Autodesk FDO Provider for DWG

[Cadbeyond]

Anyone try to create the FDO connection with dwg file? I found it run very slowly. Finally the AIMS Map server service is switched off. Is there any good resource for talking this? Please share.

[gluckett]

Bug. Don't use with AIMS 2013 or AIMS 2014. We are waiting for a Service Pack to get the FDO Provider for DWG to work again for AIMS...

[jackie.ng]

What is exactly broken here? All I have heard thus far is that it doesn't work, which is pretty much a meaningless statement from a technical perspective.

- Jackie

[tony.witham]

Jackie,

I have a dwg file created using Infrastructure Map 3D 2014, that contains a simple line and nothing else.  I have created a new data connection in Infrastructure Studio 2014 to this file using the FDO Provider for DWG.  When I click on Test Connection I get the following message:

Problem:

Cannot establish connection to the Infrastructure Map Server.

Possible Causes:

-Your session has been idle for too long;

-Infrastructure Map Server is no longer responding;

-Internet connection problems.

Solution:

Restart your application / session, restart the Infrastructure Map Server service, or contact with the server administrator.

My Map Server is running fine and re-starting the service makes no difference!

[jackie.ng]

So a basic DWG connection test kills the server? That is bad. Very very bad.

- Jackie

[tony.witham]

I wouldn't say it kills the server.  I can test the connection to a dwg file in Studio, and receive the error message, and then carry on working as normal in Studio - open other connections, open web layouts etc and view them in a browser.  I do not have to restart the service.

[gluckett]

Yes it just that the FDO PROVIDER FOR DWG is not functioning. I managed to connect to a dwg ver 2009 with only plines once but newer versions, or any with object data, or complex, fail with this provider.

Hopefully a service pack is in the works or this provider is dead in AIMS 2014. (and 2013)

[gluckett]

Yep Service Pack Located here for AIMS 2014

http://goo.gl/oeaGt

[tony.witham]

Thanks for that Gordon.

I've loaded the dll as per the instructions in the readme file and restarted the service, and as a result have made some progress.

I'm working in Infrastructure Studio 2014.  When I test a connection to a dwg I no longer get the 'Cannot establish connection to the Infrastructure Map Server'' error message and if I preview the connection, I see the entities I expect to see. (I've tried this with a couple of different dwg files).

However when I try to set up a layer that uses the dwg connection as a data resource I don't have any success.  The layer preview displays a blank map even though I've set a suitable style which is visible over all scales from 0 to infinity.

I think the problem may be that I'm unsure as to what, in the Feature Data Setup section, I should be setting as the Feature Class and Geometry.

Can you advise please?

[gluckett]

Aha, you discovered the difference between loading the DWG and using an unmanaged ALIAS to connect to the DWG.

The unmanaged DWG always defaults to the native DWG objects as if you checked the "Acad" in the DWG Load.

 

Now if you want to use Object Data or Layers, you will have to first LOAD the DWG, copy the Configuration definiton and then paste it in your Unmanaged DWG Feature Source - then delete the loaded Feature Source - it's too bad one can't choose this in the unmaged DWG.

[tony.witham]

That's very useful and I can understand what I need to do.  (I thought perhaps I needed to do something with the Configuration file 'create' button). But there's one snag!  Once I've loaded the dwg I don't know where to find the configuration definition that I need to copy into the configuration editor for the connection.  Sorry if I'm being thick or missing the obvious.  An article on the web talked about packing the data source and then unzipping the package to find the configuration file.  I tried that but couldn't find a file with contents that looked anything like your screenshot

[gluckett]

After you use the Load DWG, edit the DWG
Feature Source to copy the configuration. (see the second image)
Now connect to the dwg through the alias in a new feature source and paste in the configuration. If you choose object data entities in your original load, you should be able to get at it in your new feature source.

[tony.witham]

Sorry - my mistake.  I'd inadvertently chosen 'Load Procedure' rather than 'Load DWG data' and hence didn't have the option available to me to edit the coinfiguration file!  Compared my screen to your screenshot and realised I was looking at an sdf not a dwg! 

I've done it all properly now and my dwg connection is working fine.  Many thanks.

All we need now is a connection to MapInfo tab!