Map files & formats · 4 min
Open a map file someone sent you
What to do with a .shp, .kmz or .gpkg in your inbox when you don't have GIS software.
Map files & formats
First, look at the ending
The file ending tells you what you have: .shp (Shapefile), .geojson or .json, .kml or .kmz, .gpx, .gpkg (GeoPackage). A .zip often holds a Shapefile's set of files.
You don't need desktop GIS to look inside any of them. A browser map can open most of them directly.
Lesson notes
Everything from the cards above, on one page to come back to.
First, look at the ending
The file ending tells you what you have: .shp (Shapefile), .geojson or .json, .kml or .kmz, .gpx, .gpkg (GeoPackage). A .zip often holds a Shapefile's set of files.
You don't need desktop GIS to look inside any of them. A browser map can open most of them directly.
Drop it on the map
In the MapGO workspace, GeoJSON, KML, KMZ, GPX and zipped Shapefiles open in your browser for everyone, with all their data columns. Nothing is uploaded.
When you are signed in, more formats open too, such as GeoPackage, File Geodatabase, MapInfo, DXF and CSV. Those show the shapes only.
Read the data behind the shapes
Every shape usually carries a row of facts: a name, an ID, a value. Open the attribute table to see them all as a spreadsheet, and click a shape to see its own row.
If the shapes look right but the table is empty, the data part of the file (for a Shapefile, the .dbf) was probably left out.
Questions
How do I open a Shapefile without GIS software?
Zip the .shp, .shx, .dbf and .prj files together and drop the zip onto a browser map such as the MapGO workspace.
How do I open a KMZ file?
A KMZ is a zipped KML. Google Earth opens it, and so does the MapGO workspace, in your browser.