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shapefile import


mlau

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I'm having trouble with the VW shapefile import command. My shapefiles have been geo-referenced yet I am not given the option to project them when in the import dialog box. Therefore I am not able to bring them into VW to scale. I have made double sure that the shapefiles are projected and have tried different transformations. Any help would be appriciated

Mike

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The georeference option allows you to georeference a degree shapefile by projecting it using either the lambert conic or UTM projection methods. If the file you wish to import is already projected, then it's coordinates are already in some form of XY units so this option is not available to you.

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Can you please tell me if there is any resource on vectorworks interoperability with ESRI ArcGIS? One of the selling points for me with Landmark was that I could import edit and export shapefiles. So far my projected shapefiles that I import into VW are not scaled or projected correctly, as far as I can tell.

Also when I import a shapefile then export it, with no modifications made to it in VW, I try to open it in ArcView, it crashes Arcview. therefore VW must convert my projected shapefile into a projection that is foreign to my GIS software, or else it corrupts the shapefiles .dbf file. My primary question is, what is the purpose of VW's fuctionality with shapefiles? Is there intended to be interoperablity with GIS software such as ArcGIS? Shapefiles have an attribute table, can I see and modify that?

Thanks for any input.

Michael Lau

CharretteCenter.com Inc

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  • 10 months later...
projecting it using either the lambert conic or UTM projection methods.

Fascinating! Here in Finland, both are considered obsolete and antiquated. The last maps using Lambert projection were printed in 1942!

So, obviously there is no way to project shape files to the Finnish standard system (Grid27E), using Gauss-Kr?ger?

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Michael,

The shape file has its own coordinate system and unit which would be the one used to create it. If it was georeferenced using longitudes, latitudes, and degree units, this would be the coordinate system the shape file will use to store points internally. After you add the shape file to the Arcview map, you can then change the view to a predefined or custom projection like NAD, UTM, or the Finnish Uniform Coordinate System (Grid 27E). All of these are regional projections with their own origin and has nothing to do with how long they have been around. What is important to note is that Arcview does not change the coordinates in the shape file. It converts the points on-the-fly to the projected coordinate system on the map. This way you can have shape files from different sources and coordinate systems and they will be converted to a common projected coordinate system on the map.

In Arcview, once you have the correct projection and units, you probably need to export the shape file with the selected projection. The exported files will include the *.prj file and if you open this file with a text editor, you will see the projected and/or the geographical coordinate system used.

You should then be able to import the shape file into vectorworks with the correct coordinate system and unit.

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  • 1 year later...

I need to export my current VWX file to KML, but it asks for georeference information that I cannot find. The entire VWX file contains shp file imports that contained georeferenced information that were accurately layered and place during that action.

Now, as I am trying to do a KML export, it states that the files is currently not georeferenced. How can I find and access the georeference information of the original shape files and what are the best steps to take in order to accurately georeference the file and export to KML?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Olau

The lack of georeferencing datum and grid support by VW is really old news, so you can forget about being able to select any georeferencing information in VW.

Import your georeferenced shape files but into the flat ground environment which is what VW offers.

See my post on NO DATUM SUPPORT in this LandMark forum and cry.

I have just read NNA VW09 SP2 has new geospatial support for GIS Shape files so I am downloading as I write hopefully somebody at NNA woke up into real world projects need.

You would think that VW09 would already have implemented a View in Google Earth command like so many other applications? I guess that NNA havent done so due to the lack of georeferenced datum support.

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