Shape files store GIS data. More specifically, they store nontopological geometry and attribute information for the spatial features in a GIS data set. Shapes define positions, boundaries and areas. TPC supports the shape definitions defined in ‘ESRI Shapfile Technical Description – An ESRI White Paper – July 1998’.
Shape files come in sets of three – 1) a Shape file (.SHP) that includes the shapes themselves, 2) an Index file (.SHX) that stores the locations of the individual shapes in the Shape file and 3) a Database file (.DBF) that stores the attributes of each shape.
The three files always share the same file name, as in Phase1.SHP, Phase1.SHX and Phase1.DBF.
Every Shape file must also have an Index file and Database file. Therefore, when TPC writes a shape file, it also writes the corresponding index file and database files.
A shape is a set of vector coordinates that define a feature. TPC supports a number of shapes, including Points, Polylines and Polygons. A hard and fast rule of shape files is that a shape file can contain only one kind of shape. So all the shapes in a file must be points, polylines, or polygons, etc.
TPC can export Points, Traverse and Drawings as shape files. You’ll want to consider which export option is best for you.
TPC can import shape files into the survey, creating points and traverses or into a drawing, creating points and polylines.
Using Shape Files
What Shapes Are Supported
Exporting Point Shapes
Exporting Traverse Shapes
Exporting Drawings
Importing Shapes into a Survey
Importing Shapes into a Drawing
Shape Settings
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