5.10.9. Save and view Shapes

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5.10.9. Save and view Shapes

 

Icon: clip1469

 

Function: saveShapeGIS

 

Property window:

 

clip1474   clip1471

 

Short description:

 

Create a .SHP file Or a .html file with the geometries

 

Long Description:

 

This action is used:
 

•To create .shp or .html files that contains geographical informations (geometries).
 

•To visualize your geometries using a nice graphical display.

 

All the parameters of this action are self-explanatory with the exception of the SRID parameter here:

 

clip1472

 

You’ll find more exaplantion about this parameter inside the section 5.10.10.2.
 

There are three different approaches to visualize geographical (GIS) informations:
 

•Look at small html file inside your browser.
 

•Look at a .shp file inside the small viewer embedded inside Anatella (from Avangardo.com)
 

•Design a beautiful&complex multi-layer representation using .shp files inside QGIS.

 

Here are the pros&cons of each approach:
 

Approach

PRO

CON

HTML

You can easily share the .html file with your collegue since its 100% self-contained.

 

Flexible format: e.g. you can mix POLYGON with MULTIPOLYGON inside the same file and it still works.

 

The map background is “Google Maps”: it  allows to see your geometries “in context” inside a beautifully colored map (from Google).

 

Quick to generate and view.

You can only look at geometries that are inside the 4326 SRID (i.e. with the coordinate system that is in “decimal degrees”).

 
Limited in size: Your browser (i.e. Chrome, Firefox) is displaying the geometries and it’s limited to relatively “simple” geometries with less than 1000 points (otherwise it becomes slow and irresponsive). One way to still be able to use the html approach to look at your geometries is to use the clip1470 simplifyGIS action to simplify your geometries.

 

You cannot choose the map background: it’s always “google maps”.

 

SHP
+quick viewer

To share the results, you only need to send 4 files: the SHP file, the SHX file, the DBF file and the PRJ file (you should put these 4 files inside a single zip and send the zip).

 

You can view geometries that have any SRID (i.e. with any coordinates system).

Unlimited in size: Look at very complex geometries with thousands of points instantaneously.

 

Quick to generate and view.

 

The file format is not flexible: i.e. a single geometry TYPE is allowed and a single SRID is allowed (for each different .shp file).

 

Does not support the POINT and MULTIPOINT geometry type.

 

There is no map background to see your geometries “in context”.

 

SHP
+ QGIS

You can create a really beautiful & complex vizualisation with several transparent layers (usually, one layer = one .shp file).

 

Unlimited in size: Look at very complex geometries with thousands of points.

 

You can choose any map background: By defaut, it’s “open street map” but you can also use “google maps” (if you have a key) or use any other Tile provider.

It’s more complex to share the results: a screenshot of QGIS is usually the easiest solution.

 

Slightly More Complex to use.

 

Let’s give an example of vizualisation for each approach (see section 5.10.9.1. HTML visualization).

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