NAME

       shptree - create a quadtree-based spatial index for a Shape data set

SYNOPSIS

       shptree [ shpfile [depth] [index_format] | -v]

DESCRIPTION

       shptree  creates  a  quadtree-based  spatial  index for a Shape data set. The default tree
       depth is calculated so that each tree node (quadtree cell) contains 8 shapes. Do  not  use
       the  default with point files, a value between 6 and 10 seems to work ok. Your millage may
       vary and you'll need to do some experimenting.

       This utility is a must for any MapServer application that uses Shape  data  sets.  shptree
       creates  a  spatial index of your Shape data set, using a quadtree method. This means that
       MapServer will use this index to quickly find the appropriate shapes to draw. It creates a
       file  of  the  same  name as your Shape data set, with a .qix file extension. The quadtree
       method breaks the file into 4 quadrants, recursively until only a few shapes are contained
       in each quadrant. This minimum number can be set with the depth parameter of the command.

OPTIONS

       shpfile
              The name of the .shp file to index.

       depth  (Optional)  The  maximum  depth  of  the index to create, default is 0 meaning that
              shptree will calculate a reasonable default depth.

       index_format
              (Optional) One of:

              NL     LSB byte order, using new index format

              NM     MSB byte order, using new index format

       The following old format options are deprecated:

              N      Native byte order

              L      LSB (intel) byte order

              M      MSB byte order

       The default index_format on this system is: NL

       -v     Display mapserver version and build options.

NOTES

       Shape data sets are native to MapServer, and therefore do not require the  .shp  extension
       in  the  DATA path of the LAYER. In fact, in order for MapServer to use the .qix extension
       you MUST NOT specify the extension, for example:

              LAYER
                ...
                DATA "us_states"    #MapServer will search for us_states.qix and will use it
                ...
              END

              LAYER
                ...
                DATA "us_states.shp" #MapServer will search for us_states.shp.qix and won't find it
                ...
              END

       Note: As of MapServer 5.2 the qix will be used even when the .shp extension is specified.

EXAMPLE

       shptree us_states.shp
         creating index of new  LSB format

       Result:
              A file named 'us_states.qix' is created in the same location. (note  that  you  can
              use  the  shptreevis(1) utility to view the actual quadtree quadrants that are used
              by MapServer in this qix file)

SEE ALSO

       shptreetst(1), shptreevis(1), sortshp(1)

       The  shptree  wiki  page  ⟨https://github.com/mapserver/mapserver/wiki/ShpTree⟩  may  also
       contain information on this utility.

                                         18 January 2017                               shptree(1)