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Converts TIGER/Line files to standard geographic files.
For Version 5.0, TIGER/Line versions are supported through 2006.
ImportTiger(integer version, array filenames, string db_name, array options)
|
Argument |
Contents |
|
version |
The version of TIGER/Line to be imported (1990, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). |
|
filenames |
An array of the names (without extensions) of the TIGER/Line files to be imported, e.g. {"d:\\tgr25017", "d:\\tgr25025"} |
|
db_name |
The name of the output geographic file |
Choose only one of the following five options. The option indicates the types of features to import and the type of layer to create:
|
Option |
Type |
Contents |
|
Point |
Array or string |
An array of Census Feature Class Code (CFCC) strings, or the string "Block Centroid", or the string "ZIP+4", indicating the point features to import |
|
Line |
Array |
An array of Census Feature Class Code (CFCC) strings, indicating the line features to import |
|
Street |
Array |
An array of Census Feature Class Code (CFCC) strings, indicating the street features to import |
|
Landmark |
Array |
An array of Census Feature Class Code (CFCC) strings, indicating the landmark area features to import |
|
Area |
String |
Any one of the following strings, indicating the type of area boundary to construct: "State", "County", "Tract", "Block Group", "Block", "Water Block", "Place", "MCD", "Census UA Code" (or "UA"), "American Indian Reservation" (or "AIR"), "Voting District." |
In addition, the following strings can also be used with the Area option to indicate the type of area boundary to construct for particular versions. The table indicates the first version that the string can be used with and the last version (if any) that the string can be used with:
|
String |
First Version |
Last Version |
|
Congressional District |
1990 |
2000 |
|
101st Congressional District |
1990 |
1992 |
|
103rd Congressional District |
1990 |
1992 |
|
106th Congressional District |
1994 |
-- |
|
108th Congressional District |
2000 |
-- |
|
Legislative Upper |
1999 |
-- |
|
Legislative Lower |
1999 |
-- |
|
80 State |
1990 |
1992 |
|
80 County |
1990 |
1992 |
|
80 Tract |
1990 |
1992 |
|
80 Block |
1990 |
1992 |
|
Place (FIPS) |
1990 |
1995 |
|
90 State |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 County |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 MCD |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 Place |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 Tract |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 Block Group |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 Block |
1994 |
2000 |
|
Block 2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
|
Current County |
2002 |
-- |
|
Current MCD |
2002 |
-- |
|
Current Place |
2002 |
-- |
|
90 American Indian Reservation (or 90 AIR) |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 Tribal Designated Statistical Area (or 90 TDSA) |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 Tribal Jurisdiction Statistical Area (or 90 TJSA) |
1994 |
2000 |
|
90 Alaska Native Village Statistical Area (or 90 ANVSA) |
1994 |
2000 |
|
Tribal Designated Statistical Area (or TDSA) |
1990 |
2000 |
|
Tribal Jurisdiction Statistical Area (or TJSA) |
1990 |
2000 |
|
American Indian Tribal Subdivision (or AITS) |
2002 |
-- |
|
Alaska Native Village Statistical Area (or ANVSA) |
1990 |
2000 |
|
Alaska Native Regional Commission (or ANRC) |
2000 |
-- |
|
Traffic Analysis Zone (or TAZ) |
1994 |
-- |
|
TAZComb |
2002 |
-- |
|
Elementary School District |
1992 |
-- |
|
Middle School District |
1992 |
1995 |
|
Secondary School District |
1992 |
-- |
|
Unified School District |
1992 |
-- |
|
Geographic Location |
1994 |
2000 |
|
Consolidated City |
2000 |
-- |
|
SMCD |
2000 |
-- |
|
UGA |
2000 |
-- |
|
ZCTA |
2000 |
-- |
|
UA2000 |
2000 |
-- |
|
Atomic Polygon |
2000 |
-- |
|
PUMA5 |
2000 |
-- |
|
PUMA1 |
2002 |
-- |
The following options can be used with any of the above options:
|
Option |
Type |
Contents |
|
Copy Path |
String |
A path to which the TIGER/Line files are copied before processing; increases speed when working with TIGER/Line files on CD |
|
Label |
String |
A descriptive label for the new geographic file |
|
Layer Name |
String |
The name of the new layer in the geographic file |
|
Datum |
String |
The name of the datum to convert to: "NAD27" or "NAD83" |
The following option can be used only with the Line or Street options:
|
Option |
Type |
Contents |
|
Node Layer Name |
String |
The name of the endpoint layer in the geographic file |
The following option can be used only with the Landmark and Area options:
|
Option |
Type |
Contents |
|
Water Boundary |
Boolean |
If "True" (the default), water blocks will be merged with adjacent area features, resulting in a simpler geographic file that does not show any water detail. If "False" water blocks are dropped out and appear as holes in the resulting, more detailed, geographic file. |
If the version is not know, use TigerVersion() to make an educated guess of the TIGER/Line file version.
2000 is the version for the Redistricting Census 2000 TIGER/Line files (released December 2000 through March 2001), the (final) Census 2000 TIGER/Line files (released October 2001), the UA (Urban Area) Census 2000 TIGER/Line files (released June 2002), and the 108th CD Census 2000 TIGER/Line files (released March 2003).
If ImportTiger() does not find a TIGER/Line file in the specified folder, it prompts the user to place the CD in the drive. This option is very useful if the input data is scattered across two or more CDs.
The 103rd Congress (January 1993-1995) was the first based on the 1990 Census. Adjustments to Congressional districts were made through the 106th Congress (January 1999-2001). The 108th Congress (January 2003-2005) was the first based on the 2000 Census.
The 106th Congressional District codes are blank until the 1999 TIGER/Line files.
The 108th Congressional District codes are blank except in the 108th CD Census 2000 TIGER/Line files.
Some Area option strings need further description:
|
Area Option String |
Description |
|
Atomic Polygon |
The areas from which all other areas are created; atomic polygons can have holes but not islands |
|
Congressional District |
Districts for the current Congress for that version of TIGER/Line |
|
Geographic Location |
Key Geographic Locations (KGLs), which are areas of interest in addition to the landmark areas |
|
Place |
Place boundaries with Census IDs |
|
Place (FIPS) |
Place boundaries with FIPS IDs |
|
PUMA1 and PUMA5 |
Public Use Microsample Areas for 1 and 5 percent samples. |
|
SMCD |
Sub-MCDs, in particular the sub-barrios in Puerto Rico |
|
TAZComb |
Combined TAZs with unique IDs within states |
|
UA |
Census Urban Areas |
|
UA2000 |
Census Urban Areas developed from the 2000 Census |
|
UGA |
Oregon Urban Growth Areas |
|
ZCTA |
5-digit ZIP Code Tabulation Areas; available only in the final Census 2000 TIGER/Line files and later |
The geographic file name must be a valid name for a standard geographic file, with the .dbd extension.
// Build simple Census Block boundaries
ImportTiger(1990, {"tgr25015"}, "my_file.dbd", {{"Area", "Block"}})
// Build voting districts, dropping out water blocks for more detail
ImportTiger(1992, {"tgr25015", "f:\\tgr25017"}, "another.dbd", {
{"Area", "Voting District"},
{"Layer Name", "Precincts"},
{"Label", "My Voting District File"},
{"Water Boundary", "False"}
})
|
Error Type |
Meaning |
|
Error |
An error occurred creating the geographic file (e.g., insufficient disk space) |
|
NotFound |
One of the input TIGER/Line files could not be found |
|
Function |
Summary |
|
Tries to determine the version of a TIGER/Line file |
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