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Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) is the industry leader in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. Unfortunately their ArcView software is just one of several software packages sold by this company. But the availability of detailed documentation of this file format at the ESRI Web Site and the availability of numerous files in this format at the ESRI ArcData Web Page, and other GIS-related Web Sites were the primary reasons for writing a conversion program for this particular GIS file format.
Landview III users within the United States are likely to be satisfied with the US Census Bureau TIGER mapping data which is available for downloading in the Landview III internal data format from the same series of Web Sites that offer the Landview III software. These folks will probably view this file format conversion program as a means of supplementing their existing map data from various professional GIS-related Web Sites, as well as various governmental and regional planning agencies.
Unfortunately, folks elsewhere in the world that may be interested in using the Landview III software may be required to import almost all of their data using this format conversion program.
Note that the ESRI White Paper never mentioned the Datum that might have been used by the ArcView or other GIS software as the basis for the numerous latitude and longitude numbers that are contained in the ArcView Shape files. Since the TIGER files in Landview III use the NAD83 Datum, it is presumed that all data in the Landview III system uses this Datum. Accordingly, users of this File Format Conversion program must inquire which datum was used in preparation of the ArcView Files, and whether simply ignoring the difference between that datum and the NAD83 Datum used by the other Landview III files will lead to significant or otherwise obvious errors in the maps produced by the Landview III software. However the following utility may offer a means of resolving this issue.
TransNAD (3.1 MB) - Updated 11/21/97 This freeware utility distributed by the Wessex division of Geographic Data Technology translates ArcView (shape) and MapInfo (MIF) mapping files between the old NAD27 and the new NAD83. Note that the Webmaster has not tested TransNAD for usage with the 'shpf-mie' format conversion program.
The Webmaster suspects that non-US users of Landview III might not need to be concerned about which Datum is used for their map files as long as all of the files in their system use the identical (or similiar) Datum. However, the Webmaster must plead near total ignorance about this highly mathematical subject!
A Shape File is in reality a set of three related files:
The Shape File (.shp) record contains all of the geographic coordinates and related control information.
The Index File (.shx) record contains pointers to the beginning of each record of the Shape File.
A dBASE File (.dbf) record contains all of the related information about the associated Shape File record.
Users of Shape Files must be aware that the precise format of the dBASE file varies from one Shape File to the next. It is accordingly important to examine each Shape File to determine the nature of the information in the dBASE File as well as the names of the record fields that are used to categorize this information. Official dBASE software may be used for this purpose if such is available. Microsoft Works (an elementary 'office applications' package often included with computers sold for strictly home use) and Microsoft Access (part of some Microsoft Office packages) can also be used for this purpose. If necessary, the Wordpad program included with the Windows operating system can be used in a rather crude manner to examine the content of the dBASE file.
Shapefile checker is a freeware utility distributed by Andrew Williamson on his Andrews Handy ArcView Things Page promises to fix missing or otherwise defective '.shx' and '.dbf' files that are required for processing any ESRI Shape file. Note that the Webmaster has not tested this utility for use with the 'shpf-mie' format conversion program.
The program has been partially tested using a representative collection of ESRI ArcVew Shape files (.shp) from the ESRI Web Site that essentially duplicates the TIGER-95 data as a means of expediting the program testing process. The output file has been visually inspected for conformance to the Landview III MIE file documentation, but at this writing none of these files has been supplied to the Landview III program to insure compatibility. Unfortunately, serious programming errors are likely for this and other reasons!
The program correctly processes the following types of shape files. The existence of any other shape types in the file will cause the program to immediately exit with a file format error code in the place where the word 'Done' would appear at normal termination.
Null Shape (code 0)
Point (code 1)
Polyline (code 3)
Polygon (code 5)
The program expects to find 0x03 in the first byte of the dBASE file (Version 3?) and will immediately exit with a file format error code if any other value is found in that place.
