I have recently started exploring TF's shapefile capabilities. Some files are <10MB and some are around 100MB. Even with the smallest files, the data can still be statewide and results in a cluttered screen. I just thought it would be nice to be centered on an area of interest and have TF discard anything outside that area when reading the file in. Also, I found that I need to reproject some of the files in order to use them with TF. In case anyone else ran into this, I found a free GIS program called MapWindow that can reproject shapefiles. Serious overkill, but it works for most cases that I have tried.
