Export Esri Shapefiles (.shp/.shx/.dbf/.prj)

Export Esri (Environmental Systems Research Institute) shapefiles containing point, line, polygon, and feature data. The resulting shapefiles can be imported into geographic information systems (GIS) software (for example, Esri ArcMap).

To perform the export, Trimble Business Center creates four files each for point data, line data, and each feature type defined in the project. After export, these file are stored together in a shapefile folder.

Shape format file (.shp) - This file includes the feature geometry.
Shape index format file (.shx) - This file provides a positional index of the feature geometry.
Attribute format file (.dbf) - This file contains columnar attributes for each shape.
Projection format file (.prj) - This file describes the coordinate system and projection data.

For example, if your project includes 5 points, 2 lines, and 4 different types of features, 24 shapefiles will be created: 4 files for the points, 4 files for the lines, and 16 files for the 4 feature types (4 files for each type).

To export Esri shapefiles:

Note: For general instructions on exporting data files, see Export Data.

Select Export in Home > Data Exchange.
The Export command pane displays.
Select the GIS tab. Then select Shapefile exporter in the list.
Click in the Data field. Then select the points you want to export in a graphic or spreadsheet view.
By default the shapefile folder name is the name of the project and is displayed in the File Name field. The default location for the new folder is in the project folder.
Optionally, in the File Name field enter a different folder name and/or file path.
In the Settings list, select the distance units, coordinate type, and point attributes you want to include in the export. Also, select whether to include RTK horizontal and vertical precisions, the RTK observation date and time, and/or pipeline attributes.
Note: The Shapefile exporter enables you to select to export all important polygon and polyline feature attributes extracted for pavement conditions (for example, cracks and potholes) during a pavement inspection, including diameter, height/depth, slope length, severity level, and more, as applicable.
In addition, you can select to include or not include area, length, and ID attributes for non-pavement condition geometry in the export. (Regardless of this setting, these attributes are always exported with pavement condition geometry.)
Select Yes for the Copy related files setting if you want to copy associated attribute files/photos into a subfolder included in the resulting output folder. This allows the files/photos to be accessed and viewed in other applications via a relative file path when the output folder is moved to a different computer that does not have access to the computer on which the source VCE project is stored.
Click Export.
A new folder containing the exported shapefiles (and related files, if selected) is created in the selected location.