I often use the brilliant SQL Server 2008 Spatial Tools to import shapefiles into SQL Server 2008. This works absolutely fine but it leaves me wondering, how do Microsoft expect end users of SQL Server to get shapefiles into SQL Server? What is the official method for importing this data?
The only references to this I've spotted on GIS.stackexchange are these questions: How to import shapefiles into MS SQL 2008 and then view that data using QGIS? and How to import shape file into SQL Server 2008 R2 using only SQL scripts? , which references spatial tools, GDAL etc. but nothing from Microsoft. Is there something I've missed? Call me naive but I'd almost expect there to be an option in the data source list in SQL Server Import/Export wizard for shapefile!
In summary: I'm not asking how to import shapefiles into SQL Server, I'm specifically asking how Microsoft expect us to import shapefiles into SQL Server.
Answer
I've been working with MS Sql Server Spatial since the '07 Katmai betas and I know of no Microsoft tool to do this. I had discussions with MS staff in '07 or '08 and at that point both reprojection and shapefile support were features they had chosen to leave up to third parties to implement.
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