Is there a maximum number of features that QGIS can save into a shapefile?

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I have a very large .gdb that I want to reduce to my study area. Unfortunately, the study area is still quite big. I could select features that intersected my study area but when I tried Export > Save Selected Feature As...it crashed and only saved some of the features (4GB). Ideally, I would create another .gdb but it seems that QGIS does not support .gdb creation (read-only) or delete the features I don't need directly in the .gdb but as far as I know it is not possible to modify a layer in a .gdb.










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  • Could you create and save subselections of the data based on thematic or spatial criteria?

    – Erik
    Feb 15 at 15:15






  • 1





    Why not try the geopackage format?

    – Gabriel C.
    Feb 15 at 15:18











  • @GabrielC. I don't understand the geopackage format even though I have looked into it. Doesn't it create layers that are not fully compatible with shapefiles?

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:38











  • @Erik I have created subselections when I ran into the problem but it is not ideal. I would rather find another solution (if possible).

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:39






  • 2





    What makes you think that GeoPackage is not compatible with shapefiles? It does lack many limitations of shapefiles, but all that you can save as shapefiles can also be stored into GeoPackage.

    – user30184
    Feb 15 at 15:43
















4















I have a very large .gdb that I want to reduce to my study area. Unfortunately, the study area is still quite big. I could select features that intersected my study area but when I tried Export > Save Selected Feature As...it crashed and only saved some of the features (4GB). Ideally, I would create another .gdb but it seems that QGIS does not support .gdb creation (read-only) or delete the features I don't need directly in the .gdb but as far as I know it is not possible to modify a layer in a .gdb.










share|improve this question






















  • Could you create and save subselections of the data based on thematic or spatial criteria?

    – Erik
    Feb 15 at 15:15






  • 1





    Why not try the geopackage format?

    – Gabriel C.
    Feb 15 at 15:18











  • @GabrielC. I don't understand the geopackage format even though I have looked into it. Doesn't it create layers that are not fully compatible with shapefiles?

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:38











  • @Erik I have created subselections when I ran into the problem but it is not ideal. I would rather find another solution (if possible).

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:39






  • 2





    What makes you think that GeoPackage is not compatible with shapefiles? It does lack many limitations of shapefiles, but all that you can save as shapefiles can also be stored into GeoPackage.

    – user30184
    Feb 15 at 15:43














4












4








4








I have a very large .gdb that I want to reduce to my study area. Unfortunately, the study area is still quite big. I could select features that intersected my study area but when I tried Export > Save Selected Feature As...it crashed and only saved some of the features (4GB). Ideally, I would create another .gdb but it seems that QGIS does not support .gdb creation (read-only) or delete the features I don't need directly in the .gdb but as far as I know it is not possible to modify a layer in a .gdb.










share|improve this question














I have a very large .gdb that I want to reduce to my study area. Unfortunately, the study area is still quite big. I could select features that intersected my study area but when I tried Export > Save Selected Feature As...it crashed and only saved some of the features (4GB). Ideally, I would create another .gdb but it seems that QGIS does not support .gdb creation (read-only) or delete the features I don't need directly in the .gdb but as far as I know it is not possible to modify a layer in a .gdb.







qgis qgis-3 features save






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asked Feb 15 at 15:13









user3386170user3386170

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631422












  • Could you create and save subselections of the data based on thematic or spatial criteria?

    – Erik
    Feb 15 at 15:15






  • 1





    Why not try the geopackage format?

    – Gabriel C.
    Feb 15 at 15:18











  • @GabrielC. I don't understand the geopackage format even though I have looked into it. Doesn't it create layers that are not fully compatible with shapefiles?

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:38











  • @Erik I have created subselections when I ran into the problem but it is not ideal. I would rather find another solution (if possible).

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:39






  • 2





    What makes you think that GeoPackage is not compatible with shapefiles? It does lack many limitations of shapefiles, but all that you can save as shapefiles can also be stored into GeoPackage.

