Downloaded info...now what?

[Anonymous]

I am trying to get USDA Soil Survey information into AutoCAD. I went to the Soil Survey Geographic Database and downloaded all the files for Dekalb County, Georgia: cov.zip --> Arc/Info Coverages ga089.me2 --> Metadata text file out.zip --> Arc/Info Export File readme --> Readme text file shp.zip --> ArcView Shape file tab.zip --> Attribute Data I ran MAPIMPORT on the Arc/Info Coverages and pulled in all the linework, and nodes, but for the life of me, I can't seem to get the text soil name descriptions to come in. Come to think about it, I have never been able to get text to come in on the imports. Is there somebody that can tell me what I have to do to get the text to come in? I have pored over the help files, and I don't seem to be having much luck finding this stuff in the tutorials. Thanks in advance, Max J. Lorenz II TerraNova Engineering, Inc.

[Anonymous]

When you imported the data you had the option of creating object data. This object data is associated with your imported elements, but to access it you must use the "edit object data" in the map pull down menu. Using the "edit object data" dialogue you can pick an element (line, point, etc) and view or edit the database information associated with it. If you want to create text in your drawing from this object data, you must open a new blank drawing, attach the drawing that has your imported data, and perform a query with the Alter Properties feature activated. Using alter properties, you can tell Map to create text elements from the object data associated with the lines, polygons, and points in your source drawing. This is certainly not an intuitive process, which is why Map is not a user friendly GIS tool. You would do well to read about altered property queries in the help system for Map, as well as how to import Shape files and coverages. "Max Lorenz" wrote in message news:3fdf33cd$1_7@statler... > I am trying to get USDA Soil Survey information into AutoCAD. > I went to the Soil Survey Geographic Database and downloaded all the files > for Dekalb County, Georgia: > > cov.zip --> Arc/Info Coverages > ga089.me2 --> Metadata text file > out.zip --> Arc/Info Export File > readme --> Readme text file > shp.zip --> ArcView Shape file > tab.zip --> Attribute Data > > I ran MAPIMPORT on the Arc/Info Coverages and pulled in all the linework, > and nodes, but for the life of me, I can't seem to get the text soil name > descriptions to come in. > Come to think about it, I have never been able to get text to come in on the > imports. > Is there somebody that can tell me what I have to do to get the text to come > in? > I have pored over the help files, and I don't seem to be having much luck > finding this stuff in the tutorials. > > Thanks in advance, > > Max J. Lorenz II > TerraNova Engineering, Inc. > >

[Anonymous]

Perfect! Thanks for the help. That worked great. Now, one more question. When I import the elements, they come in tiny. How do I make them come in to scale? "Neil Wilson" wrote in message news:3fdf7431$1_2@statler... > When you imported the data you had the option of creating object data. This > object data is associated with your imported elements, but to access it you > must use the "edit object data" in the map pull down menu. Using the "edit > object data" dialogue you can pick an element (line, point, etc) and view or > edit the database information associated with it. > > If you want to create text in your drawing from this object data, you must > open a new blank drawing, attach the drawing that has your imported data, > and perform a query with the Alter Properties feature activated. Using alter > properties, you can tell Map to create text elements from the object data > associated with the lines, polygons, and points in your source drawing. > > This is certainly not an intuitive process, which is why Map is not a user > friendly GIS tool. You would do well to read about altered property queries > in the help system for Map, as well as how to import Shape files and > coverages. > > > "Max Lorenz" wrote in message > news:3fdf33cd$1_7@statler... > > I am trying to get USDA Soil Survey information into AutoCAD. > > I went to the Soil Survey Geographic Database and downloaded all the files > > for Dekalb County, Georgia: > > > > cov.zip --> Arc/Info Coverages > > ga089.me2 --> Metadata text file > > out.zip --> Arc/Info Export File > > readme --> Readme text file > > shp.zip --> ArcView Shape file > > tab.zip --> Attribute Data > > > > I ran MAPIMPORT on the Arc/Info Coverages and pulled in all the linework, > > and nodes, but for the life of me, I can't seem to get the text soil name > > descriptions to come in. > > Come to think about it, I have never been able to get text to come in on > the > > imports. > > Is there somebody that can tell me what I have to do to get the text to > come > > in? > > I have pored over the help files, and I don't seem to be having much luck > > finding this stuff in the tutorials. > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > Max J. Lorenz II > > TerraNova Engineering, Inc. > > > > > >

[Anonymous]

Hey Neil (and Max), While some might quibble with your comment about Map not being a user friendly GIS tool, I'd recommend using the Map Annotate feature (in Map 6 and 2004) that allows you to add attribute text to objects without having to query things and use property alteration. You can also view object data inn a simpler way via the Object Property Manager (OPM) aka Property Palette in 6 and 2004 also. Cheers, David "Neil Wilson" wrote in message news:3fdf7431$1_2@statler... > When you imported the data you had the option of creating object data. This > object data is associated with your imported elements, but to access it you > must use the "edit object data" in the map pull down menu. Using the "edit > object data" dialogue you can pick an element (line, point, etc) and view or > edit the database information associated with it. > > If you want to create text in your drawing from this object data, you must > open a new blank drawing, attach the drawing that has your imported data, > and perform a query with the Alter Properties feature activated. Using alter > properties, you can tell Map to create text elements from the object data > associated with the lines, polygons, and points in your source drawing. > > This is certainly not an intuitive process, which is why Map is not a user > friendly GIS tool. You would do well to read about altered property queries > in the help system for Map, as well as how to import Shape files and > coverages. > > > "Max Lorenz" wrote in message > news:3fdf33cd$1_7@statler... > > I am trying to get USDA Soil Survey information into AutoCAD. > > I went to the Soil Survey Geographic Database and downloaded all the files > > for Dekalb County, Georgia: > > > > cov.zip --> Arc/Info Coverages > > ga089.me2 --> Metadata text file > > out.zip --> Arc/Info Export File > > readme --> Readme text file > > shp.zip --> ArcView Shape file > > tab.zip --> Attribute Data > > > > I ran MAPIMPORT on the Arc/Info Coverages and pulled in all the linework, > > and nodes, but for the life of me, I can't seem to get the text soil name > > descriptions to come in. > > Come to think about it, I have never been able to get text to come in on > the > > imports. > > Is there somebody that can tell me what I have to do to get the text to > come > > in? > > I have pored over the help files, and I don't seem to be having much luck > > finding this stuff in the tutorials. > > > > Thanks in advance, > > > > Max J. Lorenz II > > TerraNova Engineering, Inc. > > > > > >

[Anonymous]

The old "block vs text" debate. :) > I'd recommend using the Map Annotate feature (in Map 6 > and 2004) that allows you to add attribute text to objects without having to > query things and use property alteration. I'm waiting on the tool tip with the data to display on a mouse over. >You can also view object data inn > a simpler way via the Object Property Manager (OPM) aka Property Palette in > 6 and 2004 also. Murph

[Anonymous]

Another way to get text to print next to the objects in your drawing is to create the object data in the import menu and do the import (actually, the data is already created, your just telling Map to recognize and import it with your line/node work when you do the import). Then, re-import the shapefile, first creating the object data again. Then, in the "points" dropdown menu, select "create as text from data", select the field containing the data you want to showup next to your object, format the text, then do the import. The text for the field you selected will be inserted next to the points in the drawing. I haven't been able to import text in this way for polyline/polygon objects though. You can also display object data as text using the Annotation tool. First you define the annotation template, where you give a tag to the text, select the field/fields for the object data, format the text, and select the insertion location for the text. Then you can insert the text. Good Luck.