Writer Directives

By default, the <WriterKeyword> for the MGE Writer is GG, so a typical mapping file fragment configuring the MGE Writer would be:

GG_CELL_LIBRARY /usr/data/dgn/cartog.cel

The <WriterKeyword>_UNITS directive is interpreted the same as the MGE Reader’s <ReaderKeyword>_UNITS directive. Likewise, the structure of the <WriterKeyword>_DEF directive is the same as that of <ReaderKeyword>_DEF. However, if the definition line is defining a new feature (that is, one that does not yet exist in the MGE project’s database), all non-empty feature parameters must be specified, and all user attributes for the feature must be included in the definition.

The directives listed below are prefixed by the current <WriterKeyword> in a mapping file.

Note: Please see the Design File Reader/Writer for other applicable keyword suffixes.

WAREHOUSE_VERSION

Required/Optional: Optional

Range: 4, 5 or 6

Default: 5

SERVER_TYPE

Required/Optional: Required

Contains the server type for the output data.

SERVER_NAME

Required/Optional: Required

Contains the server name for the output data.

USER_NAME

Required/Optional: Optional

Contains the user name for the database. May be required by the database being used.

Workbench Parameter: Database Username

PASSWORD

Required/Optional: Optional

Contains the password for the database. May be required by the database being used.

Workbench Parameter: Database Password

DATABASE_NAME

Required/Optional: Optional

Contains the database name. May be required by the database being used.

Workbench Parameter: Output Access Database File

UNITS

Required/Optional: Optional

Specifies how FME feature coordinates will be interpreted and converted into UORs. See the documentation under the MGE Reader for details.

Workbench Parameter: Output Units

IMMEDIATE_WRITE

Required/Optional: Optional

Specifies if the database is written immediately when needed (yes) or not (no).

Workbench Parameter: Immediately Write Database Records

TRANSACTION_INTERVAL

Required/Optional: Optional

The number of features that are to be in a single transaction before the FME performs a commit operation when writing to the database.

Workbench Parameter: Transaction Interval

DEF

Required/Optional: Required

Defines an MGE feature. Each feature must be defined before it can be written. This definition may exist, and if it does, a workbench parameter exists to specify this and skip the input of definition parameters. The parameter is called Feature definition exists and has a default of No. When a definition does not already exist, it must specified by the property settings below.

The definition specifies the characteristics which make up the MGE feature. Additionally, it specifies the non-graphical attributes which will appear in the correlation section for the feature. There may be many DEF lines, one for each file to be read.

The following table summarizes the supported feature properties:

  • Entries under the Workbench Parameter Name column are the keyword descriptions as seen in Workbench.
  • Entries under the Mapping File Property Name column correspond to the actual DEF line parameters used in the mapping file.

Note: Regardless of type, all feature properties’ values are specified in quotation marks.

Workbench

Property Name

Mapping File

Property Name

Description

Type

Required/
Optional

Feature Code

GG_FEAT_CODE

A set of dot-separated integers which define numerically the feature hierarchy structure.

char(10)

Optional

Category Number

GG_CATEGORY

The name of the category containing the feature; this must be one of the categories defined on the MGE project.

char(32)

Optional

User Attribute Table Name

GG_ATTR_TABLE

The name of the database table defining the non-graphical attributes for the feature. If there are no such features, this value should be the empty string (“ ”). This is required in order to write out the attributes that are not part of the design file. The default is the feature name.

char(32)

Required

Element Type

GG_ELEMENT_TYPE

The type of elements tagged with this feature.

integer

Optional

Element Lock

GG_ELOCK

The strength of enforcement of the above element type (0 => interest - attach to any element type; 1 => similar - may attach only to “comparable” element type; 2 => exact - element type must exactly match GG_ELEMENT_TYPE).

char(12)

Optional

Geometry Type

GG_FEAT_TYPE

The geometry type of the feature type. (-=> undefined - default; 1 => point; 2 => line; 3 => area boundary; 4 => area centroid; 5 => label).

integer

Optional

Feature Level

GG_LEVEL

The level number applied to elements attached to this feature.

