Convert Excel to shapefile and bring a plain workbook into ArcGIS or QGIS as a real layer. GDAL-in-the-browser writes the complete shapefile set and zips it for you; the source data never leaves your computer.
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KML, KMZ, SHP (.zip), GeoJSON, GPKG, GML, GPX, DXF, CSV, Excel, and more
No Excel file to hand? Download a sample Excel file (100 points) and drop it above to see the conversion.
Every format stores different things, so a conversion is never perfectly loss-free. Here is exactly what carries over when you convert Excel to Shapefile, and what to watch for.
| What | Excel → Shapefile | |
|---|---|---|
| Geometry | Changes | Points, lines and polygons are all carried over, but a Shapefile holds a single geometry type per file. A layer that mixes types is written one type at a time. |
| Attributes | Changes | Every column is kept, but the Shapefile .dbf caps field names at 10 characters, so long names are shortened (values are untouched). |
| Styling & labels | Kept | Neither Excel nor Shapefile stores visual styling, so there is nothing to lose, the geometry and data carry straight over. |
| Coordinate system | Changes | Excel has no CRS. You can assign one before converting; otherwise the numbers are passed through and tagged WGS84. |
| Elevation (Z) | Kept | Excel is 2D, so there is no elevation to carry (add a Z/elevation column if you need one). |
| File structure | Changes | A working Shapefile is several files, so you download one .zip holding .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj and .cpg. Keep them together. |
You do not need to be a GIS expert to convert Excel to Shapefile. Your sheet needs just two things: a column of latitudes and a column of longitudes, and each row then becomes a point feature in the shapefile, ready for QGIS or ArcGIS. Everything else, names, notes, dates, ID numbers, rides along as attributes on each point.
lat, latitude or y are detected automatically.lon, lng, longitude or x are picked up for you.Store the coordinates as plain decimal degrees, like 33.6844 and 73.0479. If your values look like 33°41'04"N instead, convert them first with the coordinate converter. Excel to Shapefile works with .xlsx, .xls, .csv and Google Sheets exports, and if the wrong column is picked you can fix it from the dropdowns before converting.
Many teams keep their real data in an Excel workbook. Field crews, planners and analysts type addresses, parcel IDs and measurements into typed cells across multiple sheets. However, desktop GIS cannot draw a spreadsheet. So people convert Excel to Shapefile to turn those rows into mapped features. The Shapefile is the standard vector format for exchanging layers between GIS packages. Once converted, you can load the data into ArcGIS or QGIS, style it, and publish boundaries, parcels or networks. Your workbook must carry latitude and longitude columns, because the converter reads those values to place each point.
A spreadsheet has no coordinate system of its own. Excel rows are read as WGS84 longitude/latitude (EPSG:4326) unless you tell the tool otherwise. If your coordinates are projected, for example UTM eastings and northings in metres, pick the matching CRS before converting so the points land in the right place instead of near Null Island.
On output, the coordinate system is written into the Shapefile .prj file. By default the data is reprojected to WGS84, or you can choose another EPSG code if your workflow needs one. A quick CRS check before you download saves the classic "my Excel data is in the wrong place" surprise; the guide on coordinate systems and EPSG codes goes deeper.
Check your column headers first. A Shapefile stores attribute names in a .dbf table, and those names are capped at 10 characters. So a long Excel header like SamplingLocationName gets truncated, and similar names can collide. Also confirm your sheet has clear latitude and longitude columns, since rows without valid coordinates are skipped. Finally, one Shapefile holds a single geometry type, so keep points, lines and polygons separate.
Excel files typically come out of Microsoft Excel, LibreOffice, Google Sheets. Once you convert to Shapefile, the file opens in ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, MapInfo and GeoServer, the whole desktop-GIS world. The Shapefile output follows the standard specification exactly, so those programs read it without any special import settings.
Excel is where tabular site data usually lives, a workbook of typed cells that a surveyor or analyst edits by hand. Shapefile is what desktop GIS expects to open. Converting from Excel to Shapefile turns spreadsheet rows into mapped features, so tools like ArcGIS or QGIS can style, label and query them. In practice, your workbook supplies both the attributes and the coordinate columns. The result is a proper GIS layer, ready for spatial work.
A Shapefile is not one file. It is a set of parts, at minimum .shp, .dbf and .shx, usually with a .prj. The converter zips them so they stay together, so keep all parts in the archive.
No. Only the computed cell values are read, and charts, colors and cell formatting are dropped. The resulting .dbf attribute table keeps just the plain values from each column.
A shapefile attribute table caps field names at 10 characters. Long headers like Measurement_Date get truncated, and any duplicates that result may be numbered. Rename columns to short, unique labels first if the exact names matter downstream.
Each row carries a single location, so latitude and longitude columns produce point features. For lines or polygons, one column must hold the geometry as WKT text. Once that column exists, QGIS or ArcGIS reads the shapes correctly.
A Shapefile file opens in ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, MapInfo and most desktop GIS. Because the output follows the standard specification, any tool that supports Shapefile will read it without special settings.
No conversion is perfectly loss-free because each format stores different things, but the only change to watch is that shapefile field names are shortened to 10 characters; your geometry, coordinates and values are all preserved.
The same spreadsheet can also become a KML for Google Earth, a compact KMZ, or a GeoJSON layer for web mapping. Every spreadsheet conversion is on the Spreadsheet to map tool.