Spatial Importer – Not Creating Valid Geometry

By David Crowther

Question:

When importing spatial data using the DynamicMaps Spatial Importer Tool, why do the records have no Geometry?

Answer:

The DynamicMaps Spatial Importer tool allows you to import individual GIS files or a folder of GIS files into your chosen Spatial Database. Once imported into the Database you may find that the records have a NULL value in the Geometry field:

There are two likely reasons for this:

1 – Ensure that you have chosen the correct Spatial Reference Identifier (SRID). The value chosen should match the projection of your source data e.g. British National Grid – 27700. If you specify a SRID that does not match your source data, the records will be imported but the geometry may well be NULL.

2 – The other possible reason for having NULL geometry, is related to the configuration file that the Spatial Importer tool uses. When the tool is installed a config file will be placed in your Program Data\Cadline\ folder – STATIMP.ini. In this file there is a reference to the ODBC Driver which the tool will utilise. Ensure that the Driver mentioned (which may be SQL Server initially) actually relates to a valid Driver Name on your machine e.g. SQL Server Native Client 11.0.

Tip – the list of DRIVERS on your machine can be found by searching in the ODBC Data Source Administrator tool, and clicking on the Drivers Tab.

Make the required change to the STATIMP file, press save and then restart the Spatial Importer tool. The next time you import your GIS files, you will see that there are now valid Geometry values.