Converting Text/Spreadsheet Files To Point Shapefile Format

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Converting Text/Spreadsheet Files To Point Shapefile Format

Published by Leszek Pawlowicz in MapWindow, shapefile and spreadsheet. 3 Comments
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Yesterdays post dealt with converting point shapefiles to a text format compatible with spreadsheets. Todays post handles the opposite converting spreadsheet data to point shapefile format. First step is to prepare the spreadsheet data. The first row should contain the field name for the data columns, and its best to modify the field name into a DBF-friendly format before conversion. That means no more than 10 characters in the field name, capital letters only, with no spaces. You should also remove commas, since the converter will read in the data in comma-separated value (CSV) format, and extra commas can throw it off. And, of course, youll need two columns with the coordinate data, in any coordinate system. Save the data from your spreadsheet program in CSV format. MapWindow GIS comes with a plug-in that converts CSV files into point shapefiles. Coordinate data is used to create the point vertexes, while any additional data can be converted into an associated DBF attribute table. Look for a Converters menu on the top toolbar; if its not present, youll have to enable the CSV to Shapefile converter plug-in in the Plug-ins menu. Start up the converter, select the input CSV file you want to convert, and also select the comma as the field delimiter. Oddly enough, even though this is labeled a CSV to Shapefile converter, it will accept other characters as text delimiters as well, and the comma is not the default. Click on Open File, and specify the X and Y coordinate fields (Z and M are optional):

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Converting Text/Spreadsheet Files To Point Shapefile Format

http://freegeographytools.com/2007/converting-textspreadsheet-files-to-po...

Checkboxes at the bottom allow the options of adding coordinate columns to the attribute table, converting all the other fields in the CSV file into shapefile attributes, and loading the generated shapefile into the MapWindow display. Click on Convert, specify the name and location for the shapefile to be created, and MapWindow will do the rest. Heres the resulting map for a CSV file of US cities converted into a point shapefile:

Related posts:
1. Converting Point Shapefiles To Text/Spreadsheet Format

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3/21/2011 4:32 PM

Converting Text/Spreadsheet Files To Point Shapefile Format

http://freegeographytools.com/2007/converting-textspreadsheet-files-to-po...

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Converting Text/Spreadsheet Data To Line/Area Shapefiles The Last Word (For Now) On Converting Google Earth KML Files To Shapefiles Another Way To Convert Google Earth KML Files To Shapefiles An Easier Way To Convert Shapefiles to Text/Spreadsheet Format Converting Google Earth KML Files To Shapefile Format Get DEM Elevations For A List Of Points Recap Of Intro To MapWindow GIS Series A Free And Easy Shapefile Coordinate Converter Importing Spreadsheet Data Into Google Earth Looking for something else? Enter some keywords below, then click "Search".

3 Responses to Converting Text/Spreadsheet Files To Point Shapefile Format

1 wilmink
converter: CSV to shapefile thank you

2 Reese
Great link, I have been testing it out today on a large dataset. When making lines, I found that the Converter would fail if I only passed it a single point for an ID. I havent tested with polygons, but you will likely need 3 points (perhaps a non-overlapping shape, too).

3 Sian Doherty
Thanks for a great product. Was wondering if its possible to do more than one at once. I have over 300 to convert. steel 23,0 Comments are currently closed; feel free to contact me with questions/issues.

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