Editing Feature Type for Export to Shapefile
Eagle2
Global Mapper UserTrusted User
Hello,
I'm working on a project with a large number of 1km x 1km tiled contour files in MicroStation .dgn format I need to output as ESRI Shapefiles. Problem is that the closed contours (ie peaks/pits) within each .dgn file are classed as closed shapes, whereas the open contours are classed as polylines. When running a batch conversion in Global Mapper the resulting shapefiles are split into polygon features and line features - not ideal when viewing contours. Is there any functionality within Global Mapper to force all loaded vector features to export as lines?
Thanks in advance
Bryan
I'm working on a project with a large number of 1km x 1km tiled contour files in MicroStation .dgn format I need to output as ESRI Shapefiles. Problem is that the closed contours (ie peaks/pits) within each .dgn file are classed as closed shapes, whereas the open contours are classed as polylines. When running a batch conversion in Global Mapper the resulting shapefiles are split into polygon features and line features - not ideal when viewing contours. Is there any functionality within Global Mapper to force all loaded vector features to export as lines?
Thanks in advance
Bryan
Comments
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Bryan,
Are there any attributes of interest besides the elevation? If not, you can first batch convert to Simple ASCII and uncheck the option to include feature attributes and make sure to check the one to include elevations, then do the convert again from ASCII Text to Shapefiles. With no attributes included everything should come back in as lines for the export to Shapefiles.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Thanks,
Mike
Global Mapper Support
support@globalmapper.com -
Thanks Mike, I'll try this. I'd like to be able to keep the feature attributes (mainly layer information) but I can live without it as I can add it back fairly easily using a selection set in ArcMap. A second question I have regarding the same contour data is regarding the gridding of data during export. The contour files I have extend beyond the deliverable boundary. Is there a way I can clip to this boundary AND tile the data on predetermined tiles? I have tried gridding data before, and can specify a tile size, but GM seems to choose the lower left corner of the data, rather than an absolute coordinate. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Bryan -
Bryan,
You can specify the bounds of your export on the Export Bonds tab when exporting, including either to a specific bounding rectangle or cropping to a selected area, then also setup gridding on the Gridding tab of the export dialog to split up into grid cells within that export boundary.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Thanks,
Mike
Global Mapper Support
support@globalmapper.com -
global_mapper wrote: »Bryan,
Are there any attributes of interest besides the elevation? If not, you can first batch convert to Simple ASCII and uncheck the option to include feature attributes and make sure to check the one to include elevations, then do the convert again from ASCII Text to Shapefiles. With no attributes included everything should come back in as lines for the export to Shapefiles.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Thanks,
Mike
Global Mapper Support
support@globalmapper.com
Hi Mike, I have the same problem when batch-converting many DGN files to SHP file polylines. I followed your advice by converting DGN to Ascii text, then to SHP file. The resulting SHP files still get exported as both lines and polygons for each file. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks. -
If you export to a simple ASCII text file and make sure to uncheck both the general attribute inclusion and the inclusion of style attributes then your areas should just look like line features on re-import. Or you skip the export to ASCII and use a script with the following command:
EDIT_VECTOR FILENAME="*.dgn" CONVERT_AREAS_TO_LINES=YES
See Global Mapper Scripting Reference for details. That command will convert any area features in a loaded DGN file to line features. You could then use EXPORT_VECTOR to export a Shapefile.
Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Thanks,
Mike
Global Mapper Guru
geohelp@bluemarblegeo.com
Blue Marble Geographics for Coordinate Conversion, Image Reprojection and Vector Translation -
Ok, that works for the dgn to ascii to shp method, when unchecking the attributes, and it will retain elevations. There is one attribute I would like to retain though (style/line weight) to differentiate between major and minor contours. I am new to GM Scripting, but am guessing it would look something like this:
//Converts DGN to shp file
GLOBAL_MAPPER_SCRIPT VERSION=1.00
UNLOAD_ALL
DIR_LOOP_START DIRECTORY="N:\\contour_test\dgn" \
RECURSE_DIR=NO
IMPORT_DGN FILENAME="N:\contour_test\dgn\%FNAME_WO_EXT%.dgn" \
TYPE=AREAS,LINE
INC_COORD_LINE_ATTRS=YES \
INC_ELEV_COORDS=YES \
EDIT_VECTOR FILENAME="N:\contour_test\dgn\%FNAME_WO_EXT%.dgn" \
CONVERT_AREAS_TO_LINES=YES
EXPORT_VECTOR FILENAME="N:\contour_test\converted_lines\%FNAME_WO_EXT%.SHP" \
TYPE=SHAPEFILE \
SHAPE_TYPE=LINES \
GEN_3D_LINES=YES \
GEN_PRJ_FILE=YES \
UNLOAD_ALL
DIR_LOOP_END
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