The shapefile spatial data format was developed by the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) and is now a (mostly) open geospatial vector data format that can be used by ArcGIS and other geographic information system (GIS) software. Shapefiles store non-topological geometry and attribute information for the spatial features of a data set.

ResSim can use three types of shapefiles (.shp): Point, Line, and Polygon. Each shapefile type has its own properties editor. Each properties editor is organized into 2 or 3 tabs. One of the tabs in each editor is the *Label tab which looks and works the same in each editor and is described in its own section following the descriptions of the three shapefile editors.

ResSim saves the drawing properties of your shapefile(s) to a file with the same base name as your shapefile and the extension .gdr. This file will be stored in the maps folder for your watershed.

Point Shapefile Properties

If the map layer you wish to configure is a point shapefile (e.g., gages, control points), selecting Properties for the map layer will open the Edit Point Properties editor. This editor is organized in two tabs—Style and Label.

The Style tab lets you set the drawing properties of the Point elements in the shapefile. The drawing properties that you can modify are a function of the first field in the panel, Draw Features using. The options are:

  • One Style ("Figure: Edit Point Properties Style Tab - One Style")—under this option, the drawing properties are:

    Figure: Edit Point Properties Style Tab - One Style


    • Style—the symbol used to represent each point.
    • Color—the color of the symbols.
    • Size—the size of the symbols, in points.

  • Attribute Values ("Figure: Edit Point Properties Style Tab - Attribute Values")—under this option, the drawing properties expand to:

    Figure: Edit Point Properties Style Tab - Attribute Values


    • Field for Values—select the attribute whose values will determine the color of each point.
    • Style—the symbol used to represent each point.
    • Size —the size of the symbols, in points.
    • Color—two colors are used to define the Start and End colors of a color ramp. ResSim will determine the number of unique values in the selected attribute field, then create a gradation set of colors ranging between the Start and End colors, with a different color in the gradation for each unique attribute value. The set of colors and their associated attribute values will be displayed in the Color-Value table.

Line Shapefile Properties

If the map layer you wish to configure is a line shapefile (e.g., rivers and streams), selecting Properties for the map layer will open the Edit Line Properties editor. This editor is organized in two tabs—Style and Label.

The Style tab lets you set the drawing properties of the Line elements in the shapefile. The drawing properties that you can modify are a function of the first field in the panel, Draw Features using:. The options are:

  • One Style ("Figure: Edit Line Properties Style Tab - One Style")—under this option the drawing properties are:

    Figure: Edit Line Properties Style Tab - One Style


    • Color—the color of the line that is drawn for each element in the shapefile.
    • Style—the line style, such as solid, dashed, dotted, etc.
    • Weight—the thickness of the line.

  • Attribute Values ("Figure: Edit Line Properties Style Tab - Attribute Values")—under this option, the drawing properties expand to:

    Figure: Edit Line Properties Style Tab - Attribute Values


    • Field for Values—select the attribute whose values will determine the color of each line.
    • Style—the line style, such as solid, dashed, dotted, etc. used to draw each line in the shapefile
    • Weight—the thickness of the lines.
    • Color—two colors are used to define the Start and End colors of a color ramp. ResSim will determine the number of unique values in the selected attribute field, then create a gradation set of colors ranging between the Start and End colors, with a different color in the gradation for each unique attribute value. The set of colors and their associated attribute values will be displayed in the Color-Value table.

Polygon Shapefile Properties

If the map layer you wish to configure is a Polygon shapefile (e.g., lakes), selecting Properties for the map layer will open the Edit Polygon Properties editor. This editor is organized in three tabs—Fill, Border, and Label.

The Fill tab lets you set the fill drawing properties for the polygon elements in the shapefile. These properties are a function of the first field, Draw Features using:. The options are:

  • One Fill ("Figure: Edit Polygon Properties - Fill Tab - One Fill")—under this option, the drawing properties are:

    Figure: Edit Polygon Properties - Fill Tab - One Fill


    • Color—the color of the interior of each polygon element in the shapefile.
    • Style—the fill style, such as solid, hashed, lined, etc.
    • Transparency—a value between 1 and 100; 1 is fully opaque; 100 is fully transparent.

  • Attribute Values ("Figure: Edit Polygon Properties - Fill Tab - Attribute Values")—under this option, the drawing properties expand to:

    Figure: Edit Polygon Properties - Fill Tab - Attribute Values


    • Display Fill—Use the checkbox to turn ON or OFF drawing the fill of the polygons in your shapefile.
    • Field for Values—select the attribute whose values will determine the fill color of each polygon
    • Style—the fill style, such as solid, hashed, lined, etc.
    • Transparency—a value between 1 and 100; 1 is fully opaque; 100 is fully transparent.
    • Color—the fill color properties take up the rest of the edit panel. But you really have only two color fields to set—Start and End. ResSim is going to determine the number of unique values in the selected attribute field, then it is going to create a color gradation ranging between the Start and End colors with a different color in the gradation for each unique attribute value. The set of colors and their associated attribute value will be displayed in the Color-Value table.
    • Use Gradations—Use the checkbox to turn ON or OFF the use of gradations in the use of the color ram. If checked ON, you can set the number of gradation colors. The values of the selected attribute will then be divided into ranges, one range for each of the gradation colors.

The Border tab ("Figure: Edit Polygon Properties - Border Tab") lets you set the outline drawing properties for each polygon element in the shapefile. Your options include:

Figure: Edit Polygon Properties - Labels Tab


  • Display Border—Use the checkbox to turn ON or OFF drawing of the borders of the polygons.
  • Color—the color of the line that is drawn for around each polygon element in the shapefile.
  • Style—the line style, such as solid, dashed, dotted, etc.
  • Weight—the thickness of the line.

Shapefile Label Properties

The Label tab ("Figure: Edit Shapefile Properties - Labels Tab") of each of the shapefile Properties editors look and function in exactly the same way. This tab lets you set whether or not the labels are drawn and with what font, size, and position.

Figure: Edit Shapefile Properties - Labels Tab


  • Label Features using:—To draw the labels, select the attribute whose values you want to use as the labels for element in the shapefile. To NOT draw labels for each element, select <None> (which will disable the selection of the rest of the label drawing properties.)
  • Font—select a font (typeface) to use to draw the labels
  • Bold—On/Off—makes the text bold
  • Italic—On/Off—makes the text italic
  • Size—the font size, in points.
  • Placement—select one of the eight points of the compass to determine where you want the label drawn relative to each element. For example, North would place the label centered above the element.
  • Rotation—select a rotation value to draw the label. Horizontal is 0. The increasing values are clockwise from the horizontal. Upside-down is 180.

All labels are drawn with respect to a label "handle" or position. In general, this handle is located near the center of the element plus a hard-coded offset; it is usually NOT obvious where the label handle is located because it can be affected by your Position selection. Try testing out a few Position and Rotation settings to understand how the various settings will affect where and how your labels will be drawn.