I understand there are programs like OSGeo4W that allow windows users to work with Esri File Geodatabases, but is there something similar for Mac OSX 10.6?
6 Answers
OSGeo4W is, well, OSGeo "for Windows", so it is not what you are looking for.
I have not done it myself, but other people have, so I know it works.
I would recommend you
- get the KyngChaos binaries for QGIS
- compile the OGR FileGDB driver (which will produce a "dylib" file on the Mac)
- drop the dylib on the plugins directory of GDAL on the Mac. I believe this directory is /Library/Application Support/GDAL/PlugIns/$(GDALVER) according to the Kyngchaos documentation (very last line).
For #2, you will need to download the exact version of GDAL that is used by the Kyngchaos build you have. Instructions on how to create the dylib for filegdb can be found on the net.
I realize this is not for the faint of heart, it would be nice if somebody created a brew recipe for this. hint hint, anyone?
Update
There is a much easier way now using Homebrew:
Install Homebrew
Go to the ESRI site and download the FileGDB API for Mac. After extracting, you will notice that there is a lib folder and an include folder.
Copy the contents of the include folder to /usr/local/include and the lib folder to /usr/local/lib (this is basically "installing" the FileGDB API in your system)
Install gdal using brew (pass the with-unsupported flag).
brew install gdal --with-unsupported
That's it!
Optionally, if you want QGIS, install it using this Homebrew Science recipe.
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@donschoe that is ESRI's requirement. You can create an ESRI global account in the link below the login page - it is free Jan 9, 2013 at 16:16
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1You can now download the FGDB API without logging in from this page: esri.com/apps/products/download/#File_Geodatabase_API_1.3– scwJul 7, 2013 at 21:33
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I was able to get this to work, but I had to install the kyngchaos FGDB plugin from kyngchaos.com/software/frameworks#gdal_complete.– mkirkOct 8, 2015 at 23:48
First, you'll have to compile GDAL with ESRI FileGDB support. Once you've done that, you can then use this build of GDAL in a KyngChaos build of QGIS. On your terminal:
# save your current GDAL so you can put it back if you want
cp /Library/Frameworks/GDAL.framework/Versions/1.8/GDAL /Library/Frameworks/GDAL.framework/Versions/1.8/GDAL_orig
# symlink the custom GDAL build to the place QGIS looks
rm /Library/Frameworks/GDAL.framework/Versions/1.8/GDAL
ln -s ~/local/lib/libgdal.dylib /Library/Frameworks/GDAL.framework/Versions/1.8/GDAL
Thanks to @Ragi for the instructions to the Github gist.
OSGeo4W reads GDBs using GDAL/OGR which you can install on OS X via Macports or Kygchaos's binary distribution.
.gdb is the proprietary format for ESRI's geodatabases. For more information on how to access gdb look here
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I guess I should of also added that I'm using a MAC so this plug-in won't work for me. Also, if you look at the data I listed above, a WHOLE bunch of files download. I'm not even sure what I'm looking at. Which one is the right one? Sep 24, 2012 at 0:39
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gdb is a geo-database. ESRI is using a modified ms-access schema to store and validate geographic data. The bunch of data (I assume inside a folder that ends in .gdb) is just tables that mean to work together somehow. Since your software cannot handle the file/folder you see all those files.– nickvesSep 24, 2012 at 0:44
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NYC open data and they using closed formats... It's open only for those who can buy arcgis– nickvesSep 24, 2012 at 0:45
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I finally got file geodatabases working on QGIS for Mac. Using the instructions on the readme file of Kyngchaos FileGDB plugin:
download and install FileGDB plugin from http://www.kyngchaos.com/software/frameworks#gdal_complete
download and unzip fileGDB API from resources.arcgis.com/content/geodatabases/10.0/file-gdb-api
Move the 2 .dylib files from the lib folder of the fileGDB API to the folder /Library/Application Support/GDAL/1.9/Libraries
start QGIS, add vector layer, select the source type as directory and ESRI FileGDB should appear right away.
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This didn't work for me. I followed the instructions but ESRI FileGDB doesn't show up. I'm using Mac OS 10.8. I've tried with GDAL v1.9 and v1.10. Any suggestions? Jul 8, 2013 at 1:10
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Are you sure you're adding a directory instead of a file? In order to add a gdb you need to choose "directory" when selecting the type of vector file to be added. Jul 15, 2013 at 4:06