ArcObjects Library Reference

Get FeatureClass From Shapefile On Disk Snippet

Get the FeatureClass from a Shapefile on disk (hard drive).

[C#]

/// <summary>
/// Get the FeatureClass from a Shapefile on disk (hard drive).
/// </summary>
/// <param name="string_ShapefileDirectory">A System.String that is the directory where the shapefile is located. Example: "C:\data\USA"</param>
/// <param name="string_ShapefileName">A System.String that is the shapefile name. Note: the shapefile extension's (.shp, .shx, .dbf, etc.) is not provided! Example: "States"</param>
/// <returns>An IFeatureClass interface. Nothing (VB.NET) or null (C#) is returned if unsuccessful.</returns>
/// <remarks></remarks>
public ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureClass GetFeatureClassFromShapefileOnDisk(System.String string_ShapefileDirectory, System.String string_ShapefileName)
{

    System.IO.DirectoryInfo directoryInfo_check=new System.IO.DirectoryInfo(string_ShapefileDirectory);
    if (directoryInfo_check.Exists)
    {

        //We have a valid directory, proceed

        System.IO.FileInfo fileInfo_check=new System.IO.FileInfo(string_ShapefileDirectory + "\\" + string_ShapefileName + ".shp");
        if (fileInfo_check.Exists)
        {

            //We have a valid shapefile, proceed

            ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IWorkspaceFactory workspaceFactory=new ESRI.ArcGIS.DataSourcesFile.ShapefileWorkspaceFactoryClass();
            ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IWorkspace workspace=workspaceFactory.OpenFromFile(string_ShapefileDirectory, 0);
            ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureWorkspace featureWorkspace=(ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureWorkspace)workspace; // Explict Cast
            ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureClass featureClass=featureWorkspace.OpenFeatureClass(string_ShapefileName);

            return featureClass;
        }
        else
        {

            //Not valid shapefile
            return null;
        }

    }
    else
    {

        // Not valid directory
        return null;

    }
    
}

[Visual Basic .NET]

''' <summary>
''' Get the FeatureClass from a Shapefile on disk (hard drive).
''' </summary>
''' <param name="string_ShapefileDirectory">A System.String that is the directory where the shapefile is located. Example: "C:\data\USA"</param>
''' <param name="string_ShapefileName">A System.String that is the shapefile name. Note: the shapefile extension's (.shp, .shx, .dbf, etc.) is not provided! Example: "States"</param>
''' <returns>An IFeatureClass interface. Nothing (VB.NET) or null (C#) is returned if unsuccessful.</returns>
''' <remarks></remarks>
Public Function GetFeatureClassFromShapefileOnDisk(ByVal string_ShapefileDirectory As System.String, ByVal string_ShapefileName As System.String) As ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureClass

  Dim directoryInfo_check As System.IO.DirectoryInfo=New System.IO.DirectoryInfo(string_ShapefileDirectory)
  If directoryInfo_check.Exists Then

    'We have a valid directory, proceed

    Dim fileInfo_check As System.IO.FileInfo=New System.IO.FileInfo(string_ShapefileDirectory + "\" + string_ShapefileName + ".shp")
    If fileInfo_check.Exists Then

      'We have a valid shapefile, proceed

      Dim workspaceFactory As ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IWorkspaceFactory=New ESRI.ArcGIS.DataSourcesFile.ShapefileWorkspaceFactoryClass
      Dim workspace As ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IWorkspace=workspaceFactory.OpenFromFile(string_ShapefileDirectory, 0)
      Dim featureWorkspace As ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureWorkspace=CType(workspace, ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureWorkspace) ' Explict Cast
      Dim featureClass As ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase.IFeatureClass=featureWorkspace.OpenFeatureClass(string_ShapefileName)

      Return featureClass
    Else

      'Not valid shapefile
      Return Nothing
    End If

  Else

    ' Not valid directory
    Return Nothing

  End If

End Function

Additional Requirements

The code in this document requires the following References added to the Visual Studio project:
ESRI.ArcGIS.DataSourcesFile
ESRI.ArcGIS.Geodatabase