[BM CE U4] How to delete queried WFS features after disconnection?

Hello Jan

Sorry for the delay in reply. Can you try connecting to the WFS server using the Import functionality. After the connection is made, import the features and then remove the connection, if you want. The features can be manipulated, i.e., moved or deleted, even after the connection is removed.

Will this work for you? Please let us know.

Thank You

Mayur

Mayur makes the point to use the Add WFS... Import command in the Map Imports/Exports dialog box to download data from WFS into DGN Files, rather than connect and query using the Map Connections for Spatial database tools.  This will allow all of the MicroStation and Map tools to manipulate the data in the active DGN File.  A WFS Connection is read-only and therefore the Features cannot be manipulated using MicroStation commands, such as move or delete.

Working with WFS is detailed in the Map Help document:

"WFS (Web Feature Service) is a standard defined by ISO (the International Organization for Standardization). It describes a method whereby applications can access geographic feature data and their associated attribute data regardless of the format of the underlying database. OpenCities Map support for WFS is read-only.

Because the WFS client support is read-only, there is little direct interaction with the WFS server itself. When connecting to the service, the client discovers the version supported by the server and the features available. Once discovered, you can query the features using the standard OpenCities Map query tools. Queried features are transformed into the geographic coordinate system of the active design file.

Here is a comparison of the two:

Hi Mayur and Dan,

thanks for your explanations and sorry for my delayed answer. I am still busy ;-) and this is just on from (less important) issues in a queue I am discussing with my customers.

Now, when OCM CE Update 5 was released, I decided it's the time to refresh opened issues.

I have to apologize I did not ask well enough, because even when your answers are helpful, they do not address my issue.

On the other hand, I think the situation shows well that current workflow and tools are not intuitive.

My (reformulated) question is: How to delete features, that were queried (not imported) from WFS server and the connection is not available anymore?

It's what I have seen several times:

1. A user evaluates OCM features
2. He connects to WFS (because it's new and we desperately need WFS because of INSPIRE data). The icon is big and is the first in Ribbon.
3. He uses Data Streaming or (which is not so intuitive) he queried data explicitly.
4. Because in some point the received data are good enough (INSPIRE data often serves a background / input), or MicroStation is closed, the connection is closed / lost.
5. Somebody else opens the same design file with WFS data in, but they cannot be removed in any way!

Because connection icon is big and import/export is small one, plus users do not simple understand the difference between connect/query and connect/import, I have seen several such "polluted" files already.

It the result of not intuitive GUI and complicated workflows. Especially people with some knowledge of products like QGIS or ArcGIS do not understand OCM at all. Why there is no standard "spatial data sources tree" and it's not as simple as "drag and drop to the project"?

I was not able to explain the difference between query and import, because for users, the data are put to active model, that's the target. Not how they are retrieved from the server.

With regards,

  Jan