Indiana University Migrating from AutoCAD to a Geodatabase Theresa Thompson

Total enrollment (7 campuses): 92,070 students 15,831 faculty and staff 714 buildings (7 campuses ) 26,525,251 gross sq. feet of building space 2,963 acres

For the Bloomington campus 13 Utility Systems Chilled Water, Condensate, Communications, Electric, Exterior Lighting, Irrigation, Natural Gas, Sewer, Steam, Storm Water, Tunnel, Telephone, Water Basemap

Indiana University Utility Information Group

AutoCAD Map linked to Access via object data

GIS database

Database forms

Why move from AutoCAD Map to a SDE Geodatabase environment?  Ease-of-Use for Editors  Centralized Database/Graphics Environment  Enterprise level data sharing  Easier to bring CAD into ArcGIS than GIS into CAD without conversion

IU GIS system Windows based ArcGIS 9.1 – editors Windows ArcReader viewers Unix ArcSDE/Oracle for geodatabase Unix ArcIMS for web mapping Testing ArcGIS Server Geodatabase – IU Bloomington Data Layers = over 58 basemap over 100 utilities

Data Preparation for moving from AutoCAD Map to a Geodatabase D atabase model in place create a geodatabase and set up boundary polygon for spatial reference data naming/object/relationship standards for features domain tables (lookup tables) Clean your CAD and Attribute data before you convert objects on correct layers / CAD Standards correct blocks / object linking Expect data problems: there is no “perfect conversion”

whitepapers/ao_/CAD_Translation_ in_Geoprocessing_1004_J9324.pdf Read this!

Approaches to converting CAD CAD with no data linking but with block attributes – use Direct Read CAD file export into geodatabase (via ArcCatalog / ArcToolbox) CAD linked to database/object data – use AutoCAD Map export to shapefiles or coverage, then load into SDE/Oracle CAD annotation – use ArcToolbox \ Conversion Tools \ To Geodatabase \ Import CAD Annotation CAD text or blocks linked to polygons – use ArcToolbox\ CAD Translation \ PolygonsfromCADLinesandPoints

Simple CAD with no data linking but with block attributes Use Direct Read CAD file export into geodatabase (via ArcCatalog) “The direct read functionality treats the CAD file as a database of spatial features” CAD files are rich in attribute data – don’t lose this during conversion

Filter out certain CAD blocks Rename field names

Lists all the block names in the dwg

“Text_” field = blockname Attribute fields in feature class have new field names

CAD linked to database/object data – use AutoCAD Map export to shapefiles or coverage, then load into SDE/Oracle There are currently no ESRI tools out there to bring in database linked attributes via object data or link templates in AutoCAD Map AutoCAD Map 2006 has direct read capability to SDE/Oracle

Narrow what you convert in AutoCAD Map by a query

Make sure your data source is connected and the link templates you need are active

For complex closed polylines you might need to convert to a coverage first, then geodatabase or shapefile

Select both drawing property attributes and link template attributes to migrate over.

Here is your chance to change the Output Field Names

AutoCAD dwg property attributes and linked database attributes are now part of the converted feature class.

Create a new personal geodatabase or new feature layers in SDE to import your shapefile data into

Here is another chance to change the field names or decide not to bring in some attribute fields your geodatabase

You can do similar functions several ways...this time you use the Export to Geodatabase command.

CAD annotation – use ArcToolbox \ Conversion Tools \ to Geodatabase \ Import CAD Annotation Finally! A great tool for converting AutoCAD Text into geodatabase annotation.

Preview AutoCAD text to make sure it isn’t mtext

You need to explode all mtext for conversion. Set up a selection filter for only mtext, then explode this.

Once you explode the mtext, save the dwg and preview again in ArcCatalog

Be sure to select the dwg file annotation class for conversion

You need to determine a reference scale. We use 1:5000 for our campus maps based on units of feet.

This is how the converted CAD annotation looks in the geodatabase annotation feature class

You will be able to edit geodatabase annotation easily in a ArcGIS edit session with Annotation edit tools

CAD text or blocks linked to polygons – use ArcToolbox\ CAD Translation \ PolygonsfromCADLinesandPoints There are several powerful geoprocessing tools/scripts in the CAD Translation toolbox.

Download this free ArcToolbox

Notice the parcel number is just text, not a block attribute.

We have filtered out just the parcel number layer to pull as an attribute for the parcel polygons

Parcel polygons now have the enclosed text from the CAD dwg as a parcel attribute

Approaches to exporting from GIS to CAD Set up a CAD template.dwg (with preinserted blocks, layers, linetypes) Create geodatabase fields for CAD mapping like LAYER, ROTATION, LINETYPE, CADTYPE, REFNAME For conversion to CAD – use ArcToolbox \ Conversion Tools \ Export to Geodatabase \ Export to CAD

Select all the Chilled Water feature classes to export into one CAD file

Exported from SDE – this CAD file now has mapped blocks and attributes, layers and linetypes automatically from the CAD template file (seed file)

For mapping geodatabase attributes back to CAD you need to make sure you have fields for CADtype = insert and the REFNAME = blockname

In an ArcGIS edit session – use the Field Calculator to populate the REFNAME with the correct CAD blockname

2 new geodatabase fields you created to export to CAD

Create a AutoCAD template file – make it read-only

Point feature class in SDE is exported to new CAD file and block attributes automatically populated to block inserts. Note: open up newly created dwg in AutoCAD first, zoom extents and save before viewing in ArcCatalog.

Questions ???