What is an SHP file?

The "shape" file format is a popular geospatial vector data format for geographic information system (GIS) software. It is developed and regulated by Esri as a (generally) open specification for data interoperability between Esri and other GIS software. The "shape" file format can spatially describe vector features: points, lines and polygons, representing for example wells, rivers and lakes. Each feature usually has attributes that describe it, such as name or temperature.

.shp - shape format; the geometry of the entity itself

.shx - shape index format; a positional index of the feature geometry to allow fast forward and backward searching.

.dbf - attribute format; Attributes in columns for each shape, in dBase IV format

.prj - projection format; the coordinate system and projection information, a text file describing the projection using a known text format

.sbn and .sbx - a spatial index of entities

.fbn and .fbx - spatial index of read-only entities

.ain and .aih - an attribute index of active fields in a table

.ixs - geocoding index for read-write datasets

.mxs - geocoding index for read-write datasets (ODB format)

.atx - attribute index of the .dbf file as .columnname.atx shapefile (ArcGIS 8 and later)

.shp.xml - geospatial metadata in XML format, such as ISO 19115 or other XML schema

.cpg - used to specify the code page (only for .dbf) to identify the character encoding to be used

.qix - an alternative spatial index on four trees used by the MapServer and GDAL / OGR softwares

In each of the .shp, .shx and .dbf files, the shapes in each file correspond one after the other (the first record in the .shp file corresponds to the first record in the .shx and .dbf files). files, etc.). The .shp and .shx files have different fields with a different purpose. Therefore, those responsible for implementing file formats must pay close attention to the purpose of each field and the appropriate treatment.

MyEasyFarm currently only supports additional .prj files.