Convert – How to Batch Convert XY to Shapefile

batchconvertcsv

I have about 300,000 CSV files which I want to convert to shapefiles, but ArcGIS and QGIS can only convert one CSV at a time.

Are there any ways to batch convert my CSVfiles?

x y z1 z2 z3 z4
1 2 3  4  5  6

My csv files just have a few columns like above

Can any one help me?

Best Answer

If you really have ~300,000 csv files, I honestly hope that you don't want that many resultant shapefiles... For your sake, I hope that was a typo.

It is relatively simple to batch any tool in ArcGIS--you just right click on it and select 'batch'. I'd look into using Make XY Event Layer. As the layer is temporary, you'll want to save it. From the help:

The output point feature layer created by this tool is temporary and will not persist after the session ends. You can export this event layer to a feature class on disk using the Copy Features, Feature to Point, or Feature Class to Feature Class tool.

If you want just 1 shapefile, you need to concatenate the csv files. Something like this post should get you started. You'll need to edit it some to not write the headers from each file.

Related Question