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Can someone walk through the proper way to set a projection and export the shapefile so it will properly open up in another GIS program? I'm having trouble.

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  1. Open Qgis, Start A new Project (ctrl + N)
  2. Open Project Properties (Ctrl + Shift + P), Choose CRS (coordinate reference system) - depends where you are, what you want to draw etc.
  3. Create New shapefile, add whatever attribues for each entry you want. Your shapefile will inherit the projection system of your project. Save when you're done.
  4. If you want to reproject to another CRS: At the layer list, right click your newly created shapefile, and choose save-as. At the menu choose the other CRS. Hit save. You're done.
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Does a chart exist somewhere that shows you the proper coordinate system for what you want to show? – Mike Guillen Sep 24 '12 at 1:18
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My tool of choise is the spatialrefence.org site. Since you were asking before for NY check those results. ( spatialreference.org/ref/?search=new+york ) Check what fit your needs and search it at Qgis by it's EPGS code. – nickves Sep 24 '12 at 1:22
Thanks for all your help! Why is there multiple listings for the same thing though? Like Central, East, West, in feet, etc ... – Mike Guillen Sep 24 '12 at 1:41
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oooh thats a tough one. They're not although they do look the same Short answer is because the earth is not flat ;) When we project, we project to a cartesian coordinate system (x,y) from a spherical coordinate system (λ,φ), and by definition we can't accurately project from a set of coordinates to another (π is irrational number afterall). You can search for more info about projections and datums and a partial asnwer here gis.stackexchange.com/questions/664/… – nickves Sep 24 '12 at 2:02

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