I'm getting this message with I try to add a shape file to a map, "Failed to add data, unsupported data type."

[DarrinNielsen]

The shape file was created in QGIS. It is is clean file with no reported errors according to diagnostic tools in QGIS. But, when I attempt to load to a map in ArcGIS pro, the above error message appears. At a loss as to what else to try.

[AdrianWelsh]

Darrin,

Make sure that the folder containing the shapefile contains all of the related files (like .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj, .sbn, .cpg, etc.).

[DarrinNielsen]

Thank you Adrian. Yes, I have included those files. The odd thing is that I was able to add one particular shapefile to the map (an earlier version of the file I am most interested in adding) which was also generated from QGIS so this is very perplexing to me and difficult to troubleshoot.

[DanPatterson_Retired]

When you say 'load a map' do you mean 'add the shapefile to a map' ?

[DarrinNielsen]

Yes. Thank you.

[DanPatterson_Retired]

You can try a Check Geometry from with ArcGIS PRO or the standalone application shapechecker

https://community.esri.com/thread/177037

if there is no substantive error, go back to qgis and export another copy... it could just be a bad copy

[DarrinNielsen]

Thank you Dan. I'll give it a try.

[DarrinNielsen]

I have found a difference between the old version of the shapefile that does add to the map and the version that I need to add to the map.

Both versions have the following file types: cpg, dbf, prj, qpj, shp, shx.

The file that is successfully adding to the map also has an shp.xml file, while the other file does not. I suspect that is the reason and perhaps I may just need to figure out how I generate that file type. I can't recall but I may have done it within ArcGIS by first exporting my shapefile to a geodatabase. I could be wrong but I vaguely remember doing something like with the older file in a random attempt to get this to work. We'll see how it goes.

[DanPatterson_Retired]

Rename the *.xml to *.xmlold. and try switching up the order that you are adding the files.

I also assume that both shapefiles have a different name...if they don't that can cause an issue as well

[DarrinNielsen]

I have figured out the problem now but don't know how to solve.

I started with a clean file in QGIS that was clean and accepted by ArcGIS. This file had some multipart polygons, which I wanted to split into single polygons, so I ran that function in QGIS. This is the souce of the problem. ArcGIS would not recognize the file once I split the multiparts to single polygons. I'm not sure if there are some setting I would need to adjust to get ArcGIS to accept the new file or perhaps there is a function in ArcGIS to do the same. 

Thanks

Darrin