Highest scored 'file-path+file-path+or+shapefile' questions

124 votes

8 answers

370k views

Calculating polygon areas in shapefile using QGIS

How do I calculate areas of an area shapefile in square meters (m²) or in acres (ha)? I didn't find that functionality in the Vector Tools.

desputin

2,331

asked Apr 12, 2012 at 19:05

116 votes

5 answers

302k views

Merging multiple vector layers to one layer using QGIS

I've imported several shapefiles which where exported from a Mapinfo .tab. Several .tab-files are imported resulting in 20+ layers. Afterwards I want to export it to GeoJSON; but I'm reluctant to ...

stUrb

2,329

asked May 9, 2012 at 7:20

115 votes

23 answers

144k views

Converting between KML and shapefile (SHP) format

My users are sending me point data that were digitized using Google Earth. How can I convert their KML to a shapefile and vice versa?

TroutSlayer

1,373

asked Jul 22, 2010 at 22:34

108 votes

16 answers

76k views

Identifying Coordinate System of Shapefile when Unknown?

I have a Shapefile but its coordinate system is Unknown, and there is no *.prj file. How can I identify it now?

com

3,694

asked Mar 28, 2011 at 17:48

96 votes

5 answers

157k views

Renaming attributes/fields in shapefile attribute table using QGIS

I would like to rename some fields in my attribute table: Like rename "XRF_N3"in something else. It seems quite a easy issue but I don't find any information about how can I do that.

G M

2,078

asked Oct 26, 2013 at 13:08

75 votes

6 answers

286k views

Opening shapefile in R?

I need to open a shapefile from ArcMap in R to use it for further geostatistical analysis. I've converted it into ASCII text file, but in R it is recognized as data.frame. Coordinates function doesn't ...

slava

751

asked Jan 20, 2012 at 9:06

70 votes

7 answers

4k views

Are there any attempts to replace the shapefile? [closed]

Recently I've been spending a lot of time converting perfectly good field names like "Percent of citizens age 25 and over with a bachelor's degree or higher" into things like "edbchogtr" to meet the ...

canisrufus

2,474

asked Feb 20, 2012 at 20:02

61 votes

5 answers

48k views

Bypassing 10 character limit of field name in shapefiles?

I'm exporting geometry with attached text attributes from oracle database to esri shapefile format (.shp) with Java and Geotools library. Attribute columns in our database have names with more than ...

denu

839

asked Oct 15, 2011 at 23:13

58 votes

6 answers

58k views

Is there an automatic function in QGIS to package all files in a project for transferability?

In my project, I use a lot of geodata from different directories. Now I want to give the QGIS project to a colleague (eg on a CD). Is it possible to copy the shapes from different directories ...

Hendrik Pehlke

589

asked Sep 12, 2012 at 13:17

57 votes

3 answers

54k views

How can I get a shapefile from a postgis query?

My data is in a PostGIS database. I would like to generate a shapefile from a query. How can I do that?

rudivonstaden

5,354

asked Mar 22, 2013 at 10:43

57 votes

5 answers

75k views

Which character encoding is used by the DBF file in shapefiles?

Which character-encoding is used by the dbf-file in shapefiles? It seems it is handled different, based on the program and the local encoding-settings of the machine. Which encoding is 'right' - ...

Mnementh

1,155

asked Nov 15, 2010 at 23:23

54 votes

2 answers

96k views

Understanding difference between Polygon and Multipolygon for shapefiles in QGIS?

Creating Scratch layer gives me a choice between Polygon and Multipolygon, so I started wondering how should I make use of them. Reading a new book "Mastering QGIS" (through this answer by Joseph to ...