    – user30184
    Feb 15 at 15:43


















  • Could you create and save subselections of the data based on thematic or spatial criteria?

    – Erik
    Feb 15 at 15:15






  • 1





    Why not try the geopackage format?

    – Gabriel C.
    Feb 15 at 15:18











  • @GabrielC. I don't understand the geopackage format even though I have looked into it. Doesn't it create layers that are not fully compatible with shapefiles?

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:38











  • @Erik I have created subselections when I ran into the problem but it is not ideal. I would rather find another solution (if possible).

    – user3386170
    Feb 15 at 15:39






  • 2





    What makes you think that GeoPackage is not compatible with shapefiles? It does lack many limitations of shapefiles, but all that you can save as shapefiles can also be stored into GeoPackage.

    – user30184
    Feb 15 at 15:43

















Could you create and save subselections of the data based on thematic or spatial criteria?

– Erik
Feb 15 at 15:15





Could you create and save subselections of the data based on thematic or spatial criteria?

– Erik
Feb 15 at 15:15




1




1





Why not try the geopackage format?

– Gabriel C.
Feb 15 at 15:18





Why not try the geopackage format?

– Gabriel C.
Feb 15 at 15:18













@GabrielC. I don't understand the geopackage format even though I have looked into it. Doesn't it create layers that are not fully compatible with shapefiles?

– user3386170
Feb 15 at 15:38





@GabrielC. I don't understand the geopackage format even though I have looked into it. Doesn't it create layers that are not fully compatible with shapefiles?

– user3386170
Feb 15 at 15:38













@Erik I have created subselections when I ran into the problem but it is not ideal. I would rather find another solution (if possible).

– user3386170
Feb 15 at 15:39





@Erik I have created subselections when I ran into the problem but it is not ideal. I would rather find another solution (if possible).

– user3386170
Feb 15 at 15:39




2




2





What makes you think that GeoPackage is not compatible with shapefiles? It does lack many limitations of shapefiles, but all that you can save as shapefiles can also be stored into GeoPackage.

– user30184
Feb 15 at 15:43






What makes you think that GeoPackage is not compatible with shapefiles? It does lack many limitations of shapefiles, but all that you can save as shapefiles can also be stored into GeoPackage.

– user30184
Feb 15 at 15:43











2 Answers
2






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oldest

votes


















10














Officially, .shp and .dbf files are limited to 2GB. Using GDAL Shapefile driver this can be exceeded, but as stated on this site, this is not recommended due to compatibility issues (See point #Size Issues).



As @Gabriel C. already mentioned, geopackage is a good alternative. You could also use a SpatialLite or SQLite database.






share|improve this answer






























    6














    You may have a look at this from ESRI : geoprocessing-considerations-for-shapefile-output.htm



    specificaly the part on Geometry limitations:




    There is a 2 GB size limit for any shapefile component file, which
    translates to a maximum of roughly 70 million point features. The
    actual number of line or polygon features you can store in a shapefile
    depends on the number of vertices in each line or polygon (a vertex is
    equivalent to a point).




    Shapefile have many other limitations (short field name, no datetime format, 255 character field length limit, problem with null value....) that should motivate you to use other format. You could for exemple use geopackage or spatialite database (both are single file format that are comparable to ESRI file geodatabse, geopackage being a simplified spatialite base)






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      2 Answers
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      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

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      active

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      active

      oldest

      votes









      10














      Officially, .shp and .dbf files are limited to 2GB. Using GDAL Shapefile driver this can be exceeded, but as stated on this site, this is not recommended due to compatibility issues (See point #Size Issues).



      As @Gabriel C. already mentioned, geopackage is a good alternative. You could also use a SpatialLite or SQLite database.






      share|improve this answer



























        10














        Officially, .shp and .dbf files are limited to 2GB. Using GDAL Shapefile driver this can be exceeded, but as stated on this site, this is not recommended due to compatibility issues (See point #Size Issues).



