Why is my shapefile not working?

Although a very common format for storing spatial vector information (polygons, lines, points), shapefiles can contain geometry errors or other misinformation that prevents them from functioning properly. If you are using a zipped shapefile and are not returned results, please consider the following:

  • The shapefile must be saved as a .zip file and contain the .shp, .shx, and .prj files of the shapefile. Only include one shapefile per .zip file.
  • Shapefiles may not work with Internet Explorer web browser. Please use Chrome.
  • 3D shapefiles are not supported, please convert to 2D.
  • Shapefiles can contain geometry errors. Please check and fix the geometries of the shapefile and try again.
  • Shapefiles with complex geometries (i.e., polygons with many vertices) or many features will result in an error. Please reduce the number of features or simplify them.
  • You may only analyze one feature at a time: after loading the shapefile, click on the feature to be analyzed; a popup will appear above the feature with the ability calculate time series for that feature only.
  • Sliver polygons (really, really small polygons that are likely mistakes) will result in an error. Please check and fix the geometries of the shapefile.
  • Although multipart polygons are compatible with the RAP, singlepart polygons are recommended. Convert to singlepart polygons.
  • Only the first 50 features of the shapefile will be loaded; the remaining features will be discarded.