Kazuhito

31.2k

asked Jan 22, 2017 at 1:35

53 votes

3 answers

76k views

Reprojecting vector layer in QGIS

I have a series of layers of lines (shapefiles) in My Project. The CRS of some are different and to merge them they all must have same CRS. When I use Processing > Toolbox > Qgis_algorithims >...

razi

531

asked Oct 12, 2012 at 4:57

50 votes

4 answers

65k views

Joining non-spatial CSV file to spatial data (shapefile) using QGIS

I have a CSV file which has postcode data in a field, but it is non-spatial e.g. no Easting and Northing. I have a shapefile with postcode in a field and some additional data. I want to join the ...

gisuser

545

asked Feb 22, 2011 at 14:58

48 votes

3 answers

61k views

Adding shapefiles to PostGIS database

I was able to create a Postgresql database and then I executed, createlang plpgsql geospecies psql -d geospecies -f postgis.sql psql -d geospecies -f spatial_ref_sys.sql So now can I directly import ...

Sam007

4,415

asked Nov 21, 2012 at 23:05

43 votes

7 answers

39k views

Choosing File Geodatabase (.gdb), Personal Geodatabase (.mdb) or shapefile format?

Previously, I have used geodatabases as an easy way to keep all files together rather than having dozens of shapefiles all over the place, and it is easier when finally exporting all the relevant data ...

Community wiki

13 revs, 3 users 57%
Martin

43 votes

3 answers

29k views

Is it possible to look at the contents of Shapefile using Python without an ArcMap license?

I wondered if it is possible to look at the contents of a shapefile using Python without having and ArcMap license. The situation is that you can create shapefiles from many different applications, ...

Caitlin

433

asked May 4, 2015 at 17:30

40 votes

15 answers

121k views

Converting MapInfo TAB and/or MIF to SHP using free tools or ArcGIS for Desktop core product?

How do I convert MapInfo TAB and/or MIF files to SHP using only free tools or ArcGIS itself? I've not had much luck trying to do this in the past and I don't want to have to shell out for the ArcGIS ...

Charles Roper

1,002

asked Jul 22, 2010 at 19:42

39 votes

5 answers

80k views

Writing Shapely geometries to shapefiles

Can someone demonstrate a simple way to write geometry data-structures from shapely into shapefiles? I am particularly interested in polygons with holes and linestrings. It would also be beneficial to ...

terra_matics

549

asked Feb 23, 2013 at 4:24

38 votes

4 answers

31k views

Simple thematic mapping of shapefile using Python?

I wish to visualize geographical data in Python, without using ArcGIS/ArcPy, and make a map. On the internet I found how to make a thematic map using Python: Here is some code that I tried: ...

NYannickske

525

asked May 25, 2013 at 15:13

38 votes

10 answers

78k views

Adding Attribute data to shapefile?

I can display a shapefile in openlayers but I need to add some attribute data. I can open the dbf file in excel but there is no save as option in excel to the updated file as a dbf. What is the ...

ChrisJ

1,129

asked Mar 6, 2011 at 19:42

38 votes

10 answers

36k views

Open Source Tool capable of reading Esri File Geodatabase (.gdb)?

I have an ESRI File Geodatabase (.gdb) file that I would like to convert to shapefile (or any other non-proprietary format). Are there any Open Source tools to do so?

Darren Cope

6,666

asked Dec 2, 2010 at 16:23

37 votes

6 answers

59k views

Converting .shp into .gpx using QGIS

I would like to convert .shp into .gpx. Using GIS, I open my shapefile and I tried to "save as" gpx but it gives an OGR error: creation of field ObjectId failed (OGR error: Field of name '...

ePascoal

951

asked Nov 9, 2012 at 13:53

36 votes

5 answers

10k views

Advantages of using spatialite over shapefile? [closed]

I found spatialite more useful than shapefiles as it does not have the limitations of shapefile and it is also portable. Many people here use shapefiles to exchange data and even the experts do not ...

neogeomat

8,390

asked Aug 23, 2013 at 12:39

35 votes

6 answers

60k views

Free tool to convert ArcGIS layer package (.lpk) to shapefile (.shp)?

I have received a *.lpk file from Esri's ArcGIS platform that I would like to convert to a shapefile. How can I do this, using only free software?

