James asks:
How do I convert KML (from Google Earth) to SHP (in ArcMap)?

ExpertGPS Pro can import Google Earth KML and KMZ files, and then export them in shapefile format (.shp) so you can view your data in ArcMap or other GIS software. I've written a step-by-step tutorial on converting KML data to SHP using ExpertGPS Pro.

Drew asks:
Will your software convert from Garmin Mapsource GDB to ESRI SHP? I have a file with multiple routes in one GDB file and I need to convert them all at one time to a shapefile line dataset. This is not a ESRI geodatabase (GDB).

Yes, ExpertGPS Pro can easily combine your Garmin MapSource GDB databases, and convert them to a single ESRI shapefile. Import the GDB files into ExpertGPS Pro by clicking Import on the File menu, and selecting the GDB files. Now select the coordinate format and datum used in ArcView. Now click Export on the File menu, and change the file type to ESRI Shapefile (.shp). ExpertGPS Pro will convert your GDB data to a shapefile in the coordinate format and datum you selected. ExpertGPS Pro can reproject your Garmin data to UTM, US State Plane Coordinates, lat/lon, or pretty much any geographic projection used in the world today.

Marie C. asks:
I'm having trouble viewing GIS shape files that I had imported into ExpertGPS. I clicked send to GPS and the transfer was said to be made successfully. But, now I can't figure out how this will be viewed on the etrex. Also, I have many way points for all different projects. This is getting a bit confusing when the locations are overlapping. Is there a way, once I'm able to view them, to put the way points in a named file on ExpertGPS>

I'm often asked by Garmin GPS users, "what happened to the waypoints I just sent to my GPS?" The answer is, it's on your GPS, but Garmin's default user interface settings make it difficult to find. The short answer is that your Garmin displays the nearest 15 waypoints on the Find Waypoints screen, and that's why it appears your data isn't in that list. Here's an article I wrote explaining how to get your points to show up on your Garmin GPS.

To keep your GPS from getting cluttered with data from several projects, I always recommend using ExpertGPS Pro to back up your GPS data after each project. Once your data is backed up on your computer, you can then clear the GPS memory using the Reset command on the GPS, usually found on the Trip Odometer page (check your manual). This means you're starting every project with an empty GPS, maximizing the space you have to display GIS data and collect new waypoints and tracks in the field.

Of course, if there are common waypoints you refer to on every job, you can keep these in a seperate file in ExpertGPS, and send them to your GPS after you clear the waypoints and tracklogs from the GPS memory.

Chad W. asks:
Our city is in the process of looking for map software that will enable us to go out and mark all fire hydrants, water valves, man holes etc. and then load these points to a gps for future use. Will this software accomodate us with these features?

Yes, ExpertGPS will allow you to do this easily. Since your GPS doesn't have symbols for manholes and water valves, you can choose different symbols on your GPS to represent each of these items (Garmin GPS receivers have a Drinking Water symbol, which could represent a valve, for example). ExpertGPS allows you to assign data types to waypoints based on the symbol used on the GPS, so that every Drinking Water waypoint would be given the type "Water Valve" when you receive the data from your GPS. You can customize the way Water Valves are displayed on the maps in ExpertGPS using the Edit Waypoint Type dialog.

Also can the map display street layout instead of the satellite views?

ExpertGPS can't currently display your data over street maps, but you can scan your own paper maps or bring in GIS data to represent the streets. The ExpertGPS help file has complete details about preparing and geo-referencing your maps for use within the program.

Stacy X. asks:
What is the best method to create a gpx or kml file of an area filled polygon that has islands (a lake shp file). When I export as a gpx, it creates a polyline where the end node of the lake outline connects to the end nodes of each of the islands. When I export as a kml, the fill of the polygon is not complete. The strange part is when you zoom in, the lake polygon will fill; then if you zoom out, it empties.

ExpertGPS Pro allows you to draw, view, and import polygons with complex geometry, including filled objects with holes in them. You can use this feature to draw lakes with islands, a park boundary with private land inholdings, or other complex shapes. Here's how to create the "donut" shown at right.

Begin by drawing the outer shape, using the shape tool. I clicked to draw the four corners, and then pressed Enter to finish the drawing and connect the fourth corner back to the start. (This happens automatically when you select a filled shape type)

I then drew the inner hole using the shape tool. Add the shape points in counter-clockwise order! This is important - most GIS and 3D systems consider counter-clockwise polygons to be inner holes.

Once the two shapes are drawn, select both by clicking the outer one with the Select tool, holding Shift, and selecting the inner one (or ones, if there are multiple holes). Right click, and click Join Shapes to convert the selected shapes into one composite shape. ExpertGPS will recognize the inner holes and leave them unfilled. If you calculate area, ExpertGPS will subtract out the area of any inner polygons, giving you the correct acreage of your lake or property.

You can now export the shape to your GIS software in shapefile format, or click View in Google Earth to see the lake or property boundary over the aerial imagery in Google Earth.

