Import Custom Layer (Polygon, Line, and Point Shapefiles)

Modified on 2018/01/11 19:51 by Adam — Categorized as: Uncategorized

Import line, point, or polygon shape files into Surety^® Pro and assign them to their own layer with the Custom Layer Import feature.

Access the custom layer import feature by hovering over the File > Import > Custom Layer

Import Polygon shape(s) into Surety® Pro as a new custom layer.¶

Importing the borders into a custom layer gives you the ability to keep the boundaries separate from the Borders layer, allows the stacking of different records on one location, and also offers the ability to customize the look and labeling of the boundaries, points, and lines.

Start the import process by clicking Browse or Choose file to select a supported file type.

The file types we currently support include:

ESRI Shapefiles .SHP (Hold CTRL key down to select ".shp", ".shx", ".dbf" and ".prj")
Google Files - .KML, .KMZ
Database file - .GDB
Geography Markup Language - .GML
AutoCAD vector file .DXF
JSON file - .JSON
Geographical JSON file -.GeoJson

Find and open the shape file you want to import.

You can select and import multiple files of the same type at one time.

Limitations:

You can Import only one type of vector file at a time: polygon, line, or point.
Currently, Surety Pro does not accept multi collection file types. (example: a .kml vector file that includes a point and polygon shape within it.)

To select multiple files at a time either click and drag a selection box around the files or hold the CTRL key down while selecting the files with your mouse.

Click the Upload Files button.

An error page may appear if the file you are trying to import is invalid or corrupt. Use the Click here link to send the file to us to promptly diagnose the issue. Note that we will typically reply via email. Please make sure that the email address and phone that is on your profile is valid before clicking this link. (See also: My Profile)

If the files are acceptable and no errors are presented, the next step is to choose where to put the vector files that are being imported.

There are 2 choices at this step, you can either:

Select an existing layer to import these shape files into.
- This means that you can use any of the layers that are already in your account. This includes any form layers or previously created custom layers. We will get into this option in the next section down below.
  (click here for walk-through)

Create a new layer from the shape file.
- This option will have the program look at the file and pull it's attributes to create a simple form that the information can be saved into.
- This will technically create new form as a template and anything that is saved into it can be modified.

Tip: Typically the first time that you are importing into a custom layer you will want to create a new layer from the shape file. The next time that you import, if the boundary is for a similar purpose such as a comparative sale or log file you will want to upload the data into the existing layer that you will create in this step.

You can then set the name of the layer in the Layer Name text box and the Shape File Attributes by selecting the Set Layer Properties Link (Optional).

If you click on the Layer Properties link a new layer properties window will appear. The color is assigned randomly initially but can be changed to a different desired color. You can also click the labels tab in order to add a label to the shape.

Save when finished.

If the boundaries are expected to overlap then select the Allow Boundaries to Overlap option.

The file Attributes tell us what is contained within the vector file and what type of data it is.

Click Next to proceed to the next step.

To whom would you like to make this form available?

Select what level you want the Layer(form) available within. (Company, Location, or specific Client)

If the Crop Year is not checked, the data will be saved to every year. If checked, the data that is being imported will be imported only to that selected year.

At what entity level would you like the data to be accessible?

Here is where it is decided where the actual shape data is being saved to. Company level means the data will be available within any client within the Company account. Location limits the data to the specific selected location on the map interface. Finally a client can also be selected if you want to limit the layer's availability to when a specific client is selected.

Assign the Farm Name and Field Id to the appropriate attribute if desired.

You can also assign the border the acres from the shape file attributes if available. Otherwise the acres will calculated.

Click Save To Layer on the Summary page if everything looks correct.

Click zoom to layer to find the borders quickly.

The border will be enabled on the map and display appear according to the properties that were set for it.

You can color code, add labels, or delete the layer by clicking on it after selecting layers in the right hand panel. See: Layers

Import and create a new point shape layer¶

The same process can be applied to importing point and line shapefiles.

Here is an example of what a point layer would look like after uploaded.

Import and create a new line shape layer¶

Here is an example of what a line shapefile layer looks like after it is uploaded.

Import into an existing layer¶

If you want to import a shapefile into an existing layer then click the radio button next to Select an existing layer to import this shape file into on the Choose Layer step. Then use the drop-down selection to choose the layer that you would like to place the files into.

The importer will attempt to match any existing attributes in the layer with the attributes of the shapefile. If any adjustments needed to be made, use the appropriate drop down to adjust.

After clicking next, you can confirm the Location, Client and Crop Year that this data will be uploaded into and decide if the data will be available to more than just this specific client.

Finally a summary page is showing the placement and attributes for the files that will be saved. Click Save to Layer

Click Zoom to layer then close.