You can use the Feature Class To Feature Class tool to convert a CAD feature class to a geodatabase feature class or a shapefile. The tool includes access to Query Builder, enabling you to extract subsets of CAD data.
The following steps describe how to use the tool, accepting the default values, with an example of how to use an SQL expression to filter data by drawing layer:
- Open the Feature Class To Feature Class tool dialog box.
- Drag one or more CAD feature classes from the Catalog window into the Input Features text box.
- Click the Output Location browse button
, navigate to an existing geodatabase, then click Add.
- Enter an appropriate name in the Output Feature Class text box.
- Optionally, click the Expression SQL button
to open Query Builder if you need to extract a specific subset of CAD elements.
For example, the expression "Layer" = 'Parcels' imports only the CAD elements residing on the drawing layer named Parcels.
- Click OK to run the tool.