Arvind asks:
I have whole bunch of files in csv (or excel) similar to the one attached. How can I create KML or SHP files from here. Once imported to EXPERT GPS, can I add/edit attributes?

This is an advanced tutorial, showing several strategies you can use to manipulate just about any data in Excel or your favorite spreadsheet program (I use the free OpenOffice Calc) to get it into a standard format that ExpertGPS can import, map, and convert to KML, SHP, and/or DXF.

ExpertGPS can import CSV and text data directly - just copy and paste into either the Waypoint List or the Track List. However, the data in the file above is in a strange format - each line contains two latitude/longitude coordinate pairs - a starting point and and ending point. Each line is its own two-point line segment, and when plotted all together, they define a complete route.

Whenever I see multiple coordinates on the same line, I stop thinking about the CSV import function in ExpertGPS (which expects a single point per line) and instead start thinking about Google Earth's KML format. Basically, my strategy is to use the formulae in Excel to build up a KML file which I can then paste right into ExpertGPS.

A Bare-Bones KML File

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><kml xmlns="http://www.opengis.net/kml/2.2"><Document>
<Placemark><LineString><coordinates>-104.57638956,39.70689113 -104.56884853,39.71147660 -104.56015453,39.70639827 </coordinates></LineString></Placemark>
</Document></kml>

Above is a very basic KML file, just a line with three points. Let's call the first line the KML Header and the third line the KML Footer. The line in the middle is what we want to create in Excel - one of these for each row in the CSV file.

I used the Text to Columns command (on the Data menu in OpenOffice Calc and Excel) to split the coordinates out into four new columns, as seen above. Then I used the CONCATENATE function in Excel to build up a KML LineString Placemark for each row. IMPORTANT: KML puts longitude before latitude!

I added the KML Header to the very first line of the new column, and added the KML Footer at the bottom row.

Now I just select the entire column, copy, and paste into the map in ExpertGPS. It worked - all of the data from Excel matches up perfectly with the color aerial photos underneath. From here, I can export to ESRI SHP, to AutoCAD DXF, or edit the created tracks in ExpertGPS to add attributes prior to saving in GPX or KML format.

Need help converting a GPS, GIS, or CAD file?

The article above should give you some ideas of how you can use ExpertGPS and your spreadsheet software to convert just about any delimited text data to another GIS, CAD, or GPS format. The ExpertGPS Blog contains lots of tutorials on these sorts of conversions (most are MUCH easier than this, once you've downloaded a trial copy of ExpertGPS!). If you still need help, contact me using the Ask the GPS Expert link above - I'm always happy to help.

JC asks:
I want to download ArcMap shapefiles to a Garmin Oregon 400t, simple polygons w/IDs, lines, and points. Ideally, one or two attribute columns like vegetation type or survey number would be included. I'd then take the Oregon out and re-trace the shapefile perimeters and look for changes in the vegetation. Maybe "draw" a few more polygons using tracks and waypoints, then save and download the change data into your software, and export it as shapefiles, depending on the type of feature it is. So, import from ArcMap (or generic shapefile), download to Garmin as a layer, make waypoint "edits" then transfer back to ArcMap as shapefile. Will your software do these things?

Yes, you can do all this using ExpertGPS Pro. There are a few "gotchas". The Oregon can hold 10,000 trackpoints, and 20 saved tracklogs. That means you'll be limited to 20 polygons from the shapefile, unless you use ExpertGPS to join some of them together. You can map one of the attribute columns to the track name, and a second to the description/notes field on the track.

Once you get the data the way you want it on the GPS receiver, ExpertGPS Pro will allow you to import updates from your field survey and add the modified polygons back to your master database in ArcMap.

Warren H. asks:
I have just purchased ExpertGPS Pro with GIS support. I would like to add some of the orthophotos I use in Arcview to this program. I have world files for these images. I know I can manually "calibrate" the images, but that is not nearly as accurate as the information from the world file. Is there any way to manually enter the information from the world file to calibrate the image, or do I have to estimate points by selecting a point and assigning a lat/lon to the point?

How to Import Orthophotos with a World File into ExpertGPS Pro

ExpertGPS Pro will read the worldfile accompanying your orthophoto and extract the geo-referencing information from it. All you have to do is change the File Type selector in the Add Scanned Map dialog, so that you can select the World File rather than the image itself.

Click Open Scanned Map Library on the Map menu, and then click the Add button. This will bring up a "browse for file" dialog where you can select the image to import. At the bottom of this dialog is a file type selection drop-down list, which by default is set to select the image file itself (.jpg, .tif, .png, .bmp). Change this selection to World File (.jgw, .tfw, .pgw, .bpw) and now you can select the World File that accompanies your image.

ExpertGPS will do the rest. All you have to do is click the Edit button in the Scanned Map Library, and select the correct projection and datum. ExpertGPS Pro has already imported all of the geo-referencing data from the worldfile.

Related Topics
ExpertGPS Help File: Add Scanned Map command