2011

Table Of Contents
It is very fast, allowing Autodesk applications, such as AutoCAD Map 3D
and MapGuide, to read and display tens of thousands of features per second.
It provides the power of a database without the overhead and cost of a full
relational database management system (RDBMS) such as SQL Server or
Oracle.
An SDF file can store a single feature class, or it can store multiple feature
classes.
It is easy to manage, providing access to the database schema.
Importing
When importing SDF, you can import each feature class in the SDF to a separate
layer. You can specify how you want to bring in attribute data and points.
You can also set an option to import polygons as closed polylines.
Driver Options
SDF has no import driver options.
See also:
Customizing the Import and Export .ini Files (page 264)
NOTE Data you import becomes AutoCAD drawing objects in your map. To
connect to the data in its original format, see
Overview of Bringing In GIS Features
(page 305). To convert the drawing objects to a geospatial format, see Overview
of Converting and Exporting
(page 1405).
To import an SDF file
Import from SDF (page 381) Imports from SDF (version 3).
Import from SDF 2 (page 389) Imports from SDF (version 2).
To access and work with SDF
Connect to SDF (page 338) Allows you to view and edit the SDF data live
in its native format (SDF version 3).
388 | Chapter 3 Bringing In Data