rooot viewer

Shapefile viewer

View Shapefile files (.shp, .zip) on a 3D map in your browser. The legacy GIS format from Esri — a bundle of .shp/.shx/.dbf files. No account, no install, no upload until you decide to convert or hand off to the rooot.it route planner.

Open the viewer → or jump straight to a conversion:

About Shapefile

Esri's Shapefile is the most widely supported GIS exchange format, despite its multi-file inconvenience and 2 GB per-file ceiling. It carries one geometry type per layer plus a dBase attribute table.

Upload the .shp, .shx, .dbf (and .prj / .cpg if present) bundled in a single .zip.

Typical producers: ArcGIS, QGIS, OGR/GDAL, Natural Earth.
Typical consumers: ArcGIS, QGIS, PostGIS, GeoServer, MapInfo.

How to view a Shapefile file

  1. Open the viewer.
  2. Drag your Shapefile file (.shp, .zip) onto the page, or click the + in the Places panel.
  3. The file renders on a 3D MapLibre globe. Use the right-hand panel to toggle background layers (borders, labels, roads, buildings, transportation, places, terrain).
  4. Click features for details, or use the bottom toolbar to convert to another format.

Convert Shapefile to other formats

Shapefile viewer FAQ

How do I upload a shapefile to a web viewer?

Zip the .shp, .shx, .dbf (and .prj / .cpg if you have them) into one .zip and drop the zip on rooot viewer. Geometry and attributes load together.

Why does the shapefile have to be zipped?

A .shp by itself has no attribute table or coordinate-reference info — those live in the sibling .shx, .dbf, and .prj files. The zip uploads them as one bundle.

Can I view a shapefile without ArcGIS or QGIS?

Yes. rooot viewer renders any zipped shapefile on a 3D map and exposes feature attributes per geometry.

Does this work with shapefiles from Natural Earth or government open-data portals?

Yes. Most public shapefile downloads (Natural Earth, OS, USGS, EU INSPIRE) ship as zipped bundles, exactly the format rooot viewer expects.

Is rooot viewer free?

Yes. No account required. There are no per-conversion or per-view charges.

Does rooot viewer upload my files?

Files are parsed server-side for rendering but are not persisted unless you click Convert or Open in roooute. Persisted files are deleted within 24 hours.

Privacy

Files dropped on the main viewer are parsed server-side for rendering but are not persisted. Persistence happens only when you click Convert or Open in roooute; persisted files are deleted within 24 hours. Direct conversions through the per-format converter pages do not persist anything at all.