ogr2ogr Or arcpy for csv to shapefile?

Question

Can ogr2ogr or arcpy do a direct csv to shapefile conversion? I'm trying to automate some processes with a small script and was hoping I can do it easily with ogr2ogr or arcpy which I'm new to.

Any input would be appreciated.

Answer 1

It can be done with ogr2ogr easily.

Assuming you have a csv-file containing coordinates, like for example (has to be comma seperated):

coord.csv

x,y,z
48.66080825,10.28323850,0
48.66074700,10.28292000,0
48.66075045,10.28249425,0
48.66075395,10.28249175,0
48.66077113,10.28233356,0
48.66080136,10.28213118,0
48.66079620,10.28196900,0

Then you need to create a sample file (name it according to your csv) in the same directory:

coord.vrt

<OGRVRTDataSource>
  <OGRVRTLayer name="output">
    <SrcDataSource relativeToVRT="1">.</SrcDataSource>
    <SrcLayer>coord</SrcLayer>
    <GeometryType>wkbPoint</GeometryType>
    <LayerSRS>WGS84</LayerSRS>
    <GeometryField encoding="PointFromColumns" x="x" y="y"/>
  </OGRVRTLayer>
</OGRVRTDataSource>

Then run:

ogr2ogr -f "ESRI Shapefile" . coord.csv && ogr2ogr -f "ESRI Shapefile" . coord.vrt

This will give you "output.shp" in the coordinate system, you specified in the sample file.

Regards,

muxav