Common Conversion Errors
Last updated: 2026-02-20 · Troubleshooting
Upload Errors
"No supported geospatial data found"
This means GDAL/OGR couldn't detect any readable layers in your upload. Common causes:
- Missing companion files: Shapefiles require .shp, .shx, and .dbf together. Upload all files or use a ZIP archive.
- Unsupported format: Check that your format is in our supported formats list.
- Corrupted file: Try opening the file in QGIS or another GIS tool to verify it's readable.
"File exceeds maximum size"
File size limits depend on your plan tier. Free accounts can upload files up to 50 MB. Upgrade your plan for larger files (up to 5 GB on Business).
CRS Errors
"Unable to determine CRS"
The input file doesn't contain CRS metadata. This is common with Shapefiles missing the .prj file, or CSV files without CRS information. Solutions:
- Include the .prj file with your Shapefile upload.
- Manually select the source CRS in the conversion wizard using the EPSG search.
- Use the map-based CRS assistance tool to narrow down likely coordinate systems.
"CRS reprojection failed"
The coordinate transformation between source and target CRS failed. This usually means the source CRS is incorrectly specified. Try using the CRS validation preview to verify your data renders in the expected location.
Format-Specific Errors
"Field name truncated" (Shapefile output)
Shapefile attribute names are limited to 10 characters. ConvertGeoData automatically truncates longer names and logs the mapping. If this causes conflicts, consider using GeoPackage as your output format instead.
"Mixed geometry types" (Shapefile output)
Shapefiles only support a single geometry type per file. If your source data contains mixed types (e.g., Points and Polygons), ConvertGeoData will split them into separate output files. Use GeoPackage or GeoJSON if you need mixed geometry types in one file.
"Encoding error"
Character encoding mismatches can cause garbled attribute text. ConvertGeoData auto-detects encoding, but you can override it in the conversion wizard. Common encodings: UTF-8, Windows-1252, ISO-8859-1.