Academy

GIS and mapping · Beginner · About 30 minutes, plus practice

Choose an Exchange Format: Shapefile or GeoJSON

Compare a geodatabase feature class with Shapefile and GeoJSON exports, then make one format-aware copy for a stated sharing need.

What you will make

A GeoJSON export and a comparison note explaining why the geodatabase copy remains the editable working dataset.

A file format affects field names, missing values, coordinate-reference handling, and delivery. Shapefiles are multi-file datasets and have a 10-character field-name limit. GeoJSON is a single text file suited to interchange, but its coordinate reference expectations differ from a local projected workflow.

  • Explain why a Shapefile is a set of related files rather than a lone .shp file.
  • Recognize the Shapefile 10-character field-name limit and its null-value limitations.
  • Export GeoJSON with deliberate coordinate-reference and visible-field choices.
Before you start
  • A project geodatabase feature class with a small sample dataset.
  • ArcGIS Pro access; no paid extension required for the basic conversion.
  • Starter data: open the Townscape Workshop GIS downloads, choose Bluefield or a Dickenson County town, unzip the package, and read its README and metadata. Use its supplied building and street layers for practice; they are not an authoritative parcel or assessment inventory.

Project connections: Bluefield VA comprehensive plan; Haysi downtown; Clintwood downtown reuse and housing; Red Onion industrial site marketing; Clinchco and Nora workforce and former-school reuse.

Watch and try it

Add data to your project

Linked by Esri's official tutorial. Watch the process, then make the practice product using your own data and decisions.

Watch recommended video

Recorded with ArcGIS Pro 2.8. Covers adding local data, not all shapefile or GeoJSON limitations.

Add data to your project video

Esri ArcGIS Pro documentation. The official tutorial page embeds a video about adding data from local folders and a geodatabase, including a Shapefile example.

Watch recommended video

Official tutorial-page link, not a claim that the video covers Shapefile field limits. The full sample project also uses portal content.

Work through the method

  1. Keep a working copy

    Start with the geodatabase feature class and preserve it as your working version. Geodatabases support capabilities such as richer field behavior and data-integrity tools that a Shapefile does not provide.

    Check your work: Record the source class name and geodatabase path.

  2. Inspect fields before export

    Review long field names, aliases, nulls, and text values. Shapefile output may shorten field names to 10 characters, and its numeric and text fields do not support nulls. Decide which fields a recipient actually needs.

    Check your work: Make a short field crosswalk for any names that would be shortened.

  3. Understand the Shapefile package

    A Shapefile uses related sidecar files, including geometry and attribute components. Keep the files together when sharing. It is a practical simple exchange format, not a single self-contained .shp file.

    Check your work: Name the rule you will use to keep all sidecars together.

  4. Export GeoJSON

    Use Features To JSON, select GeoJSON, and enable Project to WGS 84 for standard interchange. Check any required geographic transformation and field visibility. Standard GeoJSON uses WGS 84 longitude/latitude in decimal degrees. Keeping a different CRS writes a nonstandard crs member that many readers do not support; use that only for an explicitly agreed exception.

    Check your work: The output is a .geojson file and its coordinate choice is documented.

  5. Review the interchange file

    Open the export in a compatible GIS or text viewer and compare record count, geometry type, attributes, and map position with the source. Curves are densified during GeoJSON conversion, and unsupported joins or attachments are not carried by this conversion.

    Check your work: The export draws in the intended place and includes the intended fields.

  6. Deliver only the requested format

    Use a GeoJSON file or an agreed PDF, PNG, or CSV for practice submission. Do not upload a raw Shapefile zip unless the recipient specifically requests it. Retain the geodatabase as the editable source.

    Check your work: Your handoff note says what was exported and what remains in the working geodatabase.

Prepare a recipient-ready copy

  1. Choose one small feature class and identify the intended recipient and use.
  2. List any field names, nulls, or joins that will not transfer cleanly to a Shapefile.
  3. Export GeoJSON with the coordinate option appropriate to the receiving tool.
  4. Compare the export with the source and write a two-line format note.

Bring the method into a product

  • GeoJSON interchange file
  • Short format and coordinate-reference note

Suggested formats: GeoJSON, CSV, PDF.

Reflect: What would you ask a recipient before choosing a format for an editable handoff?

Avoid these mistakes

  • A Shapefile consists of related files; moving only the .shp can break the dataset.
  • Field truncation and null handling can change meaning, so inspect the exported table.
  • Do not assume the GeoJSON coordinate reference matches the local projected coordinates of the source.

Check your understanding

These short checks are practice, not course grades. Read the explanation, revise your reasoning and try again when useful.

What should travel with a Shapefile when you share it?
What is an important Shapefile field limitation?
What must you check when exporting a local projected dataset to GeoJSON?

Submit your practice product

Use the existing course login. Your file and notes are visible to you and the instructor, not the public or other students. Official graded assignments still go to Canvas.

Submit a PDF, image, DOCX, UTF-8 text/CSV, JSON or GeoJSON file. For several products, combine the evidence, text alternatives and notes into one accessible PDF or DOCX, or submit each file separately with the same project title. Keep native ArcGIS projects and complete shapefile bundles locally. Upload only work you can share with the instructor; leave out confidential client records and sensitive species or infrastructure locations.

My academy work

Sources and further help

Guidance may change. Follow the current source and check the software version, license, local rules and data limitations before applying the method.