Good morning,
Wondering if anyone else has come across this issue with the export tool built into Bentley Map?
I use the tool to create shapefiles to submit to our Environmental section, and also sometimes to create exhibits in ArcMap, but if the CAD alignment has curves in it, somewhere in the process of creating the shapefile, the curves are removed, leaving a straight line in between the begin and end of the curved alignment, edge of pavement, ROW, and any other lines that are curved within the CAD dgn.
I'm using this tool from Power GEOPAK. I first go to the GEOPAK menu and select "Activate Map". Then the File menu-->Export-->GIS Data Types...
From there, I create a new Export as a shapefile and select the file location. I select the layer that I am interested in exporting to a shapefile, and then Export. Before bringing it into an ArcMap map, I have to first view the file in ArcCatalog to set the appropriate coordinate system, as ArcGIS needs a coordinate system set in order to bring it into the map.
This is a snip of just the alignment and station tics. Any help given would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks!
Stephanie
Stephanie,
Try setting the ECSDK_GEOMETRY_STROKING_TOLERANCE variable in your Workspace Configuration settings. The value used represents the maximum distance between the actual element and the approximating line in master units.
You can read more about the variable in the "Exporting CAD to GIS" section of the Bentley Map Help file, under the Interoperability topic.
Hi Dan,
I can't find that variable anywhere in my Workspace Configuration settings. Can you please show me where to locate it?
The variable is not defined in the delivered product so you will have to create it.
Select the New... button and paste the variable name into the top field. Enter the value into the New Value: field (determining the exact value may take some experimentation to achieve the desired output). Then select the OK button and Save the Workspace configuration file. The new variable (and any changes you make) will be available the next time your initialize MicroStation and Bentley Map.
Thanks Dan, but this did not resolve the curve loss, unfortunately. I created the variable at 4.5 initially (shown in dark blue below); then changed it to 1 (shown in yellow); then .01 (shown in brown), and the very first attempt without any variable at all is shown in pink. I closed CAD after each time I changed the variable, and tried the export process again, but each time I brought it into GIS, the shapefile looked the same. Please see the images to see my configuration and a snip of my GIS map showing the 4 attempts. I also have the CAD dgn in the map, which is the alignment drawn in light blue, to show where the curve should be. Thanks for your help!
Scratch that, don't the ECSDK variable. Use the Stoking Tolerance setting in the Topology Preferences instead. This setting produces better results in the resulting Shapefile.
Just tried the Topology idea on the bottom and it did not fix the curves for me.
Did you exit GEOPAK or the file, then open it again before using the Export command? If that doesn't work, please post your DGN File and we'll take a look.