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I am trying to convert an OpenStreetMap file into a shapefile, but I am having problems with the "tags" field being cut-off after 80 characters. With QGIS 1.4, I use the OpenStreetMap plugin to 'Load OSM from file'. The file loads in QGIS. If I right-click on the 'lines' layer and select 'Save as shapefile', I end up with a shapefile but one that has an 80 char limit on "tags". How can I increase this 80 character limit?

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The issue is with the field limitation with Shapefiles not QGIS. You can create a code (.txt) list and join that to the shapefile to get the full tag. – Mapperz♦ May 18 '11 at 18:19
The issue is not an 80 character limit in shapefiles, as @John correctly points out. The truncation is likely the fault of the conversion process. – whuber♦ Aug 11 '11 at 14:35

2 Answers

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You can also import the data into a PostgreSQL/Postgis database and you will not have that limit. Use the osm2pgsql utility

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osm2pgsql

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Unless you have a specific need to use the shapefile format, Spatialite is a good option: its built-in to QGIS, has no limits on the length of fields and is supported by most of the open source tools.

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