Free shapefile viewer
Open a zipped shapefile, or its .shp, .dbf and .prj files together, and see every point, line and area on a map. Read the data for each shape, measure it, and save it as KML, KMZ, GeoJSON or CSV. No signup and nothing to install.
Drop a zipped shapefile here
or choose one from your computer or phone
KML · KMZ · GPX · GeoJSON · Shapefile. A copy is sent to us to improve the viewer and is deleted after one day.
How to open a shapefile
1. Open the shapefile
Drop the .zip on the box above, or choose the .shp file together with its .dbf, .prj and .cpg files. Hold Ctrl, or Cmd on a Mac, to pick several files at once.
2. Let the viewer place it
If the shapefile uses a projected coordinate system, such as a UTM zone or a state plane, the viewer reads the .prj file and converts every position to latitude and longitude.
3. Read and measure
Click a shape to see its row from the data table, its size and its position. Several shapefiles in one zip each get their own folder.
4. Save it as another type if you need to
The download menu saves the shapes as KML or KMZ for Google Earth, GeoJSON for web maps, GPX for a GPS unit or CSV for a spreadsheet.
What is a shapefile?
A shapefile is the map data format Esri created for its GIS software in the early 1990s. Counties, utilities, engineers and survey firms still use it to hand over parcel lines, pipe routes, site outlines and survey points.
A shapefile is really a set of files with one name. The .shp file holds the shapes and the .dbf file holds a table with one row of data per shape. The .prj file names the coordinate system and the .cpg file names the text encoding. The .shx file is an index that this viewer does not need. Esri describes the format in its shapefile technical description.
Why the .prj file matters
Many shapefiles do not store latitude and longitude. Positions are often measured in meters or feet from a local starting point, in a UTM zone, a US state plane or a national grid. The .prj file says which one.
Without it, there is no way to tell where on Earth the shapes belong, which is why a shapefile sent without its .prj file often lands in the wrong place or nowhere at all. If yours is missing, ask the sender for it, or for the whole set zipped together.
What the viewer reads from a shapefile
Everything comes from the files themselves. Nothing is added from anywhere else.
Points, lines and areas
Including shapes made of several parts, areas with holes in them and heights stored with each position.
The whole data table
Every column from the .dbf file, with numbers, dates and yes or no values, and text in UTF-8 or older Windows encodings.
Coordinate systems
UTM zones, US state planes in feet or meters and national grids such as the British National Grid, converted to latitude and longitude.
Several layers at once
A zip with several shapefiles, such as parcels, roads and points, opens all of them, each in its own folder.
Other ways to open a shapefile
QGIS
Drag the .shp file into the free QGIS program. It opens as a layer you can edit, style and save in another format.
ArcGIS Pro
Add the .shp file to a map with Add Data. ArcGIS Pro is the program the format was made for, but it needs a license.
Google Earth Pro
The free desktop version of Google Earth opens a .shp file from File, then Open, when you choose the ESRI Shape file type.
What happens to your file
The viewer opens the file inside your browser, so it shows up right away. A copy is also sent to us, so we can find and fix files the viewer gets wrong. It is scheduled to be deleted automatically after one day, and until then our team may look at it to improve the viewer. Nothing is added to an account.
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From a site outline to a finished job
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