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DWG to Geodatabase Help (attribute schema)

  • January 9, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 43 views

fme_arc4
Contributor

Hi all!

I’m looking for some possible help with my FME workflow (dwg to geodatabase). I have a DWG reader followed by several geometry transformers, and the geometry is working well. Where I’m stuck is the attribute schema.

I have a CSV/Excel file that defines my target schema. it’s structured row-by-row. each row represents a single attribute, not a feature. All the attribute fields are under the same "attribute_value" column. So, each feature class is represented by many rows. For example, electrical pole has 8 rows—one row each for pole_id, owner, project#, etc.—all sharing the same source layer, output feature class, and dataset. Another feature class (vegetation) follows the same pattern but with fewer rows because it has fewer attribute fields.

I need the geodatabase to have each feature class only contain the attributes listed for it in the CSV, and nothing extra. I understand this requires a dynamic writer, but I haven’t had success yet. I currently have a SchemaMapper set up just before the writer.

Any guidance or suggestions would be very greatly appreciated—thank you!!

2 replies

warrendev
Enthusiast
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  • Enthusiast
  • January 9, 2026

Hi ​@gisuser_6 , would you be able to share a sample dataset?


daveatsafe
Safer
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  • Safer
  • January 14, 2026

Hi ​@fme_arc4,

Please use the Schema (from Table) reader to read schema features from CSV or Excel file. This reader should be at the top of the reader list in the Navigator to ensure it is read first, and the schema features are sent to the writer before any data features.

Set your writer to Dynamic mode and set Schema Source to ‘Schema from Schema Feature’.

It is important to ensure that the contents of the attribute ‘fme_feature_type_name’ on the schema features matches the appropriate ‘fme_feature_type’ attribute on the DWG files destined for that feature class.