Exporting GIS Shapefiles

The Export Shapefile tool properties allows you to create and export GIS shapefiles that contain data from STK objects. These files can then be imported into another program, such as ArcView(r), for further analysis. In addition, you can export sensor swath shapefiles.

To access the Export Shapefile tool, select Expert ->Export Shapefile... from the Utilities menu.

Export GIS Shapefile options

Option	Description
Shapefile	Type a name for the GIS shapefile to be created or browse to select one.
Export Shape	Choose one of the following shapes from the drop-down menu: Point - A GIS shapefile containing selected STK facility, place and target points is created. Polygon - A GIS shapefile containing selected STK area target polygons is created. Arc - A GIS shapefile containing selected STK vehicles' (satellite, aircraft, ship, ground vehicle) tracks is created. Polyline - A GIS shapefile suitable for Communications contours and other shapes that are not necessarily closed is created. Also supports area targets, facilities and selected vehicles.
Objects	Depending on the shape you choose, the objects list contains all available objects whose data can be exported to the GIS shapefile. When a transmitter is exported to a GIS shapefile, the resulting file contains contour values.
Time Step	For GIS shapefiles containing Tracking Analyst data, select Use Default Time Step, or clear it and select the desired interval. Tracking Analyst is an extension to Esri ArcMap™ that supports temporal information with geographic feature data. This includes adding time and date information to features in GIS shapefiles.
Include altitude	Includes altitude (Z) values when exporting the GIS shapefile.
Format of Tracking Analyst temporal data	For GIS shapefiles containing Tracking Analyst data, this read-only field displays your computer's default date/time format. You may want to communicate this to a consumer of your GIS shapefile, if it is being used on a different computer. Tracking Analyst is an extension to Esri ArcMap™ that supports temporal information with geographic feature data. This includes adding time and date information to features in GIS shapefiles.

When exporting an AzEl mask shapefile for a facility a step that is at the same altitude as the facility will be excluded. This is a safety measure that prevents attempting to compute a mask that results in a single point (or less). Altitude ranges that start above the facility will generate the requested number of steps.