OSA ArcView Shapefile Tutorial



ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE SHAPEFILES
Naming A Shapefile Of Archaeological Sites
The Office of the State Archaeologist has a standard way to name a shapefile which contains one or more archaeological sites. Every time ArcView creates a "shapefile" to hold shapes, actually, several similarly-named files come into being. The multiplicity of files can be daunting without a standard way to name them. The "State Site Number" AND the "Date of Investigation" (both on the associated Site Form) insures YOUR shapefiles can be distinguished from other investigators' shapefiles as they make their way into the OSA's statewide GIS of archaeological sites. Do not use special characters other than letters, numbers, "_" (underscore), and the one "." (period) before the filename three-letter extension. If spaces are included in the shapefile name or in the directory structure where it resides, ArcView will encounter problems with several processes. In the shapefile name, the date is as important as the site number. Please spell out or abbreviate the month, so we can recognize the date regardless of how it is ordered. Putting multiple site shapes into one shapefile is preferred. Examples of shapefile names when there
is one site only: 13JH311_1980jun25.shp
are multiple sites: 13JH311_1980jun25_plus.shp
State Site
Number		 The "State Site Number" from the associated Site Form insures YOUR shapefiles are submitted with the correct Site Forms and can be distinguished from other investigators' shapefiles as they make their way into the OSA's statewide GIS of archaeological sites.
Date of
Investigation		 The "Date of Investigation" from the associated Site Form insures YOUR shapefiles are submitted with the correct Site Forms and can be distinguished from other investigators' shapefiles as they make their way into the OSA's statewide GIS of archaeological sites. Please spell out or abbreviate the month, so we can recognize the date however ordered. is one site only: 13JH311_1980jun25.shp
are multiple sites: 13JH311_1980jun25_plus.shp
If One
Site Only		 13JH311_1980jun25.shp
If Multiple
Sites		 Putting multiple site shapes into one shapefile is preferred unless there is only one site to submit.
13JH311_1980jun25_plus.shp OR 13JH311_1980jun25_etc.shp OR 13JH311_1980jun25_more.shp OR something similar

Creating A Shapefile
Locate The
copy_osa
Template		 Have you previously obtained a shapefile called "copy_osa.shp" (actually three files: copy_osa.shp, copy_osa.shx, copy_osa.dbf)? If so, just remember where you put it and go to the next step. If not, obtain one now by rightclicking this link to download the OSA site shapefile template self-extracting zipfile, choose "Save Link As." Do NOT change the filetypes or name of copy_osa.exe. Change the directory path to where the copy_osa shapefile will be handy for endless future usage and "Save". Go to your File Manager application; navigate to the directory containing osa_copy.exe; doubleclick on osa_copy.exe; after the program has unpacked its files, close the little program window by clicking the X in its upper right. There should be three files named copy_osa.shp, copy_osa.shx, and copy_osa.dbf. Leave them in the directory, and do NOT rename them.
Make A New
Shapefile
Using The
copy_osa
Template		 In any open ArcView project, activate an open View (touch its top blue bar), go "File" menu "Manage Data Sources...". First, choose the shapefile to copy: remember where you put the copy_osa files; select the drive; navigate to the directory; choose copy_osa.shp; click the "Copy" button.

Next, specify the destination directory and new name: select desired drive; navigate to desired directory (should either be put in the same directory as the .apr project file or one of its subdirectories); type the new shapefile name using the OSA naming scheme as above (i.e., 13jh311_1980jun25.shp); and click the "OK" button.

The little window will then wait to see if you want to do other shapefile management; click "Cancel" to close it.

Renaming And/Or Moving A Shapefile
Remove
Project
References
To The Old
Name		 To avoid a file usage conflict when renaming a shapefile, first remove all project references to the shapefile in question.
1. Activate the little Project Window (the little window with "aprojectname.apr" in its top bar) by touching its top bar. Then activate the Tables listing by touching the left-side "Tables" icon. Next, select any line(s) present that refer to the shapefile you will soon be deleting (if there are more than one, holding down the shift key will allow you to select more than one); and go "Project" menu, select "Delete 'Attributes of 13jh311_1980jun25.shp'..." (or whatever the name of your shapefile may be), and click the Yes button in the next delete message. (This does not delete any part of the shapefile but only deletes some of the project references to the shapefile.)
2. Next, activate the "View Window" by touching its top bar; then activate the "Theme" by a singleclick on its name (whether it is un/checkmarked off/on is unimportant); and go "Edit" menu, select "Delete Themes"; and click the Yes button in the upcoming deletion message.

3. Finally, to make the project permanently 'forget' these references, go "File" menu, "Save Project As...", and click the OK button (save as usual).
Rename
And/Or
Move The
Shapefile		 In any open ArcView project, activate an open View (touch its top blue bar), go "File" menu "Manage Data Sources...". First, choose the shapefile to rename: select the drive; navigate to the directory; choose the file to be renamed (such as 13jh311_1980jun25_plus.shp); click the "Rename" button.

Next, specify the destination directory and the new filename: select desired drive; navigate to desired directory (same or new one if moving) ; type the new shapefile name using the OSA naming scheme as above (i.e., 13jh311_1980jun25.shp); and click the "OK" button.

The little window will then wait to see if you want to do other shapefile management; click the "Cancel" button to close it.

Deleting A Shapefile
Remove
Project
References
To The Old
Name		 To avoid a file usage conflict when renaming a shapefile, first remove all project references to the shapefile in question.
1. Activate the little Project Window (the little window with "aprojectname.apr" in its top bar) by touching its top bar. Then activate the Tables listing by touching the left-side "Tables" icon. Next, select any line(s) present that refer to the shapefile you will soon be deleting (if there are more than one, holding down the shift key will allow you to select more than one); and go "Project" menu, select "Delete 'Attributes of 13jh311_1980jun25.shp'..." (or whatever the name of your shapefile may be), and click the Yes button in the next delete message. (This does not delete any part of the shapefile but only deletes some of the project references to the shapefile.)
2. Next, activate the "View Window" by touching its top bar; then activate the "Theme" by a singleclick on its name (whether it is un/checkmarked off/on is unimportant); and go "Edit" menu, select "Delete Themes"; and click the Yes button in the upcoming deletion message.

3. Finally, to make the project permanently 'forget' these references, go "File" menu, "Save Project As...", and click the OK button (save as usual).
Delete The
Shapefile		 In any open ArcView project, activate an open View Window (touch its top blue bar), go "File" menu "Manage Data Sources...". First, choose the shapefile to delete: select the drive; navigate to the directory; choose the file to be deleted (such as 13jh311_1980jun25_plus.shp); click the "Delete" button; and click the "OK" button. Click the Yes button in the upcoming deletion message.
The little window will then wait to see if you want to do other shapefile management; click the "Cancel" button to close it.



Tutorial | GIS@OSA Home | OSA Home
By Heidi M. Lack, August, 2000.