topic Re: Shapefile Creation in Civil 3D Forum

Shapefile Creation

phil_mcdevitt — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 06:34:47 GMT

Hi All,

I got asked to provide a catchment boundary as an ESRI .shp file. I was able to the Planning and Analysis Workspace and do this without a problem. I also assigned the correct co-ordinate system to the boundary. Civil 3D automatically generates a .dbf and .shx file when the .shp file is created. The software we are trying to import the .shp file into is called Good Earth Engine, it is prompting us for a .prj file which is the file that determines the co-ordinate system of the .shp file. Is anyone familiar with this file and can it be generated from Civil 3D? (files attached)

Regards

Phil

Re: Shapefile Creation

Pointdump — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 07:07:07 GMT

Hi Phil,
It's that Rectified Skew orthomorphic projection. >>>Known issue<<<. Probably has to do with Map's inability to include both Azimuth and Rectified Grid Angle parameters.
Workaround will be to MAPEXPORT to a different Coordinate System, maybe UTM, or to add and rename the EPSG:3168 PRJ. Attached.
Dave

Re: Shapefile Creation

TerryDotson — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 17:13:48 GMT

You may be able to create one yourself, using this procedure:

Obtain the current system name using the CGEOCS command (variable actually).
Issue the MAPCSLIBRARY command.
Paste the current system name in the search field.
Select the record in the grid list at bottom.
Click the [View] button at the bottom.
Click on [WKT] in the left panel.
Select the text content in the top right (WKT OGC).
Start NOTEPAD or any pure text editor.
Paste the content into the editor.
Save to the same folder and name as the ShapeFile, using the .PRJ file extension.

Ask the recipient to confirm the quality of the projection.

Re: Shapefile Creation

jefflambert9091 — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 17:40:54 GMT

I typically use the mapexport command and in the Options tab I check the "Convert Coordinates to:" and just type in the same coordinate system code and it creates the .prj on export. I have brought them back in through mapwspace connection and it reads the system. So does ArcMap. Someone may want to verify this.

Re: Shapefile Creation

Pointdump — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 21:13:39 GMT

Hi Jeff,
"...in the Options tab I check the "Convert Coordinates to:" and just type in the same coordinate system code and it creates the .prj on export."
I tried this just now. It still didn't create the PRJ file.
Dave

Re: Shapefile Creation

Pointdump — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 21:21:59 GMT

Hi Terry,
"Select the text content in the top right (WKT OGC)."
That doesn't work with this particular coordinate system in Map. I tried it just now and QGIS doesn't recognize the copy-pasted PRJ. "Unknown CRS". That's why I used the PRJ from EPSG:3168.
Dave

Re: Shapefile Creation

jefflambert9091 — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 23:18:55 GMT

Interesting. I was in KY83-SF

Re: Shapefile Creation

jefflambert9091 — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 13:23:19 GMT

I tried it again this morning. It creates a .prj file. When you click on Convert Coordinates to: it defaulted to LL84. That worked as well. See attached.

Re: Shapefile Creation

ChicagoLooper — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 15:18:05 GMT

You can try this:

Select Sempadan Negeri border and change it to a CLOSED POLYLINE.. In Properties Palette+>Misc=>Closed=>Yes (See Image-1)
Start MAPEXPORT command. On Selection Tab, make your selections as shown on Image-2.
On Options Tab, make your selection as shown on Image-3.
Connect to the new shapefile using the DATA CONNECT palette. (See Image-4)

Image-1

Image-2

Image-3

Image-4

Notes:

On the DATA TAB of the MapExport procedure, you may SELECT ATTRIBUTES from (a) Properties or (b) Object Properties. Your choices will populate the shapefile's database file or dbf.
On the OPTIONS TAB, choose EPSG 3857 or WGS84.PseudoMercator. This 'Global' coordinate system has units of meters.
You may also 'test' your newly created shapefile by importing it to Google Earth Pro (**Google Earth Pro is NOT Google Maps that you open in your browser, Google Earth Pro is a stand alone program.**) In GE Pro go to File=>Import=>Change File Type to ESRI Shape (*shp)=>Browse to shapefile=>OPEN. The appearance of the imported shp can be controlled on the bottom of the Places Panel on the left, scroll down to Temporary Places.

Re: Shapefile Creation

phil_mcdevitt — Mon, 25 Oct 2021 08:39:39 GMT

Thanks Jeff,

That worked, sorry for the slow reply, I got tied up and forgot to close this out.

Regards

Phil