Migrating Erwin file to EA file

[ravindar_ragavan]

Hi,

I have a data model file created using Erwin. The file extension is ER1. I want to migrate this data model file to Enterprise Architect format. How to do this?

Thanks,
Ravindar.

[speekna]

You can't.  BUT if you get the next big release of ERwin (7.x), you'll find that they have incorporated (leased) the metadata migration tool from Metaintegration.  With that tool, you can export the LOGICAL model from an ERwin model, and import into EA AS A DOMAIN MODEL - i.e., you CANNOT get it into EA as a data model.  

The only way to get a data model into EA is to reverse engineer a physical database.  

We are wrestling with this now - we have imported an ERwin logical model - which works well EXCEPT that since primary and foreign keys are NOT a 'uml" concept, any foreign key field does not come into the domain model.  You DO gat all the relationships and definitions.  We then reverse engineer the database (which doesn't have referential integrity, OR definitions) to get the physical table layouts.  You DO get all the keys & indexes.  

The unfortunate thing is that you have no link in EA between the logical entity and it's physical table.  Also, note that if your reverse engineer again - everything is overlayed, you cannot merge - so even if you establish that logical-physical tracability within EA, it will go away once you reverse engineer again.