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Use this command, located on the Tools Menu > Import/Export Menu, to import ESRI shapefiles
To import shapefiles:
1)From the main menu select Tools - Import/Export - Import From Shape File
2)Browse for the SHP file to be imported.
3)"Specify the type of import"
Regular: Points and polygons will be imported as-is (most common).
Create labels from point or polygon: Some applications store labels in shapefiles as point or polygon entities. Select this if a label layer is being imported. Users will then be prompted with additional questions to determine how the labels are stored.
4)"Do you want to combine like features into the same record?"
No: this is the default answer which will import the data unmodified.
Yes: Answer Yes to simplify how the data is organized. One common application of this is the combining of multiple road segment records into one record per unique road name. This makes it easier to answer questions like "where is River Rd" but removes the ability to assign other attributes to individual portions of River Rd.
5)*Specify the units used by the shapefile. Users may need to refer to the creator of these files to determine the answer to this question.
6)*Specify the coordinate system used by the shapefile. Users may need to refer to the creator of these files to determine the answer to this question.
7)Select an import method:
Add to an existing Layer: Select this option to import the SHP files into a layer that already exists on the map combining it with any content that already exists on that layer. Users will next be prompted to select an existing layer and then a list of source and destination fields will be displayed where users can specify what fields in the DBF file get copied to what fields in the destination layer for each feature that is imported.
Overwrite an existing Layer: Same as above only the layer will first be erased before importing.
Create a new Layer: Select this option to create a new Layer for this shapefile. Users will next be prompted to type a name for the new layer.
* Questions 5 and 6 will not be asked if a .prj file accompanies the shapefile set.
Notes:
•When importing to an existing layer users may combine multiple DBF fields into a single Think GIS field by mapping two or more fields in the left hand column to the same Think GIS field in the right hand column on the Field Mapping Setup. This causes the values in these fields to be concatenated together in the order they appear with a space inserted between each field.
•If Field Mapping is required and a TMGUID field is present in the Source but not the Destination layer, it is recommended that the action is canceled and a GUID field is first added to the Destination layer.
•See additional notes on shapefiles.
•Users can also add shapefiles as-is to the map using the Add Layer button on the Layer Settings screen. This eliminates the need to have to re-import the file every time it is modified but user may not be able to take advantage of the rich formatting information stored in the native Think GIS Layer format.
•Think GIS can import shape files with a total record length (sum of all field lengths) up to 4096. If a shape is imported and exceeds this limit a warning will display and give the option to choose fewer fields to import.
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