Help: Import Shapefiles
First view the tutorial movie on importing shapefiles (Flash software is required), then follow the instructions below.
Select Import Shape Files from the File menu. They may be stored on your local disk or at a remote website URL.
A window opens allowing you to browse your local computer and select the shapefile you wish to load.
Click Open.
The Layers window opens. Click on the left hand entry to select it; the right side loads.
The Main Map Window will zoom to the data location unless a selection is needed from the column on the right. In that case, select an entry. The 
button is lighted.
- Clicking opens the selected shape. One of two things will happen:
- A new shapefile will be added to the left-hand table, or
- A dialog (Grid Layer Dialog) will open for viewing/interacting with the data associated with the shape.
closes the selected shapefile.- If
is enabled, clicking it will open a browser page with additional information on the data. - Clicking
will zoom to the bounding box of the selected shape (right table). If the selected shape is a dimensionless point (type = 1, 11, or 21), the zoom will not do anything. Control+click on the selected shape to de-select it. - Click the Layers
button on the main tool bar to reopen/close the Layers dialog as needed. - The table on the left is a list of the shapefiles that have been imported. The table on the right is the attributes table for each shape in the selected shape file.