Info on Shapefile and progress on conversion and developing a working model.....

Progress

Today I finished converting the .dwg files over to .shp files for our use. I have successfully created shapefiles for all floors of Woodward Hall and the other building (I think it's CRI). I have discovered a way to create all shapefiles from the .dwg documents in ArcGIS. I have all of these files stored on my H: drive currently, and hope to have them stored somewhere else shortly.

Before I was only able to convert the polyline and polygon features, but no I have the ability to create shapefiles that represent annotation, multipatch, and point features.

Next Steps...

The logical next step would be to start annotating features that are in the shapefiles that I created. This will involve specifying room numbers, identifying which wall are outside/inside, and determining hallways and other information.

Shapefiles

I have been reading into information about the shapefile format and stumbled across a helpful pdf file put together by ESRI:


http://shapelib.maptools.org/dl/shapefile.pdf

It contains some useful information about the format of shapefiles and specific information about what is in header files, record contents, and how features (polygons, lines, areas) are represented in the file. This will be useful if interacting with the shapefile using a programming language.

Shapefile C Library

Jianfei pointed this site out to me earlier this week. After further examination it seems to be a great source for a shapefile API. The link is: http://shapelib.maptools.org/

Final Thoughts...

It will soon be a necessity to have a central location for storing the files I have been creating. My H: drive is simply too small to contain all of the shapefiles that we are going to need for our models.

I have also contacted Paul Smith about concerns I have about the project and other GIS questions. I have asked that he come to one of the meetings on Friday to discuss information he might have that will be helpful in our project.