How to import DGN geometry into a file geodatabase?

Question

Specifically, I have an empty File GeoDatabase template consisting of several Group Layers, each containing several Feature Classes. In fact each FC has several subtypes exposed by including a .lyr file in ArcMap. I want to extract the basic polygon geometry data from a dgn, and insert this geometry for each feature into one of the FCs in my FGDB.

This is what I have got so far:

I can import dgn data using arcpy.CADToGeodatabase_conversion(), but this only creates a new CAD dataset in the FGDB alongside my group layers. In ArcMap, by opening the attribute table on the Polygon FC in the new CAD dataset, I can see the fields I want (Shape, Shape_Length, Shape_Area), and I SUPPOSE I need to apply SearchCursor() and InsertCursor() to copy each geometry object to the correct FC in the FGDB. How would the code look to do this?

Is there a slicker way to read dgn geometry objects into an existing FGDB feature class?

Answer 1

Your "Group Layers" in the file geodatabase will be Feature Datasets because the former exist only within maps and layer files.

If you have the same coordinate system stored for both the Feature Datasets you designed and the one that came in from your DGN file then as long as their schema match you should be able to copy/paste Feature Classes from one Feature Dataset onto another.

To be "slicker" in your conversion you may want to look at the Data Interoperability extension which has FME under its hood.