Export To Shapefile Command

The Export to Shapefile command of CivilGEO software allows the user to export a specific layer or set of features of the defined model as shapefiles. Saving the data in the shapefile format allows the user to use it with other applications effortlessly.

Follow the steps below to use the Export to Shapefile command:

Right-click on the layer in the Map Data Layers panel and then select the Export to Shapefile command from the displayed context menu.
The Export to Shapefile dialog box will be displayed.

The following sections describe the Export to Shapefile command and how to interact with the above dialog box.

General Options

This tabbed panel is used to define the general options for exporting the layer as a shapefile.

Selecting Shapefile

The Select Shapefile section allows the user to define the location where the user can save the exported results. Click the […] button beside the File name entry to specify the directory location and file name to save the exported results. The software will display the Select Shapefile dialog box. From the displayed dialog box, browse to the location to save the file, enter the file name (it should have a file extension of .shp), and then click the [Save] button.
Select Shapefile dialog box

On clicking the [Save] button, the Export to Shapefile dialog box will be redisplayed, and the complete directory path and file name will be shown in the File name entry.
File name entry

Shapefile Limits

This section is used to define the maximum limits for exporting the shapefile.
Shapefile Limits section

The following options are available:

Layer source extents
On selecting this option, the exported shapefile will have the same extents as the original source data.
User-defined limits
This option allows the user to draw a rectangular extent which defines the shapefile limits. Click the [Pick] button to select the shapefile limits on the Map View. The dialog box will temporarily disappear, and an informational message will be displayed on the status bar instructing the user to draw the rectangular extent. Click and drag a rectangular region to define the limits. After releasing the mouse, the Export to Shapefile dialog box will be redisplayed, and the status of the User-defined limits read-only field will be changed from Undefined to Defined.
Clipping Polygons
This option allows the user to select one or more existing polygons to define the shapefile limits. Click the [Pick] button to select the polygon shape region(s) on the Map View. The dialog box will temporarily disappear, and a prompt will be displayed on the status bar instructing the user to select the clipping polygons. Select the clipping polygons on the Map View and press the [Enter] key or right-click and select Done from the displayed context menu. The Export to Shapefile dialog box will be redisplayed, and the total number of selected polygons will be displayed in the Clipping polygons read-only field.
Model extents
Select this radio button option to use the model extents to define the shapefile limits. If a project model has been defined, this option will create a bounding rectangular region to correspond to the extent of the defined model, plus an additional buffer boundary.

Modify Schema

This optional section contains a data table that allows the user to add/edit shapefile attributes such as name, values, and data types.
Modify Schema section

This data table requires the following data:

Field Name
This data column is used to define the field name to add to the shapefile layer.
Field Type
This dropdown combo box is used to select the data type of the field defined above. The following data types are provided:
1. Date
2. Floating Point
3. Integer
4. Text
Width
This spin control button is only available for text field types. This spin control can range from 1 to 255. Any strings longer than the field width that do not fit into the field format will suffer truncation.

Filter Geometry Entities

This section allows the user to select single or multiple shapes when exporting the layer as a shapefile. The user can check the checkboxes corresponding to the shapes to export them in the shapefile.
Filter Geometry Entities section

Spatial Reference

This tabbed panel allows the user to specify the Coordinate Reference System (CRS) for the layer.
Spatial Reference panel

Note that this panel works similar to that of the Spatial Reference panel of the Export HEC-HMS to CAD command. Hence, refer to this article in our knowledge base to learn more about it.

Exporting the Layer

When all the options have been defined, click the [Export] button. The software will then export the layer as a shapefile at the specified location.