CSV to Shapefile Converter
Turn an inventory spreadsheet, survey export, or asset register into a Shapefile ready for ArcGIS or QGIS.
Common issues converting CSV to Shapefile
- Shapefile DBF column names are capped at 10 characters and uppercased. Longer names are truncated — rename in the spreadsheet before conversion to control the truncation.
- DBF supports only Character, Numeric, Logical, and Date types. Object-typed columns and mixed-type columns fall back to Character (string). Numeric precision is capped at 15 digits.
- Shapefile holds one geometry type per file. CSV converts to a Point shapefile; if you need MultiPoint or another type, restructure the source data.
- Output is a .zip bundle containing .shp/.shx/.dbf/.prj/.cpg. Unzip in QGIS/ArcGIS — do not point the tool at the .shp alone.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my column 'population_estimate' showing as POPULATION in the output?
DBF truncates field names to 10 chars and uppercases them. Rename the source column to ≤10 chars to control the result.
Does the .prj file ship by default?
Yes — a WGS 84 .prj is included so downstream tools recognise the CRS without prompting. The .cpg declares UTF-8 encoding for proper non-ASCII attribute support.
Can I convert a CSV without explicit lat/lng columns?
No — you need point coordinates. Geocode addresses first (Nominatim, Mapbox, Google Geocoding) and add lat/lng columns, then convert.
What if a numeric value exceeds DBF's precision?
Values beyond 15 significant digits round-trip as truncated. Cast to string in the source if you need to preserve exact-string fidelity (rare for geo data).