Importing in Shapefile Format

The Vectorworks Architect and Landmark products can import files in shapefile (.shp) format. Each geometric feature stored in the shapefile is converted to a Vectorworks object. In turn, each of these objects has a corresponding data record, which is converted from the shapefile’s database file.

To import a shapefile and select conversion options:

1. Select File > Import > Import Shapefile, and then select the shapefile to import.

Alternatively, click the file to import and drag it into an open Vectorworks file.

2. The Vectorworks program determines the appropriate units for the imported objects from the projection (.prj) file, if one is available. If no projection file is found, the current document’s units are used.

3. The Import Shapefile dialog box opens. Specify the file import options.

Click to show/hide the parameters.

Parameter	Description
Import to layer	Select the design layer to import themes from the shapefile into; by default, objects will be imported to a new layer named after the shapefile. If a projection file (.prj) is included with the shapefile, the layer is automatically set to be georeferenced based on the projection file (but it can be changed if necessary).
Edit Layer	Opens the Edit Design Layers dialog box, to edit the selected design layer’s georeferencing settings
Georeference message	If the selected layer is georeferenced, a message displays the current projection setting; otherwise, a message indicates that the layer is not georeferenced
Assign to class	Select an existing class to assign to the themes imported from the shapefile, or select New to create a new class

4. Click OK to import the file with the selected options. The Object Info palette displays the imported shapefile information.

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GIS and Georeferencing

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