In the first post of this series, GPS TrackMaker was used as a simple way to export point and line shapefile data to Google Earth’s KML format. But GPS TrackMaker is limited in its ability to export shapefile attribute data; it can only export one attribute to label each shape plotted. And it has difficulty dealing with shapefiles that have large numbers of vertices. Today’s post will deal with a simple free program that allows you to export data from multiple attributes to the KML file, and which also seems to have fewer problems with large shapefiles.
Continue reading ‘Export Shapefiles To Google Earth II – Shp2KML Converter’
There’s lots of cool and useful geographic data being produced in Google Earth’s native KML file format these days. But there’s also lots of geographic data available online in the standard shapefile format, compatible with most GIS software. Extensions to ArcGIS, like Brian Flood’s Arc2Earth ($99/$299) and Valery Hronusov’s KMLer ($20/$35/$50), can create KML files from ArcGIS data, but these are not only expensive but require that you have ArcGIS 9 or higher installed, a program that lists for $1500. It would be nice if there were cheaper alternatives, and there are.
Continue reading ‘Exporting Shapefiles To Google Earth I – Quick And Simple’
Shapefiles are the most common format for GIS vector data, and just about every GIS program, free or commercial, can open them. Unfortunately, older vector data is often in the ArcINFO interchange E00 format which, unlike shapefiles, isn’t a well-documented format. Many free GIS programs can’t open E00 files at all, and even those few that can often have problems handling them correctly. But there’s a fairly simple two-stage process that can accurately convert vector E00 files into shapefile format.
Continue reading ‘Converting E00 Vector Data To Shapefiles – A Free And Fairly Painless Approach’
Rich of GPS TrackLog points out that the demo version of OziExplorer has the ability to open shapefiles, and export the data to a GPS. I’d avoided looking at OziExplorer because I thought it was shareware, and you’re obligated to pay $85 for registration to use it. But Rich is right – the demo version does let you import shapefiles, and send them to a GPS. And it does a bunch more as well:
Continue reading ‘GPS/GIS/Google Earth Import/Export With OziExplorer’
GPS units are often used to gather data for export to, and use in, GIS. But there may be times when you might want to do the opposite – take GIS data and export it to a GPS. For example, you might have an area shapefile demarcating survey areas, and it could be helpful to import the boundaries of that area into your GPS unit, so that you’ll know when you’re inside (or outside) the survey area. Or you might have a point shapefile with the positions of sampling spots; it would be convenient to be able to import those sampling spot positions into a GPS as waypoints, and then use the waypoint positions to navigate to them. Two of the programs I’ve posted about earlier have the capability to import GIS data in shapefile format into a GPS unit.
Continue reading ‘Importing GIS Data Into a GPS Unit’
In a previous post, I covered DNRGarmin, the best solution out there for downloading data from Garmin GPS units and converting it to the GIS-friendly shapefile format. But what you do you do if you don’t have a Garmin, or you have a mix of Garmin and other brands and want to stick to a single process flow? It can be done, but it takes a bit more work than with DNRGarmin.
Continue reading ‘Exporting GPS Data To GIS II – Generic Solutions’
Geodetic-quality GPS units are usually able to output data directly into a GIS-friendly format like shapefiles, either with built-in software or with add-on packages like Trimble’s Terrasync or ESRI’s ArcPad. But what if you have a consumer-grade GPS unit without the ability to run this software (or you don’t feel like coughing up hundreds of dollars to buy a copy)? This post and the next one will cover some options for downloading data directly from a GPS and converting it to the GIS-friendly shapefile format. First up – an easy solution for Garmin GPS owners.
Continue reading ‘Exporting GPS Data To GIS I – Garmin GPS Units’
