DGN (Microstation) to Shapefile
Convert DGN (Microstation) files to Shapefile format
🔒 All processing happens locally in your browser. Your files never leave your device.
What is DGN to Shapefile conversion?
DGN and Shapefile come from different worlds. DGN is Bentley Microstation's native CAD format — built for drafting, with concepts like cells, levels, line styles, and dimensions. Shapefile is ESRI's GIS interchange format — built for spatial analysis, with concepts like features, attribute tables, and projections. Converting between them is the most common CAD-to-GIS bridge you will encounter, especially in surveying, civil engineering, and infrastructure projects where the source data is drawn in Microstation but needs to live in a GIS database.
The conversion preserves the geometry — points, polylines, polygons — and lifts DGN levels into the Shapefile attribute table so each feature carries the layer it originally lived on. Things that have no GIS meaning (line styles, custom symbology, dimensions) are stripped out.
Common uses for DGN to Shapefile
Bringing surveyor deliverables into QGIS
Surveyors often deliver site data as Microstation drawings. Convert to Shapefile to load the data into QGIS for overlay with aerial imagery, cadastral, and other GIS layers.
Parcel and property boundaries into a GIS
Land registry and parcel data is frequently kept in DGN. Conversion to Shapefile lets council and planning teams query and visualise it alongside their other spatial datasets.
Civil engineering drawings into mapping platforms
Road centrelines, utility runs, and design alignments drawn in Microstation become Shapefile features for use in routing, asset management, and stakeholder web maps.
Archiving design data in an open format
Shapefile is an open, long-lived format with broad tool support. Keeping a Shapefile copy alongside the original DGN is good archival practice.
How to convert DGN to Shapefile
- Drag your
.dgnfile onto the converter above, or click to browse for it. - Click “Convert” — the file is parsed in your browser and a ZIP is generated.
- Download the ZIP and extract — you will get
.shp,.dbf,.shx, and (if a CRS was present).prjfiles. - Drag the
.shpfile into QGIS, ArcGIS, or your GIS of choice.
Keep the four files together — Shapefile is a multi-file format, and the geometry alone will not open without its companions.
What changes in the conversion
Geometry preserved
Points, lines, polylines, polygons, arcs and curves convert to their Shapefile equivalents.
Levels become attribute
The DGN level/layer is written into the attribute table so you can filter features by it.
Text labels become attribute
Text annotations are emitted as point features with the text string in an attribute column.
Line styles stripped
Shapefile has no styling; line weight and colour are dropped (your GIS will style them).
Dimensions dropped
Dimension entities have no GIS equivalent and are not carried across.
Blocks/cells exploded
Cell references are expanded into their component geometry — no shared library is needed in the output.
DGN to other formats
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I convert a DGN file to Shapefile?
Drop your .dgn file onto the converter above and download a ZIP containing the Shapefile components in seconds. The converter reads DGN geometry and writes ESRI Shapefile features. The conversion runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.
What is inside the downloaded ZIP?
A Shapefile is actually a small bundle of files: .shp (the geometry), .dbf (the attribute table), .shx (the spatial index), and .prj (the coordinate reference system). All four are included in the ZIP — extract the lot to a folder before opening in QGIS or ArcGIS.
Are layers preserved as attributes?
Yes. DGN levels (the equivalent of layers) are written into the Shapefile attribute table — typically as a Layer or Level column — so you can filter and symbolise by them in your GIS.
Are DGN V7 and V8 both supported?
Yes. Both Bentley DGN V7 and V8 read cleanly through the GDAL DGN driver. The converter detects the version automatically.
Will my coordinate system carry over?
If the DGN contains a GCS (Geographic Coordinate System) tag, it is written into the .prj file. If your DGN lacks a CRS, the Shapefile will have no .prj and you may need to assign one in QGIS or with our Assign CRS tool.
Is my DGN file uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion happens locally in your browser using GDAL WebAssembly. Important for engineering deliverables, parcel data, or anything subject to a confidentiality agreement.
Can the output be opened in QGIS, ArcGIS, and MapInfo?
Yes — Shapefile is the universal interchange format for desktop GIS. QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Desktop, MapInfo, Global Mapper, and many other GIS packages open Shapefiles natively.
What if I need DGN to DXF or DGN to KML instead?
Try our dedicated DGN to DXF page (for AutoCAD-compatible CAD output) or DGN to KML (for Google Earth viewing). Each is tuned for its target audience.
Need to convert multiple DGN files?
Use our batch DGN to Shapefile converter to process dozens or hundreds of files in a single run — Pro feature, files never leave your browser.
More DGN (Microstation) Conversions
Convert DGN (Microstation) files to other popular formats
to GeoJSON
.geojson
to KML
.kml
to CSV
.csv
to GPX
.gpx
to GeoPackage
.gpkg
to FlatGeobuf
.fgb
to JSON-FG
.json
to MVT
.mvt
to PostgreSQL Dump
.sql
to PMTiles
.pmtiles
to MBTiles
.mbtiles
to DXF
.dxf
to PDF
to GML
.gml
to Excel (XLSX)
.xlsx
to OpenDocument Spreadsheet
.ods
to GeoRSS
.xml
to MapInfo TAB
.tab
to File Geodatabase
.gdb.zip
to SpatiaLite
.sqlite
to GeoJSON Sequences
.geojsonl
to S57 Nautical Charts
.000
Convert to Shapefile From Other Formats
Convert other geospatial formats to Shapefile
from GeoJSON
.geojson
from KML
.kml
from CSV
.csv
from GPX
.gpx
from GeoPackage
.gpkg
from FlatGeobuf
.fgb
from JSON-FG
.json
from MVT
.mvt
from PMTiles
.pmtiles
from MBTiles
.mbtiles
from DXF
.dxf
from TopoJSON
.topojson
from GML
.gml
from OpenStreetMap
.osm
from Excel (XLSX)
.xlsx
from OpenDocument Spreadsheet
.ods
from SVG
.svg
from GeoRSS
.xml
from MapInfo TAB
.tab
from File Geodatabase
.gdb.zip
from SpatiaLite
.sqlite
from Esri JSON
.json
from GeoJSON Sequences
.geojsonl
from S57 Nautical Charts
.000
Visualize Your Data
View your geospatial files on an interactive map
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