integer

Optional

Feature Style or Line Code

GG_STYLE

The style or line code applied to elements attached to this feature.

integer

Optional

Feature Weight

GG_WEIGHT

The weight applied to elements attached to this feature.

integer

Optional

Feature Color

GG_COLOR

The color applied to elements attached to this feature.

integer

Optional

Feature Angle

GG_ANGLE

Angle at which feature is set.

float

Optional

Feature Height

GG_HEIGHT

Height of feature, applied to attached text and node elements.

float

Optional

Feature Width

GG_WIDTH

Width of feature, applied to attached text and node elements.

float

Optional

Line Spacing

GG_LINE_SPACING

Line spacing of text nodes attached to feature.

float

Optional

Line Length

GG_LINE_LENGTH

Line length of text nodes attached to feature.

integer

Optional

Feature Font

GG_FONT

Font used for attached text and node elements.

integer

Optional

Feature Symbol

GG_SYMBOL

Feature symbol used to form symbol text.

char(1)

Optional

Feature Justification

GG_JUSTIFICATION

Direction at which feature text is justified.

integer

Optional

Active Stream Delta

GG_STREAM_DELTA

Active stream delta.

float

Optional

Active Stream Tolerance

GG_STREAM_TOL

Active stream tolerance.

float

Optional

Feature Snap Type

GG_SNAP_TYPE

Type of feature snap.

integer

Optional

Feature Snap Tolerance

GG_SNAP_TOL

Feature snap tolerance.

integer

Optional

Database Linkage Mode

GG_NEW_DUP

Database linkage mode (-1 => NO_LINK; 0=> NEW_LINK; 1=>DUP_LINK).

integer

Optional

Feature Class

GG_CLASS

Feature class.

integer

Optional

Feature Priority

GG_FEAT_PRIO

Priority of feature relative to other features in design file.

integer

Optional

Database Links to Infomode

GG_INFO_MODE

Sets database links to infomode.

integer

Optional

Displayable Attribute Type

GG_DAS_TYPE

Displayable attribute type.

integer

Optional

Display Priority

GG_DISPLAY_PRIO

Priority of display for elements with multiple feature tags.

float

Optional

FEATURE_TABLE_NAME

Required/Optional: Optional

Specifies the name of the feature table to be written. This defaults to the name feature.

Workbench Parameter: Feature table name

CATEGORY_TABLE_NAME

Required/Optional: Optional

Specifies the name of the category table to be written. This defaults to the name category.

Workbench Parameter: Category table name

LINKAGE_TYPE

Required/Optional: Optional

Specifies the type of database linkages that will be attached to features written to MGE layers. The value is a character string. If this directive is not specified, the MGE writer defaults to creating database linkages of type “dmrs”.

Workbench Parameter: Linkage Type

MANGLE_DBCS_TEXT

Required/Optional: Optional

Controls whether or not double-byte-character set text is mangled when text strings are written. Microstation uses special header bytes to single DBCS text. If this directive is set to YES in the mapping file, then these special bytes will be output when a DBCS text string is encountered. The default value is NO. Note that the IGDS reader automatically de-mangles DBCS text.

Workbench Parameter: Mangle DBCS Text

COMPRESS_AT_END

Required/Optional: Optional

Tells the writer to compact the .mdb, .accdb Access database file. This compresses the file size after all the writing is done. This makes use of the existing MDB database option to compact. The compact operation compresses the output database to a small size on disk.

Range: YES | NO

Default: NO

Workbench Parameter: Compress Database When Done

SPLIT_BIG_DGN7_FILES

Required/Optional: Optional

Note: This directive applies to the V7 writer only.

Allows user to split Version 7 DGN files bigger than 32 MB. Note that this directive can be manually set to no in the mapping file.

Range: YES | NO

Default: YES

Workbench Parameter: Split Files > 32 MB

MDB_VERSION

This statement instructs FME to set the version of the output Microsoft Access file version. Access file versions 97 and 2000 are the supported types. By default, an Access 2000 file is created.

Example:

MDB_VERSION 97

Workbench Parameter: MS Access Version