topic Exporting .dwg to arcmap in Data Management Questions

Exporting .dwg to arcmap

SBreckan — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 10:22:44 GMT

Hi,

I've seen this question asked before, but I cannot find a solution that works for me and hoping someone knows of a new trick:

I have a few dwg autocad files/drawings that I want to use in arcmap (10.1). I've exported several dwgs to shapefiles using autocad(3D Map 2013) before, it worked perfectly. Now, I have three 3D drawings that I really need for my GIS analysis that won't export right, I get the error message "no entity to export" in autocad, no matter what I choose: point/line/polygon or what attributes and layers I select or deselect. If I just add the .dwg directly into arcmap nothing appears and the attribute table is empty, for all parts of the dwg: polyline, polygon and points.

I have tried saving the files as 2010 .dwg as I understand that arcmap don't like 2012-2014 version dwgs. I have checked for locked layers, there are none. I have made sure the coordinate system is correct according to the map I've added them too, and added the dwgs to completely empty maps also. I have read/write permission on the dwg's locations, I have moved them around and nothing changes. I have also tried exploding the dwgs, but that does not help.

Does anyone have a solution/suggestion?

I have some years of experience with ArcGIS, not so much with autocad. Thanks in advance.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

DanPatterson_Retired — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 10:33:44 GMT

I don't use cad... but dwg has lots of hits in the help ie

About CAD dataset spatial references—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

Preparing a DWG seed file—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

just to narrow procedure down

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

SBreckan — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 11:59:50 GMT

Just another error I do not understand:

I tried just exporting the dwg to geodatabase using arccatalog, and ended up with another empty feature classes (point, polygon, polyline) with empty attribute tables. I then tried Feature class to feature class on each of the point, polygon and polyline and in the Field map window I have all the fields that I need, but I still end up with empty tables after the tool is done. How can they be in the file, but not be visible to me?

Thanks again.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

SBreckan — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:01:36 GMT

Thank you Dan. I read through them and tried the steps in the help guide, but did not come any closer. I appreciate your quick reply.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

AdrianWelsh — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:09:32 GMT

Hi S,

Can you attach one of your AutoCAD files here? Out of curiosity, do you have a newer version of ArcMap you can try (or even ArcGIS Pro)?

This thread might be best suited in the https://community.esri.com/groups/cadgis-data-integration?sr=search&searchId=a8c0bd8f-b34b-411f-ac73-5e5d8f781ae5&searchIndex=0‌ group instead of the Managing Data group.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

NeilAyres — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:14:17 GMT

This is what I generally want to do when it comes to CAD....

"I have also tried exploding the dwgs.."

But seriously though, post an example here and perhaps someone can have a look.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

SBreckan — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:27:49 GMT

Hi Adrian,
Thank you for your input.
Unfortunately I am not able to post the AutoCAD file here, it has some location information that is only for my firm. But file format wise I cannot see that it should be any different than the other dwgs I have exported from AutoCAD in the past. Could it be that it is because it is a 3D model and ArcMap is more comfortable with simple shapes?

I only have the 10.1 version of ArcMap.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

SBreckan — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:29:29 GMT

Haha, thanks for the laugh, Neil As mentioned to Adrian, I unfortunately cannot post any of the files I am having problems with here, I wish I could.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

NeilAyres — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:32:57 GMT

You could always post it here with an incorrect prj file. No one would know where it really comes from.

Have you had a look at the properties of the CAD file using ArcCatalog?

It is always the first thing I do. Do the extents make sense? Is there actually data in the CAD file?

If you have access to Data Interop (etl stuff), you can do a lot of fancy things, checking and resolving issues with CAD data.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

AdrianWelsh — Wed, 07 Sep 2016 12:35:18 GMT

The reason why I asked about the newer versions is because I feel like Esri has made great improvements on how CAD data is handled in the later versions of software (particularly 10.3 and newer). It may be because of the 3D contingency but it may be because of something else. It is hard to say. It is unfortunate that you cannot post the data here.

Can you export the data as a different data type like a dxf or (dare I say it) a dgn? I am just trying to think of ways to test the data more.

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

SBreckan — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 12:36:40 GMT

I actually realized that I have ArcGIS 10.3, it must have been updated in the last few days and I haven't noticed. But I still have the same problem.

The dwg ended up crashing so much that I don't even dare to open it to export it, but I might post it if I can get hold of another version and still have the same problem. It might seem like that the problem lies in that file.

If I keep struggling with this though I wonder if anyone has had any luck with the ArcGIS for AutoCAD? http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgis-for-autocad

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

AdrianWelsh — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 13:29:17 GMT

I am not sure if that autocad extension will help resolve your problem but you could try it since (I think) it's free. It sounds like it may be a file issue.

Like Neil has mentioned, have you looked at this file through ArcCatalog to see if you can see anything?

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

ChrisDonohue__GISP — Thu, 08 Sep 2016 16:51:17 GMT

As a general comment, I'll second what Adrian Welsh stated in regards to the many advances ESRI has made in recent versions in regards to CAD - GIS conversion; many strides have been made and it is much easier now. It used to be real "hit or miss" as to whether things could come across and one would often have to employ several methods to transfer all the information, then add it together and clean it all up.

As to your specific issue, I don't know if this is the cause, but I will mention it as it can be a common issue (it is something I run into alot). What may be going on is the 3D format is causing the issue. The CAD file likely contains Z values, but the GIS format you are trying to export it to doesn't handle them. What one can do to solve this is to use the Environments settings to disable to Z values when importing the CAD data. The following help article, though it is for a slightly different issue, covers the process:

How To: Remove Z- and/or M-values from a feature class

If by chance the issue is on the CAD side, here's a post with a similar issue on the Autodesk Forums that may provide some insight:

MAPEXPORT Xref - Autodesk Community

Note that XREFS are often a major culprit when transferring AutoCAD data to GIS. If you have access to AutoCAD, it can be helpful to embed the XREFS before trying to do the transfer to GIS.

Also, I'll throw out a software package that I've used in the past and found to be very helpful with CAD to GIS conversion. You can download a Trial Version and see if it helps.

DWG to SHP| DXF to SHP|The Easiest, Fastest SHP Converter - Free trial Download - CAD2Shape 7.0 - guthrie CAD::GIS

Chris Donohue, GISP

Re: Exporting .dwg to arcmap

AdrianWelsh — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 22:20:53 GMT

S Breckan,

Take a look at this blog post

https://community.esri.com/projects/cad-to-gis-integration-for-departments-of-transportation/blog/2016/09/13/cad-to-gis-integration-tools

There is a tool in there that might help you. It's the CAD to GIS Without Surface tool.

You can download it directly here:

http://esridot.maps.arcgis.com/sharing/rest/content/items/17ac977bca1e4f02ae2165c8b99cd33b/data