The FalconView Reader allows FME to read data in the FalconView™ vector format.
FalconView is a Windows mapping system that displays various types of maps and geographically referenced overlays. Many types of maps are supported, but the primary ones of interest to most users are aeronautical charts, satellite images, and elevation maps. FalconView also supports a large number of overlay types that can be displayed over any map background.
The current overlay set is targeted toward military mission planning users and is oriented towards aviators and aviation support personnel.
Overview
The FalconView reader is a custom reader created using a sequence of transformers in FME Workbench.
The file format is Microsoft Access based, and separated into threat and drawing modules:
- Drawing modules store vector data such as lines, points and text, along with other feature types more specific to military data processing.
- Threat modules store threat data, which is essentially point data with associated information.
Reader Overview
FalconView drawing files contain a single table, Main, with three fields specifying the feature number, type, and data.
Drawing files may have the extension .mdb, .accdb, or .drw.
Threat files use two databases:
- Threat instance database: contains three tables that store threat information and attachments.
- Threat parametrics database: contains a single table that provides cross-referencing between the other tables.