Zach

843

asked Aug 2, 2011 at 14:55

34 votes

5 answers

13k views

Bulk load multiple shapefiles into PostGIS

I've got over a hundred data layers in shapefile format that I want to upload into a PostGIS database. They are all in the same projection, but represent different data layers so they do not have the ...

RyanKDalton

23.2k

asked Mar 28, 2011 at 3:11

34 votes

6 answers

29k views

GeoJSON too bulky

I am using leaflet.js to allow web users to select a region. Valid regions are US states, Canadian providences, and world countries (except for US and Canada). I constructed a shapefile myself using ...

Mike Furlender

597

asked Jan 14, 2013 at 4:56

34 votes

3 answers

20k views

How to easily edit attribute data using Regular Expressions?

I am writing a tutorial for MSc students that uses QGIS. One of the tasks requires the attribute data to be modified (see pdf draft of tutorial here if interested ). The question is how to get them ...

RobinLovelace

4,274

asked Nov 8, 2012 at 14:27

33 votes

12 answers

63k views

Converting shapefiles to text (ASCII) files? [duplicate]

How can I convert a shapefile (GIS) to text, or, how can I extract the information in a shapefile?

juanpablo

431

asked Aug 1, 2010 at 23:53

32 votes

8 answers

29k views

Getting list of distinct values from shapefile field using QGIS

I have a shapefile whose features I can filter by specifying a where clause in the query dialogue. F.x. I have a field named "city_name" and by stating "city_name" = 'London' in ...

Raffael

550

asked Jan 27, 2013 at 17:46

32 votes

3 answers

43k views

How to encode shapefiles from LATIN1 to UTF-8?

Is there a way to encode shapefiles from LATIN1 to UTF-8?

againstflow

5,054

asked Oct 19, 2011 at 12:12

32 votes

6 answers

2k views

"Oddities" in the Shapefile technical specification

I've been writing a shapefile parsing library, and have encountered a couple of design decisions in the specification that I don't immediately understand. I'm hoping there's a wizened old ESRI ...

canisrufus

2,474

asked Jan 18, 2012 at 15:48

31 votes

8 answers

24k views

Using ogr2ogr to convert all shapefiles in directory?

I have a directory with several shapefiles. How can convert all these shapefiles to MapInfo with ogr2ogr? I know how I can convert one file. And I can make a batch script writing a line for each ...

Stefan

2,152

asked May 14, 2012 at 9:00

30 votes

6 answers

35k views

Using ogr2ogr to convert GML to shapefile in Python?

I am trying to convert a GML to an ESRI shapefile using ogr2ogr utility in a python script. I have successfully installed the GDAL/OGR package via osgeo but I am now struggling to find/understand ...

Matt

2,706

asked Nov 1, 2012 at 14:23

30 votes

2 answers

7k views

Using OGR and Shapely more efficiently? [closed]

I'm looking for some suggestions about how to make my python code more efficient. Normally efficiency doesn't matter for me but I am now working with a text file of US locations with over 1.5 million ...

GrantD

309

asked May 20, 2011 at 17:03

29 votes

3 answers

106k views

Cropping Shapefiles in QGIS?

I need to clip a large and very detailed shapefile in QGIS showing environmental data similar to a temperature map. Is there something like the very simple crop tool like in Adobe Photoshop where ...

birgit

525

asked Oct 21, 2012 at 22:05

29 votes

7 answers

15k views

How can I update ogr2ogr to include the PostgreSQL driver?

I'm trying to use ogr2ogr to upload a shapefile to a remote PostGres installation. When I ran this command: celenius:~ celenius$ ogr2ogr -f PostgreSQL PG:"host=255.34.00.00 user=postgres dbname=mydb ...

djq

16.3k

asked Sep 12, 2012 at 15:14

29 votes

5 answers

36k views

Converting image of map into vector format [closed]

What is the best way of converting a gif of a map into a vector format, such as a shapefile? The only relevant parts that I am interested in are the outline of the island so I realize some manual ...

djq

16.3k

asked Jan 28, 2011 at 12:42

29 votes

3 answers

23k views

Selecting feature types when using ogr2ogr to convert to shapefile?

