Creating an interoperability connection

The ArcGIS Data Interoperability extension adds support for a large number of nonnative spatial data and table formats that you can use in ArcGIS Desktop. The extension implements Safe Software's FME product for ArcGIS.

Almost any place in ArcGIS where you can use a feature class, you can select and use one of these nonnative formats—for example, as a map layer in ArcMap or as an input feature class in geoprocessing.

You add these formats to ArcGIS by adding an interoperability connection. Interoperability connections provide direct-read capability to nonnative formats. You add these formats in the Catalog window by double-clicking Add Interoperability Connection in the Catalog tree.

This opens a format gallery, which lists a large number of custom formats that are supported by the Data Interoperability extension. You select the ones that you want to use in ArcGIS, and they are added as interoperability connections.

Steps:

1. In ArcCatalog, double-click Add Interoperability Connection to add a new interoperability connection.

   The dialog box for adding an interoperability connection is displayed.

2. Click the Format button () to open the Formats gallery.
3. In the Formats gallery, choose the desired format and click OK.

   A new interoperability connection for that format is added to the Catalog tree. When you navigate to a folder location that contains a dataset in this format, it appears here in the Catalog tree. You can use it as you would any other dataset in ArcGIS—for example, to add it as a map layer or as input into a geoprocessing tool.