ESRI Conversion 1

[RivieraCadMan]

Ok everyone I have a question for you. I have a 3 gig dataset with ESRI shapes, coverages, and metadata that I must import into AutoCad format without, or at least with as little, data loss as possible. AutoCAD has some small import capabilities, but even on fiber they are slow and the handling is combersom. Sometimes there is also strange affects to my topology and shape information also. I could do the conversion once, but I personally update the entire base once every one to two years and I handle all the added overlays myself. Currently there are 1,200 pages that I am overlaying, but in the next year I plan to add at lease another 400 or so. Thanks for the help. Any thoughts or ideas would also be welcome.

 

[tigrek]

Could you tell us a little about ESRI shapes, please? What kind of file, made how, etc.

 

[Rich2001]

After my initial failure to correctly import ERSI shape files into AutoCad I gave up and use ArcView only.

 

[RivieraCadMan]

ESRI shapefiles are native coverages of ESRI Arcinfo. Most AutoCAD users would consider them solid filled polygons. I can import a great deal of ESRI data through .DWF, but shapefiles are another story entirely. For some unknown reason, or county decided to use these polygons for parcel data instead of a vector format. (Of course being certified in ESRI I understand that working, tagging, querying, and editing these polygons is easier.) The problem resides in ESRI's inability to handle complex drafting, or at least editing tools. Currently working projects are handled in AutoCAD then imported into ESRI. I decided that our existing system would remain in AutoCAD Map for this and several other reasons. If I can not get my data back from ESRI, then the system is entirely useless to me.

 

[tigrek]

Thanks for the info