Shapefiles can only have one geometry type, but many other formats (kml, geojson) can have multiple types. When converting to shapefiles, is it possible to to tell ogr2ogr to create multiple ...

slinkp

711

asked Jun 1, 2012 at 16:51

28 votes

5 answers

58k views

Converting shapefiles to GeoJSON

I'm trying to convert shapefiles from the State of Texas Senate Districts website into a GeoJSON file for use with Google Maps API. I'm using QGIS to facilitate but I can't get the projection/...

user28781

281

asked Apr 2, 2014 at 23:26

27 votes

2 answers

65k views

Extracting intersection areas in R

I have two polygons. One contains fields(X,Y,Z) and the other contains soil types (A,B,C,D). I want to know what area of every field contains which type of soil. I tried the following: library(rgdal)...

user2386786

549

asked Mar 26, 2015 at 20:20

27 votes

9 answers

20k views

How can I convert an excel file with x, y columns to a shapefile?

How can I convert an excel file with x, y columns to a point shapefile? There are some somewhat optional requirements in addition to the correct creation of a shapefile: Column types (as per Excel's ...

fmark

9,411

asked Jul 25, 2010 at 22:39

27 votes

4 answers

38k views

What is the difference between Coverage, Shapefiles and Geodatabases in ArcGIS?

I was wondering about the difference in spatial data storage methodology used by Coverages, Shapefiles and Geodatabases in ArcGIS. Coverage was the initial format, followed by Shape Files and now ...

Abhishek Potnis

595

asked Sep 15, 2014 at 17:48

27 votes

1 answer

20k views

Selecting features by attributes using ogr2ogr?

I am writing a shapefile after some processing; however, in the final step I need to do some selection by attributes from the the shapefile. I am using the command in a shell with the aim of using it ...

user2757128

543

asked Nov 14, 2013 at 9:50

27 votes

6 answers

36k views

Shapefile loader in pgAdmin 4

Recently I have updated my postgresql version. I have also upgraded pgAdmin from 3 to 4. But I was unable to load shapefile. I didn't find any plugin called shapefile loader. How can I get the ...

Devils Dream

3,217

asked Nov 11, 2016 at 12:34

27 votes

2 answers

30k views

Converting from Geography to Geometry data type in PostGIS?

I have a shapefile that has geography types. Can I convert it with a tool like shp2pgsql or is there a postgis function to do that?

Paco Valdez

1,378

asked Dec 16, 2011 at 18:50

27 votes

4 answers

14k views

How do you determine a shapefile's charset?

Is there a way to determine the charset used for a given shapefile?

Matthew Finlay

689

asked Jul 15, 2011 at 0:59

27 votes

5 answers

33k views

Adding attribute field to existing Shapefile via Python without ArcGIS

I have a Python script that adds an attribute field to a Shapefile if doesn't exist. This is easy to do with ArcGIS (graphically or via Python), but I'm looking for something that doesn't depend on ...

Mike T

42.4k

asked Mar 18, 2011 at 8:43

26 votes

3 answers

35k views

Order of polygon vertices in general GIS: clockwise or counterclockwise [closed]

Two days ago I asked a question about the internal storing order for the vertices of a polygon in ESRI shapefiles. That question was answered (Are polygons stored clockwise or counterclockwise in a ...

jgpallero

759

asked Oct 21, 2014 at 15:11

26 votes

1 answer

25k views

Merging adjacent polygons in shapefile that has been split at tile boundaries?

I'm currently using building data from the Ordnance Survey Vectormap District and I've noticed that a lot of building polygons are split in 2 because of the way the OS split up the shapefile. This is ...

Robin Hawkes

1,035

asked Feb 7, 2013 at 17:16

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