Shape Out

The Shapefile format is used by ArcView GIS software sold by ESRI corporation. At the time of this writing, a free Shapefile viewer named ArcExplorer was available for download at the ESRI web site at the following Location.

"A shapefile stores non-topological geometry and attribute information for the spatial features in a data set. The geometry for a feature is stored as a shape comprising a set of vector coordinates. Because shapefiles do not have the processing overhead of a topological data structure, they have advantages over other data sources such as faster drawing speed and edit ability. Shapefiles handle single features that overlap or that are noncontiguous. They also typically require less disk space and are easier to read and write. Shapefiles can support point, line, and area features. Area features are represented as closed loop, double-digitized polygons. Attributes are held in a dBASE® format file. Each attribute record has a one-to-one relationship with the associated shape record."

A shapefile consist of one main file, one index file, and one dBASE table file. The suffix for the main file is .shp. The suffix for the index file is .shx. The suffix for the dBASE table is .dbf. NOTE: The 8 character limit on filenames has been removed, and ShpOut now supports the long filenames.

Main file:	counties.shp
Index file:	counties.shx
dBASE table:	counties.dbf

Shapefiles may only contain one feature per file. This means that points and lines must be translated into separate files. This also means that the file containing lines will have either all polylines or all polygons (closed areas), but not both. You can create up to four separate file types during one translation (these are referred to as Themes in most Shapefile viewers). You may specify a postfix for each file, and also the contents and dimension (2D or 3D) of each file. A separate set of theme files can be created for each VrOne layer if needed. VrOne symbols will be translated into the point shapefile. VrOne lines will be translated into the polyline and polygon shapefile. VrOne text entities may be translated into a polylines file and represented as 2 point lines.

Shape base file name:	bnd5533
Points postfix:	pt
Polylines postfix:	ln
Text lines postfix:	tx

The attributes assigned to entities in the shapefile may be customized using the cross-reference tables. The translator will try to assign default values so a quick translation can be accomplished without editing the cross-reference tables.

The user may define the field names and types used to hold entity attributes in the shapefile. The fields are taken from the following VrOne attributes; Layer, Graphic Pointer (Line Font/Symbol Name), Non-Graphic Pointer, and Feature Code.

Layer numbers in VrOne may be cross-referenced to attributes names in the shapefile.

Line font names in VrOne may be cross-referenced to attribute names in the shapefile.

Symbol names in VrOne may be cross-referenced to attribute names in the shapefile.

NOTE: Only entities that are on layers contained in the Layer Cross-Reference table will be considered for translation.

Initializes translation parameters to default values. NOTE: Current translation parameters will be lost.

If set to Yes, will write a separate shapefile for each open workspace. The shapefile filename prefixes will be the same as the workspace filename. The theme postfixes will still be appended to each filename.

If set to Yes, will write a separate shapefile for each layer containing data. The shapefile filename prefixes will be the same as the layer name. The theme postfixes will still be appended to each filename.

The main shapefile name that translated data will be written to. The main shapefile will contain a .shp extension. The shapefile index file will use this name with an .shx extension. The shapefile dBASE file will use this name with an .dbf extension. If any of the shape files exists, they will be overwritten.

When translating VrOne data to a shapefile this parameter defines the workspaces to use. Options are “Current only” or “All open”.

This postfix will be added to the Shape base file name when creating the shape file for this theme.

A layer number line that determines what layers are used for this theme. If left blank all layers are considered.

None	This theme will not be used
Points	This theme contains points. VrOne symbols will be written to this file.
Polyline	This theme contains polylines. By default only open lines will be written to this file. The “Include all open and closed lines” option can be used to override this.
Polygon	This theme contains polygons. By default only closed lines will be written to this file. The “Include all open and closed lines” option can be used to override this, in which case lines that are open in VrOne will have a segment added from the last point to the first point in the shapefile.
Text Lines	This theme contains two-point polylines representing text entities. Each VrOne text entity is translated as a two-point line passing horizontally through the center of the text label.
Text Points	This theme contains single points representing text entities. Each VrOne text entity is translated as a point.

