[mapserver-users] Shapefiles - different formats?
Lyndon Zimmermann
lyndon.zimmermann at adelaide.edu.au
Mon Oct 15 01:29:02 EDT 2001
Janet,
I don't think ArcView looks at the .prj file at all, you can have any
rubbish in it, UNTIL you want to use a reprojection tool. I would almost
classify it as metadata. I would try reprojecting your "functional"
shapefile and see how it copes with the .prj file.
ArcGIS, however, actually looks at the .prj file (if it exists) and
tries a reproject on the fly with it. Your results will vary according
to the validity of the .prj file. I don't think MapServer uses the .prj
file either, so what you see in MapServer and ArcView will be different
to what you see with ArcGIS.
Lyndon Z
Janet Ciavarelli wrote:
>
> Hmmmm, it still doesn't work. I now have the .prj file as well, but still the .shp,.shx and .dbf I created using mapscript together with the .prj does not work in ArcMap 8.1 but works fine in ArcView 3.2.
>
> Janet Ciavarelli
> GIS Programmer/Analyst
> City of Kamloops, BC
> (250) 828-3393
> jciavarelli at city.kamloops.bc.ca
>
> >>> "Ed McNierney" <ed at topozone.com> 10/05/01 09:58am >>>
> Janet et al. -
>
> Janet seems to have found the problem. It appears that ArcGIS 8.1
> *requires* a .prj file (which describes the shapefile's projection, not
> an ArcView project), which (all else being equal) is a pretty good
> thing. ArcView 3.2 does not require .prj files.
>
> PRJ files are simple text files that probably look familiar to PROJ
> users - here's the contents of a simple one.
>
> proj=utm
> zone=15
> units=m
> ellps=GRS80
>
> - Ed
>
> Ed McNierney
> Chief Mapmaker
> TopoZone.com
> ed at topozone.com
> (978) 251-4242
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: imap at chesapeake.net [mailto:imap at chesapeake.net]
> Sent: Friday, October 05, 2001 12:54 PM
> To: mapserver-users at lists.gis.umn.edu
> Cc: Janet Ciavarelli; Ed McNierney
> Subject: Re: [mapserver-users] Shapefiles - different formats?
>
> ArcView will read the 3 files just fine. You have to create
> or Open a New Project, then Add Layer, then browse to the
> dir where your shapefiles are, then pick one.
>
> A somewhat related comment, There are actually a other
> files that sometimes accompany a shapefile.
>
> .shp, .shx, .dbf (main 3 files)
> .sbn, .ixs, .mxs (??? mystery files)
> .prj, .apr (project files I think)
>
> I think the .ixs and .mxs are geocoding indexes
> and .sbn??? who knows. I'd really like to know
> the layout of these other files. I am not sure
> if they come from ArcInfo, or what? I see a few
> 3rd party companies create these files within their
> ArcView Format, but it may be a proprietary aspect
> of Arc??? If anyone has info, please reply an email.
>
> Anyway, The .apr(.prj?) are in ascii and is a long
> list of name/value pairs, so a script should be able
> to generate/manipulate OK.
>
> Regards,
>
> Chris Stuber (mapsurfer)
> Silicon Mapping Solutions, Inc
> (410)257-3187
>
> Janet Ciavarelli wrote:
> >
> > Hi Ed,
> > I see what the difference is now. I went into ArcCatalog and
> created an empty shapefile, and I looked in explorer. It creates 4
> files! Not just the 3 files that it used to use (.shp, .shx, .dbf).
> >
> > I've attached all the four files. So that explains why ArcView 3.2 can
> open the file though. Cause it finds the 3 files and just ignores the
> 4th. But ArcMap 8 wants all 4 files. The 4th file is a .prj file. I will
> have to find out what's in it and get my script to create that as well.
> Also, maybe that utility you advised me to grab will create it. I will
> check when I get time which my be a long time from now.
> >
> > Thanx for your help. Janet.
