E00 (Esri ArcInfo Coverage/Esri ArcInfo Export) Reader/Writer

FME can read and write binary coverages, E00 files, and Info tables. Full support for compressed E00 files – export option 1 or 2 – is also provided.

Overview

A single E00 file describes a complete ArcInfo coverage. The file itself is actually an archive of several smaller files, referred to here as subfiles. Some of these subfiles have fixed names which do not vary from coverage to coverage, and follow a predefined data format. These are referred to as the standard subfiles.

The remainder of the subfiles contained within an E00 are the info files. These files may contain user-defined attributes, and have names that vary from coverage to coverage.

E00 (Esri ArcInfo Coverage) Product and System Requirements

Format

FME Platform

Operating System

Reader/Writer

FME Form

FME Flow

FME Flow Hosted

Windows 64-bit

Linux

Mac

Reader

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Reader/Writer

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Esri ArcInfo (ARCINFO) Export Product and System Requirements

Format

FME Platform

Operating System

Reader/Writer

FME Form

FME Flow

FME Flow Hosted

Windows 64-bit

Linux

Mac

Reader

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Writer

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Reader Overview

The E00/ArcInfo reader produces FME features for all feature data contained in a single E00 file, binary ArcInfo coverage or ArcInfo table. To process multiple E00 files or coverages, you must add a reader for each E00 file, or use the Multi-Reader.

Large E00 files are often split into smaller files, named <filename>.e00, <filename>.e01, <filename>.e02, etc. The E00 reader automatically detects this and reads the set of files as if they were a single E00 file.

To read ArcInfo coverages, specify the folder that contains the coverage to the E00 reader.

To read just the ArcInfo tables, specify the “info” folder that contains the info tables to the ArcInfo reader. All info tables will be processed as data with no spatial information attached to it, even though they may be part of the coverage.

Info Files

Unlike the standard subfiles, whose names and formats are common to all E00 files, the info files' names and data structures vary from one coverage to another. Each info file starts with a header that defines its name and attributes on each record of the file.

The name of the info file is in the form

<prefix>.<extension>

where <prefix> is arbitrary and <extension> defines the role of the records of the info file.

Typically, all info files within a single E00 coverage have the same <prefix>. The <extension> is usually from a standard set, which includes the AAT (Arc Attribute Table), PAT (Point or Polygon Attribute Table), and BND (coverage bounding box). The E00 reader uses the extension to determine a role for the content of this info file.

Each record of the info file is interpreted by the E00 reader as an FME feature with no geometry. The <extension> of the info file's name is used to define the feature type and the value of the E00_FEAT_ROLE attribute of these features. The attributes defined on the record as specified in the info file's header are defined verbatim on the output feature.

Writer Overview

The ArcInfo writer can generate several E00 files or binary coverage folders. All E00 files or coverages created in a single FME run will be placed into a single folder.

Unlike the reader, the writer requires feature types to define the attributes of the output E00 files or binary coverage folders. The writer provides a mechanism to apply a single set of attributes to all geometric features placed into a file, as well as allowing each specific info file to have a unique set of attributes.

The E00 writer can create compressed or uncompressed E00 files, or binary ArcInfo coverages.