Converting a geodatabase to shapefiles

Databases can be exported to shapefiles that can then be used with ArcView or delivered to a customer. The Production Geodatabase to Shapefile tool creates shapefiles based on the options you choose for exporting the feature classes and their attributes.

The Export Mode specifies the way features are exported to shapefiles. Depending on your delivery requirements or the data you are using, you can choose to export the data using only the feature classes or the subtypes.

You can also choose the Attribute Mode for export, which specifies the way attribute values are exported to shapefiles. This allows you to maintain the attribute integrity for the data after the export is complete.

Finally, you can also choose to export the feature classes so they are Unicode compliant. The supported formats are UTF-8 and UTF-16, but you can also choose None if the data does not conform to either of those encoding formats.

Steps:

1. Start ArcCatalog.
2. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > Production Mapping.
3. Click the Production Geodatabase to Shapefile button on the Production Mapping toolbar.

   The Geodatabase to Shape dialog box appears.

4. Click the ellipsis (...) next to the Select the Geodatabase to export field.

   The Select Workspace dialog box appears.

5. Navigate to the geodatabase you want to convert to shapefiles.
6. Click Select.

   The path for the geodatabase you chose appears in the Select the Geodatabase to export field. The feature classes in the database, along with the number of features in each, appear in the Select Feature Classes to export list.

7. Check the check boxes next to the feature classes you want to export in the Select Feature Classes to export list.
8. Choose an option for exporting the features in the Export Mode area.
   • Feature Class Name—Shapefiles are created for each feature class selected. The shapefile's name matches the feature class name.
   • Subtype Name—Shapefiles are created for each subtype of the feature class selected. The shapefile's name matches the subtype name.
9. Choose an option for exporting the domain values in the Attribute Mode area.
   • Values—Exports domain values as numbers. Values that are strings are exported as such.
   • Descriptions—Exports domain values using their descriptions rather than their numeric values.
10. To ensure that the shapefile values are unicode compliant, choose an option in the DBF Unicode Format area.
    • UTF-8—The exported shapefile DBF tables are formatted with UTF-8 encoding.
    • UTF-16—The exported shapefile DBF tables are formatted with UTF-16 encoding.
    • None—The exported DBF tables are not formatted with any Unicode encoding.
11. Click the ellipsis (...) next to the Select the Shapefile export folder field.

    The Select shapefile output directory dialog box appears.

12. Navigate to the directory in which the shapefiles will be stored.
13. Click Select.

    The path of the directory you chose appears in the Select the Shapefile export folder field.

14. Click OK.

    A Process Complete message appears once the feature classes have been exported.

15. Click OK.