NAME

       shp2pgsql - shapefile to postgis loader

SYNTAX

       shp2pgsql [options] shapefile [schema.]table

DESCRIPTION

       The shp2pgsql data loader converts ESRI Shape files into SQL suitable for insertion into a
       PostGIS/PostgreSQL database.

       Version: 1.1.5 (2006/10/06)

USAGE

       The <shapefile> is the name of the shape file,  without  any  extension  information.  For
       example,  'roads'  would  be  the  name  of  the  shapefile  comprising  the  'roads.shp',
       'roads.shx', and 'roads.dbf' files.

       The <tablename> is the (optionally schema-qualified) name of the database table  you  want
       the  data stored in in the database. Within that table, the geometry will be placed in the
       'geo_value' column by default.

OPTIONS

       The loader has several operating modes distinguished by command line flags:

       (Note that -a, -c, -d and -p are mutually exclusive.)

       -d     Drops the database table before creating a new table with the  data  in  the  Shape
              file.

       -a     Appends  data  from  the  Shape file into the database table. Note that to use this
              option to load multiple files, the files must have the  same  attributes  and  same
              data types.

       -c     Creates a new table and populates it from the Shape file. This is the default mode.

       -p     Only  produces  the  table creation SQL code, without adding any actual data.  This
              can be used if you need to completely separate the table creation and data  loading
              steps.

       -D     Use the PostgreSQL "dump" format for the output data. This can be combined with -a,
              -c and -d. It is much faster to load than the default "insert" SQL format. Use this
              for very large data sets.

       -w     Output  WKT format, instead of WKB.  Note that this can introduce coordinate drifts
              due to loss of precision.

       -e     Execute each statement on its  own,  without  using  a  transaction.   This  allows
              loading  of  the  majority  of  good  data  when there are some bad geometries that
              generate errors.  Note that this cannot be used with the  -D  flag  as  the  "dump"
              format always uses a transaction.

       -s [<FROM_SRID>:]<SRID>
              Creates and populates the geometry tables with the specified SRID.  If FROM_SRID is
              given, the geometries will be reprojected.  Reprojection cannot be used with -D.

       -G     Use the geography type instead of geometry.  Geography is  used  to  store  lat/lon
              data.  At the moment the only spatial reference supported is 4326.

       -g <geometry_column>
              Specify the name of the geometry column (mostly useful in append mode).

       -k     Keep  idendifiers  case  (column,  schema  and attributes). Note that attributes in
              Shapefile are usually all UPPERCASE.

       -i     Coerce all integers to standard 32-bit integers, do not create 64-bit bigints, even
              if the DBF header signature appears to warrant it.

       -S     Generate  simple  Geometries  instead  of MULTIgeometries. Shape files don't differ
              between LINESTRINGs and MULTILINESTRINGs, so shp2pgsql  generates  MULTILINESTRINGs
              by  default.  This switch will produce LINESTRINGs instead, but shp2pgsql will fail
              when it hits a real MULTILINESTRING. The same works for POLYGONs vs. MULTIPOLYGONs.

       -W <encoding>
              Specify the character encoding of Shapefile's attributes.  If this option  is  used
              the output will be encoded in UTF-8.

       -I     Create a GiST index on the geometry column.

       -N <policy>
              Specify NULL geometries handling policy (insert,skip,abort).

       -T <tablespace>
              Specify  the  tablespace  for  the  new  table.  Indexes will still use the default
              tablespace unless the -X parameter is also used.  The PostgreSQL documentation  has
              a good description on when to use custom tablespaces.

       -X <tablespace>
              Specify  the  tablespace  for the new table's indexes.  This applies to the primary
              key index, and the GIST spatial index if -I is also used.

       -?     Display version and usage information.

INSTALLATION

       To compile the program from source, simply run "make" in the source directory.  Then  copy
       the  binary  in your shell search path (or wherever you like). This text is also available
       as a man page in the ../doc/man/ directory, ready for copying it into  the  manual  search
       path on unixoid systems.

EXAMPLES

       An  example  session  using the loader to create an input file and uploading it might look
       like this:

       # shp2pgsql shaperoads roadstable roadsdb > roads.sql
       # psql -d roadsdb -f roads.sql

       A conversion and upload can be done all in one step using UNIX pipes:

       # shp2pgsql shaperoads roadstable roadsdb | psql -d roadsdb

AUTHORS

       Originally written by Jeff Lounsbury <jeffloun@refractions.net>.  Improved and  maintained
       by  Sandro Santilli <strk@refractions.net>.  Includes small contributions and improvements
       by others.

       This  application  uses   functionality   from   shapelib   1.2.9   by   Frank   Warmerdam
       <warmerda@gdal.velocet.ca> to read from ESRI Shape files.

SEE ALSO

       pgsql2shp(1)

       More information is available at http://postgis.refractions.net

                                                                                     shp2pgsql(1)