> >
> > >>> "Ed McNierney" <ed at topozone.com> 10/04/01 05:49pm >>>
> > Janet -
> >
> > Can you create an empty point shapefile in 8.1 and send that to me,
> too?
> > I don't have 8.1, but I can take a look at the shapefile to see if
> > there's anything different.
> >
> > - Ed
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Janet Ciavarelli [mailto:Jciavarelli at city.kamloops.bc.ca]
> > Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 4:11 PM
> > To: Ed McNierney
> > Subject: RE: [mapserver-users] Shapefiles - different formats?
> >
> > Yes, same symptom even with records added.
> >
> > >>> "Ed McNierney" <ed at topozone.com> 10/04/01 01:10pm >>>
> > Janet -
> >
> > Do you get the same symptom when you add records to the shapefile?
> >
> > - Ed
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Janet Ciavarelli [mailto:Jciavarelli at city.kamloops.bc.ca]
> > Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 4:03 PM
> > To: Ed McNierney
> > Subject: RE: [mapserver-users] Shapefiles - different formats?
> >
> > Hi Ed,
> > Here's a copy of the shapefile. BTW, it is an empty one but it
> should
> > be successfully able to open empty shapefiles as well. We've tried it
> > with both empty and un-empty ones and get the same results: it opens
> > find in AV 3.2 but errors out in AV 8.1
> >
> > Janet.
> >
> > Janet Ciavarelli
> > GIS Programmer/Analyst
> > City of Kamloops, BC
> > (250) 828-3393
> > jciavarelli at city.kamloops.bc.ca
> >
> > >>> "Ed McNierney" <ed at topozone.com> 10/04/01 12:38pm >>>
> > Janet -
> >
> > I certainly expect 8.1 reads 3.2 shapefiles (at least, in general).
> > Perhaps it's more likely that you're creating a slightly out-of-spec
> > shapefile that's being tolerated by 3.2, but 8.1 is being fussier
> about.
> >
> > There's a tool called shpfix in the GDAL distribution that might
> > possibly help clean up the file. If you'd like to email me the
> > shapefile I'll take a look at it.
> >
> > - Ed
> >
> > Ed McNierney
> > Chief Mapmaker
> > TopoZone.com
> > ed at topozone.com
> > (978) 251-4242
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Janet Ciavarelli [mailto:Jciavarelli at city.kamloops.bc.ca]
> > Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 2:17 PM
> > To: mapserver-users at lists.gis.umn.edu; teb at mallit.fr.umn.edu
> > Subject: [mapserver-users] Shapefiles - different formats?
> >
> > Sort of off topic, but thought I'd ask anyways in case anyone knows. I
> > have written a perl/mapscript to create a shapefile. I can view the
> > shapefile in ESRI ArcView 3.2 fine. But when I try to view it in ESRI
> > ArcView 8.1, I get an error. Is anyone out there aware of any
> > differences between shapefile formats between different products?
> >
> > Janet.
> >
> >
> >
> > Janet Ciavarelli
> > GIS Programmer/Analyst
> > City of Kamloops, BC
> > (250) 828-3393
> > jciavarelli at city.kamloops.bc.ca
> >
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
> > Name: shapev8.dbf
> > shapev8.dbf Type: unspecified type (application/octet-stream)
> > Encoding: base64
> > Description: dBase 3 database
> >
> > shapev8.prjName: shapev8.prj
> > Type: Plain Text (text/plain)
> >
> > Name: shapev8.shp
> > shapev8.shp Type: ESRI Shapefile
> (application/x-unknown-content-type-shpfile)
> > Encoding: base64
> >
> > Name: shapev8.shx
> > shapev8.shx Type: unspecified type (application/octet-stream)
> > Encoding: base64
--
Lyndon Zimmermann
BE (Mech Adelaide) Grad Dip Bus Admin (UniSA)
"Bioenergy Atlas for Australia" Co-ordinator
University of Adelaide Agronomy and Farming Systems
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