The following data fields must be entered (in any order) before pushing the 'Start File Conversion program' button:
Three boxes under ESRI Shapefile allow the selection of Drive, Directory, and Filename of the input shape file in that order. Note that the shape file must have the '.shp' extension (enforced). Note that the associated index file ('shx' extension) and dBASE file ('.dbf' extension) must also be present (enforced).
Four boxes under 'Landview III MIE' allow the selection of Drive & Directory, the easy review of existing file names, and final specification of new filename in that order. Clicking an existing filename in the third box copies it to the fourth box so that the file can be re-used, or the filename modified as desired. Absence of a file extension results in the automatic assignment of '.mie', otherwise use of that strongly suggested extension is not enforced by the conversion program.
The conversion program will automatically enter a '0' for the FIPS place code in the current version as users are unlikely to have access to a complete set of place codes.
The conversion program will automatically enter a '0' for the scale code in the current version.
Choosing an appropriate 'Line Color' specifies the line color in the Landview III MIE record heading. A default color has been chosen for its ability to stand out on the finished map. However that color is easily changed at this point, and again within the Landview III program.
Choosing an appropriate 'Line Pattern' specifies the line color in the Landview III MIE record heading. A default line pattern has been chosen for its similarity to the commonly accepted map symbol for trails. However that line pattern is easily changed at this point, and again within the Landview III program.
Choosing an appropriate 'Line Width' specifies the line width in the Landview III MIE record heading. A default line width has been chosen for its similarity to the commonly accepted map symbol for trails. However that line width is easily changed at this point, however the effect of changing the line width at this point and the ability to change it again within the Landview III program is not known at this time.
Choosing an appropriate 'Fill Pattern' specifies the fill pattern in the Landview III MIE record heading. A default line width has been chosen for its similarity to the commonly accepted map symbol for trails. However that fill pattern is easily changed at this point, however the effect of changing the fill pattern at this point and the ability to change it again within the Landview III program is not known at this time.
The following data fields permit the user to select which data fields will be extracted from the dBASE file (.dbf) of attribute data for use with the corresponding Shapefile (.shp) records in creating the resultant Landview III MIE records. At the outset, given Gray Box is blank to indicate that none of the dBASE fields have been selected for the purpose. Successive use of the Next button allows the user to step through the names until the desired field appears in the associated Gray Box. This box will return to blank when the list of field names has been exhausted, at which point the effort to find a suitable field in the dBASE file can be tried again or abandoned. When the 'Start File Conversion program' button id finally pushed, field name in the Gray Box determines which dBASE field will be used to supply data to the indicated field in the Landview III MIE record. However, if the Gray Box is blank, the content of the adjacent white box will be supplied to all records of the output file. Note also that if both boxes are blank, the corresponding field of the output file will remain empty.
Feature Name Field. Note that an unsatisfactory name for any given segment can be easily changed after the shape file has been imported into the Landview III program.
'CFCC' field specifies the three character Census Feature Class Code. The code 'A71' is appropriate for a 'walkway or trail for pedestrians, usually unnamed'. Other codes can be found in Section 3 of the Technical Documentation for TIGER/Line Files, 1997. Use of the correct code may be helpful but is not enforced by the Conversion program.
'State Code' field specifies the first two of the 5 digit State - County' FIPS code. Use of the correct code may be helpful to the correct operation of the program but usage of this field is not enforced by the Conversion program.
'County Code' field specifies the final three of the 5 digit State - County' FIPS code. Use of the correct code may be important to the correct operation of the program but usage of this field is not enforced by the Conversion program.
Pushing the 'Start File Conversion program' button initiates the file conversion as specified above.
The 'Records Processed' window reveals the number of records successfully converted.
The 'Done' message indicates that the program terminated successfully.
Various 'FileErr' messages suggest the existence of a serious file format error in the shape file or the associated dBase file.
Pushing the 'Clear Results' button clears the record count window and restores the word 'Ready' to the results window. This window does not clear or restore default values to any other field so that the program can be easily rerun to convert a series of closely related files that contain similar data!
Supporting Organizations & Resources
