Merge multiple geodatabases into one

Question

I have 207 geodatabases, each with 3 feature classes, and multiple shapefiles (point, line, and polygon) within each feature class. The data is from The National Map (USGS). In the screenshot, you can see three of the geodatabases - Cornwall, Danby, and Dover Plains - with their feature classes. My goal is to merge (or append) these 207 geodatabases into one geodatabase that maintains the same feature classes (most important: foundation, gaz vector, and hydrography). I am not well-versed in Model Builder or Arcpy. A cumbersome method would be to append each feature class individually within each geodatabase with the master geodatabase as the target.

How can I make this process more efficient?

Answer 1

To do this in ModelBuilder (personally I would use ArcPy instead) I would:

1. create a model that performs the Merge/Append of 207 feature classes in one feature dataset from 207 file geodatabases into one feature class in one feature dataset of your new master file geodatabase.
2. Once you have that working use an iterator to do the same thing for all your feature classes and feature datasets.

If you get stuck on either phase then ask a new question which describes precisely what you have tried and where you are stuck.

Answer 2

You could use a product called FME from Safe Software to read a whole directory of FGDBs and combine them into one... without any complicated code or hardcoded FGDB names.

Answer 3

Please see the following link Append Multiple Tool