Input file
SHP
- Full Name: ESRI ArcView Shape Format
- Developer: N/A
Output file
CSV
- Full Name: Comma Separated Value Format
- Developer: N/A
What is SHP file?
The SHP file extension is a computer file used to store vector-based graphical shapes, such as points, lines, and polygons. It is commonly used in a wide range of GIS (geographic information system) software typically developed by Esri Global. Files with SHP file extension are created in the .SHP format, then stored in the .DBF or .SHX format. The files concerned with SHP typically include the SHX shape index, SHP shape format points, and DBF dBase database. [ ⏩ ] SHP file extension
What is CSV file?
The .CSV file extension is a plain-text Comma Separated Values file. It is used to store tabular data in which the rows represent database records and the columns represent fields within each record. This format is popular when working with spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel, but can also be read and accessed by a variety of other programs, such as Apache OpenOffice Calc. CSV files have become a de-facto standard for sharing structured information between different programs. [ ⏩ ] CSV file extension
Software, that you can use to convert
How to convert the file from SHP to CSV?
To successfully convert the SHP file to CSV, you should install one of the applications from the list. After installing the software, open the program and select the file you want to convert (file-name.SHP). The next step is to select the target format from the list, in this case CSV (usually converters allow you to convert to several different formats, so check out their features - maybe one of the available formats will suit you more than CSV).
What is a file conversion?
A data conversion is normally an automated process to some extent. The effect of the operation of one program is automatically the input product of another application. If that does not happen we need to help the process a little bit and convert the file on our own, e.g. SHP to CSV. To obtain a matched structure of the data, it is necessary to use an appropriate converter.
Program for converting SHP files to CSV files is a kind of a "binary code translator" compensating for the differences in the code or translating it in such a way so that another application could use it. For us, as users, the visible change will be only another file extension. (After converting the file, it will be the extension CSV, while before this step we had the SHP file). For the programs, the difference is on a much higher level – either the application will be able to open a new CSV file, or not.