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Mapping dgn layers to features

Steve MorganSteve Morgan Old GIS GuyPosts: 25Trusted User
edited August 2012 in Technical Support
Guys,

I'm a new user of GM and it's way cool. I've got a project that requires importing dgn files/editing/ and ultimately exporting results in shp format with specific feature coding that's defined by my receiving application. Upon import of the raw dgn's, GM seems to do a pretty good job of feature coding them so as they can be displayed although it comes up with some goofy definitions as to feature definitions (ie some buildings are depicted as tanks, roads are swamp text, etc).

Given that dgn levels are either depicted by name or number in the source, is there a way I can "map" the incoming data (level-wize) to an appropriate feature within GM at import time so that it displays correctly with a descriptive name that reflects the source level (name or number)? Ultimately, I need to create a "catalog" of features within GM with names and characteristics (point, line, area) that line up with my target system requirements with names familiar to the target system as I need to export everything in shp format. Thanks in advance for any tips.

Comments

  • global_mapperglobal_mapper Administrator Posts: 17,238
    edited August 2012
    If you go to the Styles tabs of the Configuration dialog and create types with the same name as the level names in the DGN file, those types should be assigned on import to Global Mapper. So if you had level of lines in the DGN file named 'Major Road', you could create a 'Major Road' line type in Global Mapper and that type should automatically be assigned when you load the DGN file.

    Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Guru
    gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com
    http://www.globalmapper.com
  • Steve MorganSteve Morgan Old GIS Guy Posts: 25Trusted User
    edited August 2012
    Mike,

    Thanks much for your quick reply and that gives me a good clue. I'm awaiting an accurate date dictionary from my customer. I expect I'll get something like Level 1 = "Major Road". I'll check out the Configuration dialog for cross-mapping options as I may be trying to map level numbers to feature names. If they are depicted as Level numbers in the source does that present a challenge in the mapping process (ie they aren't named the same)?

    Sounds like I just need to specify that Level 1 = "Major Road" (or a name/feature type that my target system requires) when I export to shp and go from there.

    Steve
  • global_mapperglobal_mapper Administrator Posts: 17,238
    edited August 2012
    Steve,

    If the levels are just numbers you could create types with a name matching those numbers, but a better choice might be to write a small script to assign types based on the descriptions (level numbers) using the EDIT_VECTOR script command. See http://www.globalmapper.com/helpv13/ScriptReference.html#cmd_edit_vector for details.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Guru
    gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com
    http://www.globalmapper.com
  • Steve MorganSteve Morgan Old GIS Guy Posts: 25Trusted User
    edited August 2012
    Mike,

    I'll check out the script approach and thanks for the tip, sounds yummy. I'm an old GIS/CAD guy myself (new to GM) but I see you've got lots of neat tools in GM and I'm blown away by your support (when do they let you sleep?).

    I'll check out the scripts and thanks again.

    Steve
    global_mapper wrote: »
    Steve,

    If the levels are just numbers you could create types with a name matching those numbers, but a better choice might be to write a small script to assign types based on the descriptions (level numbers) using the EDIT_VECTOR script command. See http://www.globalmapper.com/helpv13/ScriptReference.html#cmd_edit_vector for details.

    Thanks,

    Mike
    Global Mapper Guru
    gmsupport@bluemarblegeo.com
    http://www.globalmapper.com
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