12 replies to this topic

[Kari]

Hey guys, i'm quite the beginner in all of this, but i'm trying to export some SHP files (contours) i have to DXF, and it would seem that the procedure is fairly simple. Open ArcCatalog, rightclick the shapefile and choose "Export to dxf". Only problem is that nothing happens, it doesn't give me any error, and acts as if the action has been completed but no files are created.

It did once, seemingly out of the blue, start working for me, and i managed to export all the files i needed then. Now however i have a new batch that i need to export, and the problem is back again, i can't export any of the new batch, or even the old batch for that matter, that had previously been converted.

Not sure what else to say, i'm using version 9.2, and i don't have the option of selecting "Export to CAD". I've tried googling this to hell to find a solution but nothing came up for this problem. So if anyone can offer some insight it would be appreciated.

[Matthew Hampton]

What level of functionality are you using (Arcview, ArcEditor, ArcInfo)?

I think it's weird that you could do it once - but mysteriously not again, which makes me think that it might be due to the software licensing.

[Kari]

I'm assuming that it's seen by the programs i have available? All i have is ArcMap, ArcCatalog and ArcReader. I had seen in some places people suggested to use the "Export to CAD" but i don't have that option (due to licensing). When i tried that though, it was quick to give me an error message telling me i didn't have the proper licensing, i got no such message when trying to do the DXF conversion.

Kári.

What level of functionality are you using (Arcview, ArcEditor, ArcInfo)?

I think it's weird that you could do it once - but mysteriously not again, which makes me think that it might be due to the software licensing.

[Matthew Hampton]

Are you trying the DXF conversion using tools in your ArcToolbox? You can tell what level of functionality you have by looking at the top of the window in ArcCatalog or ArcMap. It will say "Whatever.mxd - ArcMap - ArcInfo," but it sounds like you have the (lowest) ArcView level of functionality.

If you open ArcToolbox (you can open it from either ArcMap or ArcCatalog) you could search for DXF or CAD and explore more tools to access. I have the ArcInfo level of functionality and in the Conversion Toolbox there is an "Export to CAD" tool.

[klacefield]

I have used a free utility called exportDXF with good success. This utility is run within ArcMap and exports to DXF any selected item in ArcGIS. You can download it from ESRI's support page at: http://arcscripts.es....asp?dbid=12765.

[Kari]

Thanks for the replies guys, i really appreciate you guys taking the time to help me here.

Matthew: I have ArcView. I haven't been going straight through the toolbox, i've just been using the explorer bar to the right to find the files, right click them, choosing "Export" and then "Shapefile o DXF". If i go into the toolbox explorer though, and conversion tools, i can't see this tool around.

Klacefield: I'd found some scripts around as well, but it was my understanding from reading about it that they were for older versions and not supported in 9,2, something about switching from a script language of their own to VB. If i should be able to use that one, how would i go about using it?

[Kari]

hah nevermind the link obviously has a very dummy proof way of doing it, lets see if it works.

[Kari]

Doesn´t work so hot for me right now. It seems to add the toolbutton easily enough but it just stays gray (unclickable) no matter what. I don´t know if i'm doing the "selection" wrong, but i've tried just highlighting an item in a layer, and also doing "select by location" and choosing one of the items i want to convert, but it remained unclickable.

[Kari]

I tried the DXF Author from MassGIS as well, while it did actually export the SHP to DXF it didn't take the elevation data with it.

[François Goulet]

Doesn´t work so hot for me right now. It seems to add the toolbutton easily enough but it just stays gray (unclickable) no matter what. I don´t know if i'm doing the "selection" wrong, but i've tried just highlighting an item in a layer, and also doing "select by location" and choosing one of the items i want to convert, but it remained unclickable.

Didn't work for me neither. It's 2 years old so maybe it's not compatible with 9.2 ... Would have liked that tool...

[mattm]

I guess another thing to try is the Arcview 8x toolbar in ArcCatalog.

If you go to View>Toolbars>Arcview 8x tools you will see a new toolbar open with a Conversion Tools drop down.

In there there is a Shapefile to DXF coverter it may produce some different results.

Matt

[ProMapper]

I tried the DXF Author from MassGIS as well, while it did actually export the SHP to DXF it didn't take the elevation data with it.

Hi

I tried exporting a shp file which is just the boundary file of Mexico and the 9.1 did it like a song. All you need to go to Data Interoperablity Tools and open the Export option. Then specify the input file and output file type.

Why don't you send one file to me and I will try doing a trial whether the tagging of contours gets converted or not.

Best..

Anu

[Kari]

Hey guys, i managed to convert the files finally Not sure why ArcCatalog didn't do the trick for me but a program called Arcv2CAD did the trick. You can only do 15 large files with it (trial version) but that was more then enough for me, so hopefully this is behind me now. Thanks for all the replies and help, i really appreciate it.