Feature Class To Shapefile (Conversion)

Summary

Copies the features from one or more feature classes or layers to a folder of shapefiles.

Usage

• Shapefiles have many limitations compared to feature classes in a geodatabase. For example, shapefile attributes cannot store null values; they round up numbers, they have poor support for Unicode character strings, they do not allow field names longer than 10 characters, and they cannot store both a date and time in a field. Additionally, they do not support capabilities found in geodatabases such as domains and subtypes.

  Learn more about shapefile limitations

• The name of the output shapefile will be the name of the input feature class. For example, if the input is C:\base.gdb\rivers, the output shapefile will be named rivers.shp. To explicitly control the output shapefile name and for some additional conversion options, see the Feature Class To Feature Class tool.

• If the output shapefile already exists in the Output Folder, a number will be appended to the end to make the shapefile name unique (for example, rivers_1.shp).

Syntax

FeatureClassToShapefile(Input_Features, Output_Folder)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
Input_Features [Input_Features,...]	The list of input feature classes or feature layers that will be converted and added to the output folder.	Feature Layer
Output_Folder	The folder where the shapefiles will be written.	Folder

Derived Output

Name	Explanation	Data Type
Derived_Folder	The folder containing the new shapefiles.	Folder

Code sample

FeatureClassToShapefile example 1 (Python window)

The following Python window script demonstrates how to use the FeatureClassToShapefile function in immediate mode.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = "C:/data/airport.gdb"
arcpy.FeatureClassToShapefile_conversion(["county", "parcels", "schools"],
                                         "C:/output")

FeatureClassToShapefile example 2 (stand-alone script)

The following stand-alone script demonstrates how to use the FeatureClassToShapefile function.

# Name: FeatureClassToShapefile_Example2.py
# Description: Use FeatureClassToShapefile to copy feature classes to shapefiles

# Import system modules
import arcpy
 
# Set environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = "C:/data"
 
# Set local variables
inFeatures = ["climate.shp", "majorrds.shp"]
outLocation = "C:/output"
 
# Execute FeatureClassToGeodatabase
arcpy.FeatureClassToShapefile_conversion(inFeatures, outLocation)

Environments

Current Workspace, Scratch Workspace, Output Coordinate System, Geographic Transformations, Extent, XY Resolution, XY Tolerance, Output has M values, M Resolution, M Tolerance, Output has Z values, Default Output Z Value, Z Resolution, Z Tolerance, Qualified Field Names, Output CONFIG Keyword, Auto Commit, Output XY Domain, Output M Domain, Output Z Domain, Transfer Field Domain Descriptions

Licensing information

• Basic: Yes
• Standard: Yes
• Advanced: Yes