[GIS] Converting .lyr to .shp in ArcMap

arcgis-10.2arcgis-desktoparcmaplayer-fileshapefile

Does anyone know how to convert a .lyr to .shp format in ArcMap 10.2?

I had a look at different forums on the internet and most people suggest that it works by right clicking on the layer in the TOC and export the data as shp, but apparently this is not true because the file extension is *. lyr .

The layer I want to export is a web map.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Best Answer

A shapefile (.shp) is a vector data storage format for storing the location, shape, and attributes of geographic features. A shapefile is stored in a set of related files and contains one feature class.

A layer file (.lyr) is a file that stores the path to a source dataset and other layer properties, including symbology.

In comparison to a shapefile, a layer file is a just a link\reference to actual data, such as a shapefile, feature class, etc. It is not actual data because it does not store the data's attributes or geometry. A layer file primarily stores the symbology for a feature and other layer properties related to what is seen when the data is viewed in a GIS application.

For example, if a layer file is sent to a user on another machine without the data it was created from, it does not display on the map because it does not contain the source data. To get the data to display properly, the user must have the layer file and the shapefile it references.

This is where utilizing layer packages eases the processing of migrating data, because layer packages store both the layer file and source data. For more information about layer packages, see the Web help topic. (http://support.esri.com/es/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/40057)

Basically your layer is already a shapefile.

Related Solutions

[GIS] Repairing link between shapefile and layer file

As you can see from the comment thread above, layer files and relative paths are a bit complicated.

The problem is that a layer file (*.lyr) can either hold absolute paths or relative paths, but there doesn't seem to be any (easy) way to ascertain which it uses, after the layer file has been created.

To create a layer file with relative paths, there are two options:

in ArcMap, choose > File > Map Document Properties > Store Relative Paths, then right-click on the layer and Save As Layer File; or
using the Save To Layer File geoprocessing tool, choose relative paths

(Obviously to choose absolute paths do the above with the other option chosen.)

So in your situation it sounds like you might need to recreate your layer file using either absolute paths or relative paths (depending on your workflow):

add the broken layer file to ArcMap
repair the source
re-save a new *.lyr file using the appropriate path option
delete the existing broken *.lyr file

[GIS] How to export all the layers from Table of Content to shp file

This could easily be converted into a toolbox script or run directly from the python window in Arcmap. It can be improved by validating the layer name before copying, duplicate naming conventions, drilling into group layers, using different data frames, etc.

But this should get you started for a simple TOC:

import os, arcpy

folder = "path\to\folder"

#Get name of vector layers in the TOC
mxd = arcpy.mapping.MapDocument("current")
df = arcpy.mapping.ListDataFrames(mxd)[0]
layers = [f.name for f in arcpy.mapping.ListLayers(mxd, "*", df) if f.isFeatureLayer]


for layer in layers:
    #Join output folder to layer name and append .shp
    shp_out = os.path.join(folder, "{}.shp".format(layer))
    arcpy.CopyFeatures_management(layer, shp_out)

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[GIS] Repairing link between shapefile and layer file

[GIS] How to export all the layers from Table of Content to shp file

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