e00 to Shapefile

Question

Hello,

I have over a 100 e00 files which I would like to convert to shapefile.

I know I can enable ArcView 8x tools, use the Conversion Tools menu to individually "Import from Interchange File..." to a coverage, and then use the Feature Class to Feature Class tool (Conversion Tools > To Geodatabase) to convert to polygons, however this is extremely slow to do for each one. Is there an easier method to run them all in one go in Model Builder?

The next step would be to merge them all and dissolve.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

deleted-user-IR249IovB3CN · Answer

The Data Interoperability extension is the way to go as long as it is available to you. I was able to batch convert .e00 files to feature classes very quickly. This tool is much easier to use than the "Import from E00" tool in the Conversion Toolbox, although that works too, just clunkier. If the data interoperability toolset is not available to you and you must use the import from E00, be sure to include the extension .aep in the output data source field of the IMPORT71 window that opens upon executing the tool. It must be typed directly in the field not in the browse window when you are declaring the directory location. That hung me up for a while.

JohnSobetzer · Answer

I see what you mean.  My experience with the batch method is that it often is much clumsier than I would like.  In many cases you can select a group and drag them into the input column and they will each get their own record.  But instead of having the output automatically fill in the output with the same name of the input (or a variation thereon), one either has to use the fill method on the first entry and then go back and manually change each succeeding, or one has to copy and paste from input to output.  What a waste.  In this case I couldn't even find a way to fill the inputs by a simple drag.  The best I could do was hit the + button repeatedly, and then drag input coverages into their own row one by one.  Very clumsy.

If you have access to Arcview 3x the XTools extension allows you to select multiple coverages and import them to shapefile.  That is an efficient batch.  Perhaps XTools Pro for ArcGIS has the same tool, and have it free, for you to use.

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MathieuCain · Answer

You can right click on any tool and select batch to do multiple features at the same time.  Having said that the coverage to shapefile conversion is perhaps best done in ArcCatalog by selecting your coverages, right clicking on them, and choosing Feature Class to Shapefile (multiple).

Thank you Johns. The right click > Export > To Shapefile (multiple) in ArcCatalog is an excellent neat trick I was not aware of. For reference though with regards to the Batch method, how would you advise adding all of the coverages into the input? When I tried dragging in the selected coverages, it would simply add them to one input record (instead of having each coverage to a separate record) and thus return an error. When I did it earlier I had to resort to adding each one individually to the batch which is painstakingly long for a large number of coverages.