If this theme contains polylines or polygons, this determines if all lines are written out or only those that match the content type. For example, if the theme content is polylines, then normally only open lines are written. If this box is checked, then all closed line will also be written to the polylines file. On the other hand, if the content is polygons, then normally only closed lines are written out. If this box is checked, then all open lines will also be written to the polygons file.

NOTE: The free ArcExplorer shapefile viewer does not display elevations when viewing 3D files.

Allows editing of feature name fields that correspond to VrOne entity attributes. Layer, Graphic Pointer (Line Font/Symbol Name), Non-Graphic Pointer, and Feature code attributes may all be mapped to feature attributes in the shapefile database. For instance, if the VrOne Layer attribute is mapped to a shapefile feature named "LAYER", then the shapefile database will contain a LAYER field for each entity, and it will be filled with the value specified in the Layer cross-reference.

This list box displays the VrOne attributes that can be cross-referenced to shapefile feature fields. Clicking an entry will copy the settings to the Shape File Feature fields where they may be changed. Always press the “Change” button after completing any edits.

Defines the type of shapefile database field used for the selected VrOne attribute. This may be Numeric or Character.

Defines the name of the shapefile database field used for the selected VrOne attribute. Any name longer than 10 characters will be truncated.

Defines the maximum length of the field. A maximum value of 19 is allowed for numeric fields, and 255 for character fields. Don't specify a larger length than needed, as this affects the size of the .dbf output file.

If this is on and the field type if Float, then the attribute will be treated as a rotation angle and converted according to the Angle settings below. If your viewer supports the display of symbols with rotations, then you may need to experiment with the angle conversion settings to get the correct settings to match the rotation of symbols in VrOne.

Defines the output units when converting attributes to angles. This can be Degrees or Radians. Only used if “Use Angle Conversions” is on.

Defines the output angle direction when converting attributes to angles. This can be CW (clockwise) or CCW (counterclockwise). Only used if “Use Angle Conversions” is on.

Defines the output angle starting direction. This can be North, East, South, or West. Only used if “Use Angle Conversions” is on.

This dialog defines the settings for the cross-referencing of VrOne layer numbers attribute values in the shapefile database. The attribute field name for Layers is defined in the Edit Feature Names dialog.

An easy way to define this table is supplied by using the “Add Layers” option. This scans the current VrOne file(s) and creates a layer cross-reference entry for each layer used. NOTE: If layer names have been defined in VrOne then those layer names will be used in the table. If a layer name has not been defined in VrOne then the layer number will be used with the word “Layer” before the number.

This dialog defines the settings for the cross-referencing of VrOne line fonts to attribute values in the shapefile database. The attribute field name for Line Fonts (also known as Graphic Pointer) is defined in the Edit Feature Names dialog.

This list box displays the VrOne line font names for the current VrOne symbol file. Clicking an entry will copy the settings to the Shape File Feature fields where they may be changed.

Defines the value to be placed in the line font graphics pointer attribute field for each occurrence of this line font.

This list box displays the VrOne line font names for the current VrOne symbol file. Clicking an entry will copy the settings to the Shape File Feature fields where they may be changed.

Defines the value to be placed in the symbol graphics pointer attribute field for each occurrence of this symbol.

Scans open VrOne file(s) and copies the layers used to the layer cross-reference table. “Cross-Reference Layers" may be used to cross-reference VrOne layer numbers to shapefile attribute values. If layer names have been defined in VrOne then those layer names will be used in the table. If a layer name has not been defined in VrOne then the layer number will be used with the word “Layer” before the number.

The following may be done to translate VrOne file(s) to a DXF file in the fewest possible steps. The result will be a translation in which all lines will be translated as solid. Symbols will be translated as blocks and text labels will be translated with the proper text font styles.