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ATLAS OF RURAL SETTLEMENT IN ENGLAND GIS
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This file explains the directory structure and contents of the dissemination package for the Atlas of Rural Settlement in England GIS (Shapefile) data collection.


Directory Structure
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AtlasRuralSettlementGIS_Shapefile [ROOT]
|
|- Data
|  |
|  |- ProvSubProvDscrp
|  |
|  |- Shapefiles
|
|- Documentation



Directory Contents
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The ROOT directory contains two directories: 
	> Data
	> Documentation

The ROOT directory also contains an Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file called 'AtlasRuralSettlementGIS_TermsConditions.pdf', which outlines the terms and conditions for use of the data collection and an ASCII text file 'READ_ME.txt' (this file).

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The DATA directory contains two directories:
	> ProvSubProvDscrp
	> Shapefiles

The DATA directory also contains an ArcGIS map document (compatible with ArcGIS version 9.0 and above) 'AtlasRuralSettlementGIS_v901.mxd', with the shapefiles comprising the Atlas of Rural Settlement in England GIS data collection loaded and symbolised.

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The DATA\PROVSUBPROVDSCRP directory contains:
	> An Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file called 'AtlasRurualSettlementEnglandGIS_ProvinceSubProvinceDescriptions.pdf', which contains text and figures for the settlement province and sub-province descriptions found on pages 40-57 of B K Roberts and S Wrathmell 2000 An Atlas of Rural Settlement in England, 2003 corrected reprint edn. London: English Heritage.

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The DATA\SHAPEFILES directory contains:
	> Shapefiles for each layer comprising the Atlas of Rural Settlement in England GIS data collection. Each shapefile is made up of six separate files, each with the same name but with different file extensions, as follows:
		> *.shpmain file that stores the feature geometry
		> *.shxindex file that stores the index of the feature geometry 
		> *.dbfdBASE table that stores the attribute information of features
		> *.sbn and *.sbxfiles that store the spatial index of the features 
		> *.prjfile that stores the coordinate system information
	> *.xmlmetadata generated by ArcGIS for each shapefile; NB  these metadata files are NOT standards-compliant and hold only very basic, software-generated information. For full metadata for each shapefile, see the UK GEMINI 2.1-compliant metadata files in the same directory, noted below.
	> ArcGIS 'layer'files (*.lyr) for each shapefile (compatible with ArcGIS version 9.0 and above). The symbolisations held in the layer files matches those used in the 'AtlasRuralSettlementGIS_v901.mxd' ArcGIS map document noted above.
	> UK GEMINI version 2.1-compliant discovery level metadata for each shapefile in XML format; the UK GEMINI 2.1-compliant metadata files have filenames beginning with 'ukgem21_iso19139_'.

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The DOCUMENTATION directory contains:
	> An Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file called 'AtlasRuralSettlementEnglandGIS_Documentation.pdf', which contains detailed information about the Atlas of Rural Settlement in England GIS project, the processes by which the data and metadata were created, and limitations and other issues of data quality relating to the data collection.
	> An Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) file called 'AtlasRuralSettlementEnglandGIS_DataDictionary.pdf', which is a data dictionary for the shapefiles held in the Data\Shapefiles directory. This document details the attribute field names, suggested aliases and descriptions of the types of data held in each field.

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README file created by Andrew G Lowerre, English Heritage, January 2011
English Heritage
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