Shapefile Loader

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There are many resources online that will allow the public to download shapefiles of data. For example, a lot of counties nationwide will have shapefiles of their zoning data or utility specifications. Usually this kind of public information will be free of charge but relies on the consumer of these files to view the data on another service. With LightBox Vision this ingestion and display of that data is possible.

So what is a shapefile? A Shapefile is a file that contains shapes with fields of information connected to it that will be visible on a platform like LightBox Vision as an overlay. Having this visibility on the map view that can plot to exact locations can be a very useful way to see and make decisions on data. Read further to see the requirements LightBox Vision has for loading this information as well as the steps to take.

Shapefile Requirements

Required Upload Format: Shapefiles must be contained in a zip folder, and there should be no nested folders within the zipped folder (aka a file folder within a file folder)
Required File Types: The zip folder can have various file types but must contain the following file types at minimum: .shp, .dbf, .shx, and .prj
Upload File Size Limit: 30MB
File Vertices Limit: 10,000 per polygon
Projection Types: NAD83, NAD27, WGS84, WGS 72BE, WGS 72, ETRS89, PSAD56, ID74, AGD84, AGD66, JGD2000, NZGD2000

Note:

Vertices are the individual points or coordinates that define the shape of a line segment or the boundary of a polygon.
In a polyline, vertices are used to create a series of connected line segments, forming a path or route.
In a polygon, vertices define the corners or nodes of the shape. The shapefile stores the coordinates of these vertices in a specific order to accurately represent the geometry of the feature.

If needed, there are other third party applications that can enable you to modify your Shapefiles before loading them in to LightBox Vision:

Note:

These third party applications may require some advanced knowledge of GIS tools to use. For additional assistance with these applications, please reach out to their respective Support teams.

Uploading the Shapefile

1. Click the Layers icon from the Main Toolbar.

2. Choose More Layers at the bottom of the Layers Menu.

3. Select a Folder from the folder drop-drown list in which to save your data.

The most commonly used folders are USER and SHARE.
USER allows visibility for just yourself. SHARE means a colleague with a username on the same LightBox Vision account as you can view it too.

4. Click the Load Data drop down and choose Shapefile.