Error Message
ArcView returns the following error when accessing a shapefile:"mismatched shape type"
Cause
The shapefile is corrupt.
Solution or Workaround
The following fixes are in no particular order. Because there are many ways that shapefiles can become corrupted, this document may not address the specific issue that caused your corruption.
- Make sure the directory you have written the shapefile to had enough space available to successfully perform the operation.
- Use the EXPCLEAN sample script to insure the shapefile is topologically clean. This file can be found at C:\ESRI\AV_GIS30\Arcview\samples\scripts.
- Use the shapechecker utility to repair the shapefile. This can be found on the ArcScript web page by searching by the keywords 'shape check'.
- If the shapefile was created in ARC/INFO, make sure the coverage used was topologically clean and there were no duplicate polygon labels. If not, clean up the coverage and recreate the shapefile.