Tools for GIS Data Conversion

Data describing geographic region boundaries is used in Logi Info as either a GPX or KML file. In addition, data is also widely available in shapefiles (SHP). Note that these files need to use the standard Mercator projection, based on the WGS 1984 Ellipsoid projection, that Google Maps requires; "conic" projections, for example, will not work. A search of the Internet will yield many hits for software tools, free and paid, that can convert GIS data into these formats. Logi Analytics does not specifically endorse or recommend any particular tool but we have experimented with the following.

The following resources are provided to you as a courtesy. They're external resources not associated with Logi Analytics and we cannot guarantee that the links provided will remain viable. Developers are encouraged to search the Internet for their own resources.

SHP2KML 2.0

The SHP2KML program (freeware) available at http://www.zonums.com/shp2kml.html will convert a SHP file into a Google KML file.

GPSBabel

The GPSBabel program (licensed under GNU - but should be fine for just about every use except re-distribution) is available at http://www.gpsbabel.org/ and will convert KML to GPX format.

GPS Visualizer

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/convert_input?convert_output=gpx
This is a free online conversion tool which is probably good for small files but not larger ones.

ExpertGPS

ExpertGPS makes it very easy to convert SHP files into GPX or KML formats and is available at http://www.expertgps.com/ The program isn't free, but it's relatively low cost ($74.95 for personal use) and is available in a 30-day trial version. The program makes it very easy to convert between SHP and other file formats. When you download a .zip file containing SHP files, it will contain three files. You'll need to unzip all three files to a folder and then use the "Import" function of the ExpertGPS program to generate the GPX file (you'll only select the .shp file for import but the process reads from the other two files to get the appropriate labels and other metadata). To create the appropriate GPX file for Logi Info to work you need to make sure that you're populating the "Description" field with the boundary name from the SHP file (e.g. zip code, county, etc); it's suggested that you leave all the other fields empty to create the smallest possible GPX file.