How Do I Use Shapefiles As a Base Layers In Maptitude for Redistricting?

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Maptitude for Redistricting requires all layers in the hierarchy to be in compact geographic file (*.cdf) format.

Import Census Block Geography from Shapefile Format

  1. Open Maptitude for Redistricting.
  2. Close the Plan Manager.
  3. Choose File>Open.
  4. Change Files of Type to Esri Shapefile (*.shp).
  5. Browse for the shapefile that contains Census Block geography, select the file and click Open.
  6. Click OK in the Esri Shapefile dialog box.
  7. Choose File>Export>Geography.
  8. Select All Features from the Export drop-down.
  9. Select Standard Geographic File from the From drop-down. Standard geographic files have editable geography. While they cannot be used for hierarchical layers, creating a standard geographic file (*.dbd) also creates the required topology for the layer.
  10. Make sure that the Create Topology check box is ticked.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Enter a file name and click Save.
  13. Choose File>Close Workspace.

Open the Standard Geographic File of Census Blocks and Export It to a Compact Geographic File (*.cdf)

  1. Choose File>Open.
  2. Change Files of Type to Geographic File (*.cdf, *.dbd).
  3. Browse for the standard geographic file created in the “Import Census Block Geography from Shapefile Format” section, select the file and click Open.
  4. Choose File>Export>Geography.
  5. Select All Features from the Export drop-down.
  6. Select Compact Geographic File from the From drop-down. 
  7. Click OK.
  8. Enter a file name and click Save.
  9. Choose File>Close Workspace.

Now that you have imported the Census Blocks into a format that can be used for plan hierarchies, you can begin creating higher-layers for your plan. **Note: your Census Blocks must have data for higher-level geography, such as Census Block Groups, Census Tracts, Census Counties, etc…**

Create Higher-Level Geography 

While this example is for Census Block Groups, you can adapt it to any Census geography;

  1. Choose File>Open.
  2. Change Files of Type to Geographic File (*.cdf, *.dbd).
  3. Browse for the compact geographic file created in the previous section, select the file and click Open.
  4. Choose Tools>Editing>Merge By Value.
  5. Choose All Features from the Merge drop-down
  6. Choose the field that contains Census Block Group identifiers from the Based  on drop-down.
  7. Type the name Census Block Groups in the Create Layer text box.
  8. Check Compute Attributes.
  9. Click the Attributes button.
  10. Click the Add checkbox next to each attribute you would like to include; to select multiple attributes, click the Add checkbox next to the first attribute you want to include and drag down until you reach the last attribute you want to include.
  11. Click OK.
  12. Click OK.
  13. Enter a file name for the standard geographic file of Census Block Groups and click Save.

Open the Standard Geographic File of Census Block Groups and Export It to a Compact Geographic File (*.cdf)

  1. Choose File>Open.
  2. Change Files of Type to Geographic File (*.cdf, *.dbd).
  3. Browse for the standard geographic file created in the “Create Higher-Level Geography” section, select the file and click Open.
  4. Choose File>Export>Geography.
  5. Select All Features from the Export drop-down.
  6. Select Compact Geographic File from the From drop-down. 
  7. Click OK.
  8. Enter a file name and click Save.
  9. Choose File>Close Workspace.

Repeat the “Create Higher-Level Geography” section and “Open the Standard Geographic File of Census Block Groups and Export It to a Compact Geographic File (*.cdf)” section for each other layer in your hierachy.

 

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