Routines (alphabetical) > Object Classes > File Format Object Classes > IDLffShape Properties

# IDLffShape Properties

IDLffShape objects have the following properties in addition to properties inherited from any superclasses. Properties with the word “Yes” in the “Get” column of the property table can be retrieved via IDLffShape::GetProperty. Properties with the word “Yes” in the “Init” column of the property table can be set via IDLffShape::Init.

Note: For a discussion of the property description tables shown below, see About Object Property Descriptions.

Objects of this class have the following properties.

- ATTRIBUTE_INFO
- ATTRIBUTE_NAMES
- DBF_ONLY
- ENTITY_TYPE
- FILENAME
- IS_OPEN
- N_ATTRIBUTES
- N_ENTITIES
- N_RECORDS
- UPDATE

### ATTRIBUTE_INFO

A array of structures containing the attribute information for each attribute. The attribute information structures have the following fields:

Field | Description
NAME | A string that contains the name of the attribute
TYPE | The IDL type code of the attribute
WIDTH | The width of the attribute
PRECISION | The precision of the attribute

The file must be open to obtain this information.

Property Type | Structure
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init: No | Registered: No

### ATTRIBUTE_NAMES

A string array containing the names of each attribute in the Shapefile object.

Property Type | String array
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init:No | Registered: No

### DBF_ONLY

A non-zero, positive integer value indicating whether the underlying dBASE table (.`dbf`) component of the shapefile is opened while all other entity related files are left closed. The following two values are accepted for this property:

- 1 - Open an existing .`dbf` file,
- Greater than 1 - Create a new .`dbf` file

Note: The UPDATE keyword is required to open the .`dbf` file for updating.

Property Type | Integer
Name String | not displayed
Get: No | Set: No | Init: Yes | Registered: No

### ENTITY_TYPE

If retrieving this property, its value is an integer representing the type code for the entities contained in the Shapefile object. If the value is unknown, this method returns -1. For more information on entity type codes, see Entities.

If setting this property, its value is an integer representing the entity type of a new Shapefile. Use this setting only when creating a new Shapefile. For more information on entity types, see Entities.

Property Type | Integer
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init: Yes | Registered: No

### FILENAME

A string representing the fully qualified path name of the Shapefile in the current Shapefile object.

Note: FILENAME can only be set via an argument to the IDLffShape::Init method.

Property Type | String
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init:No | Registered: No

### IS_OPEN

An integer value representing information about the status of a Shapefile. The following values can be returned:

0 | File is not open
1 | File is open in read-only mode
3 | File is open in update mode

Property Type | Integer
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init: No | Registered: No

### N_ATTRIBUTES

A longword integer representing the number of attributes associated with a Shapefile object. If the number of attributes is unknown, this property returns 0.

Property Type | Long
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init: No | Registered: No

### N_ENTITIES

A longword integer representing the number of entities contained in Shapefile object. If the number of entities is unknown, this property returns 0.

Property Type | Long
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init: No | Registered: No

### N_RECORDS

A longword integer representing the number of records in the dBASE table (.`dbf`) component of the Shapefile. In a normal operating mode, this process is accomplished by getting the number of entities. However, in DBF_ONLY mode, no entity file exits.

Property Type | Long
Name String | not displayed
Get: Yes | Set: No | Init: No | Registered: No

### UPDATE

A Boolean value indicating whether the file opened for writing. The file is opened for writing if this property is set to true. The default is read-only.

Property Type | Boolean
Name String | not displayed
Get: No | Set: No | Init: Yes | Registered: No