CAD to Geodatabase: where'd my data go?

[AngelaCunningham]

I am trying to import dgn files into Arc10. I run the tool, and it appears to go fine- no error messages- but new data never actually appears in the specified gdb.

I've never tried this before and have no instructions on what to do, so I'm wondering if there are various settings that need to be changed that I'm missing. Also, the dgn has an unspecified coordinate system but lines up just fine with my imagery- is there a setting in there I'm missing?

I would think that if I misset something I'd at least get an error message.


Advice?

thanks,
  Angela

[SolomonPulapkura]

Check the messages in the ArcCatalog Results window. They will provide clues. Maybe the data is being extracted to your Default.gdb usually at C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\My Documents\ArcGIS\Default.gdb

[LucasDanzinger]

Hi Angela,

First off, here is the help page for the CAD to Geodatabase tool.

The most likely reason that it is lining up with your imagery is that your data frame coordinate system is set to whatever the CAD data are referencing as well, so even though there is not defined coordinate system, it should still line up in this case. There may also be a .wld file in the folder where the DGN is stored. This is similar to a .prj file in a shapefile.

I would try exporting the CAD drawing from the table of contents to see if that works. As a test, right click the line drawing, select Data > Export Data and select an output location.

Finally, it sounds like you aren't sure if it even ran correctly. I would check your results window. If you are working in a saved MXD, this will save your results from running geoprocessing tools. If you worked in an untitled MXD and closed it out without saving, the results will not be saved.

Hope some of this helps.

Luke

[PamelaWalton]

Check the CAD file you are trying to import.  I had the same problem and just discovered that the CAD files were saved in AutoCAD 2013.  I downsaved to an older version and it worked!

[TrippCorbin]

Several folks have made some good suggestions. A couple of clarifications or additional suggestions. First if you are trying to import the Annotation from the DGN you need to use the Import CAD annotation tool not the Feature Class to Feature Class tool. The CAD to Geodatabase tool will convert the entire DGN file to a new Feature dataset in an existing Geodatabase. As someone already mentioned it will go to your Default.gdb unless you have specified a different location or have altered your environmental settings.

Don't confuse a WLD file with a PRJ file. A WLD file is created when you georeference a CAD file in ArcGIS. It stores the tranformation information needed to place the drawing in a real world coordinate system. It is similar to a world file associated with a raster file such as a jpw for a jpeg or tfw for a tiff file. It has an insertion point, scale and rotation value that is applied to the CAD file. It can be used with a PRJ file as well which would define the coordinate system the WLD file positions the DGN into.

[TonyDoyle]

Hi Angela, I did the same. I created a blank geodatabase in ArcCatalogue but all I got was a empty feature dataset after using CAD to Geodatabase in Arctoolbox. Because most CAD files are broken up into strings, points, text etc, I would be inclined to make a shapefile of the data you need from the CAD dataset. I would then use the shapefile to populate a blank geodatabase, or populate an existing geodatabase. I'd imagine this should work....fingers crossed. Tony

[AngelaCunningham]

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Running the CAD to Geodatabase tool in ArcMap still disappears my output. However, running the tool via Catalog works fine. <shrug>