        As @Gabriel C. already mentioned, geopackage is a good alternative. You could also use a SpatialLite or SQLite database.






        share|improve this answer

























          10












          10








          10







          Officially, .shp and .dbf files are limited to 2GB. Using GDAL Shapefile driver this can be exceeded, but as stated on this site, this is not recommended due to compatibility issues (See point #Size Issues).



          As @Gabriel C. already mentioned, geopackage is a good alternative. You could also use a SpatialLite or SQLite database.






          share|improve this answer













          Officially, .shp and .dbf files are limited to 2GB. Using GDAL Shapefile driver this can be exceeded, but as stated on this site, this is not recommended due to compatibility issues (See point #Size Issues).



          As @Gabriel C. already mentioned, geopackage is a good alternative. You could also use a SpatialLite or SQLite database.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered Feb 15 at 15:39









          MrXsquaredMrXsquared

          1,7591618




          1,7591618























              6














              You may have a look at this from ESRI : geoprocessing-considerations-for-shapefile-output.htm



              specificaly the part on Geometry limitations:




              There is a 2 GB size limit for any shapefile component file, which
              translates to a maximum of roughly 70 million point features. The
              actual number of line or polygon features you can store in a shapefile
              depends on the number of vertices in each line or polygon (a vertex is
              equivalent to a point).




              Shapefile have many other limitations (short field name, no datetime format, 255 character field length limit, problem with null value....) that should motivate you to use other format. You could for exemple use geopackage or spatialite database (both are single file format that are comparable to ESRI file geodatabse, geopackage being a simplified spatialite base)






              share|improve this answer



























                6














                You may have a look at this from ESRI : geoprocessing-considerations-for-shapefile-output.htm



                specificaly the part on Geometry limitations:




                There is a 2 GB size limit for any shapefile component file, which
                translates to a maximum of roughly 70 million point features. The
                actual number of line or polygon features you can store in a shapefile
                depends on the number of vertices in each line or polygon (a vertex is
                equivalent to a point).




                Shapefile have many other limitations (short field name, no datetime format, 255 character field length limit, problem with null value....) that should motivate you to use other format. You could for exemple use geopackage or spatialite database (both are single file format that are comparable to ESRI file geodatabse, geopackage being a simplified spatialite base)






                share|improve this answer

























                  6












                  6








                  6







                  You may have a look at this from ESRI : geoprocessing-considerations-for-shapefile-output.htm



                  specificaly the part on Geometry limitations:




                  There is a 2 GB size limit for any shapefile component file, which
                  translates to a maximum of roughly 70 million point features. The
                  actual number of line or polygon features you can store in a shapefile
                  depends on the number of vertices in each line or polygon (a vertex is
                  equivalent to a point).




                  Shapefile have many other limitations (short field name, no datetime format, 255 character field length limit, problem with null value....) that should motivate you to use other format. You could for exemple use geopackage or spatialite database (both are single file format that are comparable to ESRI file geodatabse, geopackage being a simplified spatialite base)






                  share|improve this answer













                  You may have a look at this from ESRI : geoprocessing-considerations-for-shapefile-output.htm



                  specificaly the part on Geometry limitations:




                  There is a 2 GB size limit for any shapefile component file, which
                  translates to a maximum of roughly 70 million point features. The
                  actual number of line or polygon features you can store in a shapefile
                  depends on the number of vertices in each line or polygon (a vertex is
                  equivalent to a point).




                  Shapefile have many other limitations (short field name, no datetime format, 255 character field length limit, problem with null value....) that should motivate you to use other format. You could for exemple use geopackage or spatialite database (both are single file format that are comparable to ESRI file geodatabse, geopackage being a simplified spatialite base)







                  share|improve this answer












                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer










                  answered Feb 15 at 16:04









                  J.RJ.R

                  3,387222




                  3,387222



























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