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Importing layers

Layer imports bring vector data from external sources into Siter as a new layer — typically reference content from a .dwg, shapefile, GeoJSON, or Google Earth KML exported from another tool. This lesson covers the format and projection requirements you need to satisfy before an import will succeed. For the click-by-click flow, see Layers → How to import a layer.

Learning objectives

By the end of this lesson you should be able to:

  • Pick a supported format for the source data
  • Project source data into a CRS Siter will accept
  • Package a shapefile correctly for import
  • Configure the import (flavor, default type code, name column) at the dialog
  • Spot-check the result and correct outliers with bulk editing

Supported formats​

Siter accepts three layer-import formats:

FormatSourceNotes
GeoJSONA single .geojson (or .json) filePreferred for round-trips with another Siter project or for GeoJSON-native tools
ShapefileA .zip archive containing the full sidecar setThe interchange format for most legacy GIS data
KML / KMZ (v0.33)A Google Earth .kml file, or a .kmz (zipped KML)Placemarks only — styles, image overlays, and network links are not imported

Other vector formats (GeoPackage, raw .dwg, etc.) need to be converted upstream — typically via QGIS — into one of these two before importing.

Projection requirements​

FormatAcceptable projection
GeoJSONUTM zone or WGS 84 latitude/longitude (EPSG:4326)
ShapefileAny projection supported by proj4 — Siter converts on import using the shapefile's .prj
KML / KMZAlways WGS 84 longitude/latitude — no preparation needed

For GeoJSON, reproject your source in QGIS to UTM or WGS 84 before exporting if it lives in any other CRS. For shapefiles, ensure the .prj sidecar is present and accurate — without it, the import has no way to interpret the coordinates and will reject the file.

Packaging a shapefile​

A shapefile is not a single file but a bundle of sidecars that all need to travel together. Minimum required set:

FilePurpose
.shpGeometry
.shxGeometry index
.dbfAttributes
.prjCoordinate reference system

Optional but commonly present: .cpg (character encoding for non-ASCII attribute text).

Package the sidecars into a single .zip archive with files at the root of the zip — not in a subdirectory:

my-shapefile.zip
├── parcels.shp
├── parcels.shx
├── parcels.dbf
└── parcels.prj

Loose individual files will not import; nested directories will not import.

tip

Siter can see multiple shapefiles per .zip as well as nested folder structures. If you have a lot of layers to examine and bring in, just .zip them all together if you wish

KML folders become layer choices​

A KML file from Google Earth is usually organized in folders. When a file has more than one top-level folder (or placemarks outside any folder as well as a folder), the import panel's Layer dropdown offers All folders, Not in a folder, and one entry per top-level folder, each with its feature count. A folder entry brings in that folder's placemarks, subfolders included, and defaults the layer name to the folder name.

To split a file into several Siter layers, import it once per folder. Points, lines, and polygons can be mixed in one folder; altitudes are dropped. Each placemark's name, description, and extended data become attribute columns, so name is the natural Name column. Long descriptions stay on one line in the preview, with the full text in a tooltip.

Imported points show on the map as dots in the layer's line color, with the label above the dot, and can be picked with the Identify / Select tool.

What you pick at import time​

The import dialog asks for three things up front, applied to every feature in the imported layer:

ChoiceWhat it does
Layer flavorQD-visible or background — see Adding layers. Reference content (CAD line work, parcel boundaries) usually wants background; explosive facilities imported from another QD source usually want QD-visible.
Default feature type codeThe type code applied to every imported feature. Pick the type code that fits the majority of the layer's contents; outliers can be corrected after the import via Bulk feature editing. Changing it after the file is loaded rebuilds every feature's errors and warnings, so re-check the Features tab after each change.
Name columnThe attribute column from the source data to use as each feature's name in Siter. Pick a column with stable, human-readable labels.

Get these right at import time and the post-import work is mostly review rather than rework.

Starting the import​

Open the Import Layer panel from the Feature Layers sidebar's upload icon, or skip the picker and drag the .geojson, .json, .kml, .kmz, or .zip file straight onto the map — the panel opens with the file loaded. Dropping needs the same Project Edit Permission as the upload icon. Siter refuses a drop of several files, a folder, loose shapefile parts, or a Siter archive/snapshot (those go to the Project Management page), and says why.

Reading the preview: errors vs warnings​

Before saving, check the Features tab and the counts in the panel header:

MarkerHeader countEffect
Red error iconN features found with geometry errorsThe feature is left out of the import
Orange warning iconN features import with warningsThe feature imports; expand its row to read the Import Warnings

Errors depend on the default feature type, because faces are built for that type — a shape that is fine as a background feature can fail as an ECM. Teach students to treat the error count as something they can change by picking a better default type, not just as bad data.

Roads (path facilities) in GeoJSON​

Since v0.32 a GeoJSON export carries only a road's polygon, not its centerline and width, and an import (including a v0.31 file with pathCenterline and pathWidth) brings roads in as ordinary polygons. To edit a road as a path again, redraw it as a path layout.

Siter assigns its own internal feature indexes — you don't need to think about that.

After the import​

Once the layer is in:

  1. Spot-check a few features — confirm the chosen name column populated as expected, and that the default type code fits the actual content.
  2. Correct outliers with Bulk feature editing — for the features that don't match the default type code, or that need attribute values different from defaults.
  3. Assign fronts via Facility fronts for any multi-face PES (e.g., ECMs) before re-running analysis.

Try it​

Take a small shapefile from any source — a parcel layer from a GIS department, a building footprint export from CAD:

  1. Confirm the .prj is present and accurate
  2. Package the sidecars into a single .zip with files at the root
  3. Drag the .zip onto the map to open the import, then pick the right flavor, default type code, and name column
  4. On the Features tab, note the error and warning counts; switch the default type code to a fronted type (e.g., an ECM type) and watch the counts change, then switch back and click the save icon to import
  5. Spot-check the imported features — confirm the name column populated and the default type code fits
  6. Run analysis and confirm the imported features participate as expected (or are correctly silent if you wanted them as background)

Repeat with a GeoJSON export from QGIS, ensuring the CRS is WGS 84 before exporting. Confirm the round-trip lands cleanly.

Then save a few placemarks from Google Earth into two folders, export them as a .kmz, and import one folder at a time — confirm each folder lands as its own layer with the folder's name, and that the points show as dots with labels above them.