that the data is the
cell library can be specified at any time 2. From ArcCatalog, browse to the destination union of all the map sheets. If additional
by expanding the Parameters node in the folder and confirm that there are seven DGN validation is required, the Interoperability
Navigation pane and double-clicking Cell files. Connection can be viewed in ArcMap and
Library File. However, if the cell name that overlaid with any other ArcGIS feature
is specified in the constant doesn’t exist in Validating the Data classes. Once satisfied, the data can be sent
the cell library, no cells will be created. The DGN files are visible through the to the CAD team, where any necessary
7. Before the cells can be created, the ArcCatalog Browse Tree. To compare the changes will be performed.
igds_type must be specified. If it is not original geodatabase with the newly created
specified, the extension will assume the DGN files, all tiles must be viewed in a single Conclusion
igds_type is point, and no cells will be window. This can be done by creating an The ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension
created. Right-click igds_type and select Interoperability Connection. provides powerful functionality that can help
Set to Constant Value. Enter igds_cell as 1. In ArcCatalog, double-click the bridge the gap between data users of all kinds.
the value. Notice that there are still several Interoperability Connection node. In the Through the new spatial ETL tool, complex
format attributes that will not have values. Interoperability Connection dialog box, data transformations are now possible.
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