Error Opening SHP File - Cannot Find File

[cmtella245]

I've been having this issue with a .SHP file and can't seem to figure out what the cause is. At first I was thinking it was because the file was saved to a drive location and not to my C drive, but that hasn't solved the issue. Anyone encounter this issue before? 

[Luke_C]

Hi @cmtella245 

I tried to reproduce this with some of the census spatial data I have. I noticed that when the associated .shx file was not in the same directory I would get this same error. Does your shp file have an associated shx file? If so moving it to the same directory should work.

I don't work with spatial data enough to have a solid answer for you unfortunately. 

[Luke_C]

Here's another thread on this that seems to confirm it, you'll need to make sure the other files (shx, dbf, prj, etc) are also there. 

https://community.alteryx.com/t5/Alteryx-Designer-Discussions/ERROR-loading-shape-file-Govt-UK-Local...

[Hollingsworth]

@Luke_C is correct. Shapefiles have between 3-5 files with the same prefix that must all be in the same folder for the shapefile to open.

[Hollingsworth]

For reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapefile