dgn-to-excel
Convert DGN files (v7-v8) to Excel databases. Extract elements, levels, and properties from infrastructure CAD files.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/datadrivenconstruction/DDC_Skills_for_AI_Agents_in_Construction /tmp/dgn-to-excel && cp -r /tmp/dgn-to-excel/1_DDC_Toolkit/CAD-Converters/dgn-to-excel ~/.claude/skills/dgn-to-excelSKILL.md
# DGN to Excel Conversion
## Business Case
### Problem Statement
DGN files are common in infrastructure and civil engineering:
- Transportation and highway design
- Bridge and tunnel projects
- Utility networks
- Rail infrastructure
Extracting structured data from DGN files for analysis and reporting can be challenging.
### Solution
Convert DGN files to structured Excel databases, supporting both v7 and v8 formats.
### Business Value
- **Infrastructure support** - Civil engineering focused
- **Legacy format support** - V7 and V8 DGN files
- **Data extraction** - Levels, cells, text, geometry
- **Batch processing** - Process multiple files
- **Structured output** - Excel format for analysis
## Technical Implementation
### CLI Syntax
```bash
DgnExporter.exe <input_dgn>
```
### Supported Versions
| Version | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| V7 DGN | Legacy MicroStation format (pre-V8) |
| V8 DGN | Modern MicroStation format |
| V8i DGN | MicroStation V8i format |
### Output Format
| Output | Description |
|--------|-------------|
| `.xlsx` | Excel database with all elements |
### Examples
```bash
# Basic conversion
DgnExporter.exe "C:\Projects\Bridge.dgn"
# Batch processing
for /R "C:\Infrastructure" %f in (*.dgn) do DgnExporter.exe "%f"
# PowerShell batch
Get-ChildItem "C:\Projects\*.dgn" -Recurse | ForEach-Object {
& "C:\DDC\DgnExporter.exe" $_.FullName
}
```
### Python Integration
```python
import subprocess
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path
from typing import List, Optional, Dict, Any
from dataclasses import dataclass
from enum import Enum
class DGNElementType(Enum):
"""DGN element types."""
CELL_HEADER = 2
LINE = 3
LINE_STRING = 4
SHAPE = 6
TEXT_NODE = 7
CURVE = 11
COMPLEX_CHAIN = 12
COMPLEX_SHAPE = 14
ELLIPSE = 15
ARC = 16
TEXT = 17
SURFACE = 18
SOLID = 19
BSPLINE_CURVE = 21
POINT_STRING = 22
DIMENSION = 33
SHARED_CELL = 35
@dataclass
class DGNElement:
"""Represents a DGN element."""
element_id: int
element_type: int
type_name: str
level: int
color: int
weight: int
style: int
# Geometry
range_low_x: Optional[float] = None
range_low_y: Optional[float] = None
range_low_z: Optional[float] = None
range_high_x: Optional[float] = None
range_high_y: Optional[float] = None
range_high_z: Optional[float] = None
# Cell/Text specific
cell_name: Optional[str] = None
text_content: Optional[str] = None
@dataclass
class DGNLevel:
"""Represents a DGN level."""
number: int
name: str
is_displayed: bool
is_frozen: bool
element_count: int
class DGNExporter:
"""DGN to Excel converter using DDC DgnExporter CLI."""
def __init__(self, exporter_path: str = "DgnExporter.exe"):
self.exporter = Path(exporter_path)
if not self.exporter.exists():
raise FileNotFoundError(f"DgnExporter not found: {exporter_path}")
def convert(self, dgn_file: str) -> Path:
"""Convert DGN file to Excel."""
dgn_path = Path(dgn_file)
if not dgn_path.exists():
raise FileNotFoundError(f"DGN file not found: {dgn_file}")
cmd = [str(self.exporter), str(dgn_path)]
result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)
if result.returncode != 0:
raise RuntimeError(f"Export failed: {result.stderr}")
return dgn_path.with_suffix('.xlsx')
def batch_convert(self, folder: str,
include_subfolders: bool = True) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
"""Convert all DGN files in folder."""
folder_path = Path(folder)
pattern = "**/*.dgn" if include_subfolders else "*.dgn"
results = []
for dgn_file in folder_path.glob(pattern):
try:
output = self.convert(str(dgn_file))
results.append({
'input': str(dgn_file),
'output': str(output),
'status': 'success'
})
print(f"✓ Converted: {dgn_file.name}")
except Exception as e:
results.append({
'input': str(dgn_file),
'output': None,
'status': 'failed',
'error': str(e)
})
print(f"✗ Failed: {dgn_file.name} - {e}")
return results
def read_elements(self, xlsx_file: str) -> pd.DataFrame:
"""Read converted Excel as DataFrame."""
return pd.read_excel(xlsx_file, sheet_name="Elements")
def get_levels(self, xlsx_file: str) -> pd.DataFrame:
"""Get level summary."""
df = self.read_elements(xlsx_file)
if 'Level' not in df.columns:
raise ValueError("Level column not found")
summary = df.groupby('Level').agg({
'ElementId': 'count'
}).reset_index()
summary.columns = ['Level', 'Element_Count']
return summary.sort_values('Level')
def get_element_types(self, xlsx_file: str) -> pd.DataFrame:
"""Get element type statistics."""
df = self.read_elements(xlsx_file)
type_col = 'ElementType' if 'ElementType' in df.columns else 'Type'
if type_col not in df.columns:
return pd.DataFrame()
summary = df.groupby(type_col).agg({
'ElementId': 'count'
}).reset_index()
summary.columns = ['Element_Type', 'Count']
return summary.sort_values('Count', ascending=False)
def get_cells(self, xlsx_file: str) -> pd.DataFrame:
"""Get cell references (similar to blocks in DWG)."""
df = self.read_elements(xlsx_file)
# Filter to cell elements
cells = df[df['ElementType'].isin([2, 35])] # CELL_HEADER, SHARED_CELL
if cells.empty or 'CellName' not in cells.columns:
return pd.DataFrame(columns=['Cell_Name', 'Count'])
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