Tools › Join by location

Join data by location — free

Want to know which zone, suburb or region each of your points is in? Drop your points in box 1 and the zones in box 2. DropMaps copies each zone’s details onto the points that fall inside it.

1

The data to add details to

Drop a map file here, or

    2

    The layer to take details from

    Drop a map file here, or

      Both layers in one file? Just fill box 1 — you can pick the second layer in DropMaps.

      By opening your file you agree to the DropMaps Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

      ✓ Opened in a new tab

      Your files stay on your computer — they open in your browser, not on our servers.

      Free · No signup · Nothing to install

      What it does

      Before Join by location, before: A layer of places (points) and six zones (areas).
      A layer of places (points) and six zones (areas).
      After Join by location, after: Each place picks up the name of the zone it sits in (the zone column).
      Each place picks up the name of the zone it sits in (the zone column).

      How to do it

      1. Any map file works: a zipped shapefile, KML or KMZ, GeoJSON, GeoPackage, GPX, a CSV with coordinates or a zipped .gdb.
      2. Drop the data to add details to into box 1 and the layer to take details from into box 2. You can also drop both at once, then use “Swap” if they landed the wrong way round.
      3. Click “Set up Join”. DropMaps opens in a new tab with your data on the map and the Join by location tool open, your layers already picked.
      4. Leave “Spatial relationship” as Intersects to match features that touch or overlap, or choose “Nearest to A” to match each one to the closest feature. Then click Run.
      5. The result appears on the map as a new layer. Click “Save result…” to download it as a shapefile, KML, GeoJSON, GeoPackage or CSV.

      Questions

      What if a point is not inside any zone?

      It is kept, just with the new columns empty. Choose “Nearest to A” as the spatial relationship to match it to the closest zone instead.

      What if a feature matches more than one?

      By default it takes the first match. Set “Match handling” to All matches to get one row for every match.

      What if both layers are in one file?

      Drop the file into box 1 only. Once DropMaps opens, pick the second layer from the list in the tool.

      How do I get the result?

      The result appears on the map as a new layer. Click “Save result…” under the Run button and choose a shapefile, KML, GeoJSON, GeoPackage or CSV.

      Is my data uploaded anywhere?

      No. The tool runs inside your browser, on your own computer. Nothing is sent to us unless you choose to save the map to a DropMaps account.

      Other free tools

      Viewers

      Shapefile viewerKML / KMZ viewerGeoJSON viewerCSV to mapGeoTIFF viewerGPX viewerGeoPackage viewerFile Geodatabase viewer

      Converters

      Shapefile to GeoJSONShapefile to KMLKML to shapefileKML to GeoJSONGeoJSON to shapefileGeoJSON to KMLCSV to KMLCSV to shapefileGPX to KMLKML to CSVGeoPackage to shapefileFile Geodatabase to shapefile

      Map functions

      BufferDissolveMerge layersClipEraseSimplifyCentroidsCount points in polygonsFix geometry

      See what else DropMaps can do

      It’s a full map maker in your browser — colour and label your data, draw and edit shapes, measure, stack files on top of each other, and share a map with a link anyone can open.

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