Soil data downloaded from Web Soil Survey has to be unzipped before it can be used.  The location to which that data is unzipped doesn't really matter.  If your system has a zip utility already installed, a zip file can typically be unzipped simply by double clicking on it.  Soil Data Mart zip files are created using WinZip, but any compatible compression utility can be used to unzip an export file.

Exports are packaged by soil survey area, and the soil survey area symbol is embedded in the zipped export file name.  A soil survey area symbol is composed of a two letter state FIPS code followed by a three digit number that distinguishes one soil survey area in a state from another.  For example, the zipped export file for Cherry County, Nebraska would be named "soil_ne031.zip".

After unzipping a file named soil_ne031.zip, in the directory to which you unzipped the file, you are left with a directory/file hierarchy similar to what is shown below.  A top level directory corresponding to the soil survey area is created in order to separate exports that are unzipped to the same directory.

\soil_ne031
    \spatial
    \tabular (contains the soil tabular data ASCII delimited files)
    readme.txt
    soil_metadata_ne031.txt
    soil_metadata_ne031.xml
    soildb_US_2002.zip (a zipped MS Access SSURGO template database)

The last file is only present if you chose to include a SSURGO template database with your download.  The name of this file may vary depending on the state for which you requested a download, and depending on the Microsoft Access version you requested.

The soil tabular data cannot be easily used without importing it into a Microsoft Access database.

If you requested a Microsoft Access SSURGO template database, the file containing that SSURGO template database must now also be unzipped before it can be used.  If your export request did not include a SSURGO template database, you can always download one from:

http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov

In order to use a SSURGO template database, an appropriate version of Microsoft Access must be installed on your PC.  In general, the version of Microsoft Access on your PC must be equal to or newer than the version of the SSURGO template database.

Unzipping soildb_US_2002.zip results in a file named soildb_US_2002.mdb.  This unzipped file is a Microsoft Access database.  Again, the location to which the SSURGO template database is unzipped doesn't really matter.

To import data into the Microsoft Access database, you must first open the database by double clicking the database file name.  When you first open that database, and it is empty, the Import form is automatically displayed.  If the Import form is not automatically displayed when you open the database, select the Forms tab of the Database window and open the form named "Import".

In the blank on the Import form, enter the fully qualified path name of the directory containing the soil tabular data ASCII delimited files whose contents are to be imported, .e.g.

d:\temp\soil_ne031\tabular

After entering the directory pathname, click "OK" to initiate the import process.  When the import has completed, the Import form will automatically be closed, and the Soil Reports form will be automatically opened.

If any problem occurs during the import process, a dialog box noting the problem will be displayed.

Data from more than one export may be imported into this database.  Each export has to be imported independently.  A subsequent import cannot contain any data for a soil survey area that already resides in this database, since the current import process is strictly an "add" operation as opposed to a more sophisticated "add/update" operation.  If you attempt to process an export that contains data for a soil survey area that already resides in this database, that import operation will fail.  If you want to update a soil survey area that already resides in a database, you must first drop the existing copy of that soil survey area.  For more information on dropping the data for an existing soil survey area from a database, please see the section titled "Deleting/Updating Data".

MS Access, despite being the incredibly nifty desktop database it is, should not be confused with a genuine high-end database management system.  You may continue to import soil survey data until the maximum allowable size of an MS Access database is reached (Access 97 - 1 Gigabyte, Access 2000/2002/2003 - 2 Gigabytes).  Of course the larger the MS Access database, the more that performance will degrade.  Performance goes completely south long before maximum database size is reached.

As of template database version 29, it is now possible to import spot feature descriptions.  Spot feature descriptions are imported into table “featdesc”.  Spot features are considered to be part of the spatial data and are therefore not automatically imported with the tabular data.  Even when spatial data is available, spot feature descriptions may not exist.

To import spot feature descriptions, open the form named "Import Feature Descriptions".  In the blank on that form, enter the fully qualified path name of the file containing the spot feature descriptions to be imported.  For a download from the Soil Data Mart, spot feature descriptions, when available, reside in a file in the subdirectory named "spatial".  The prefix of the spot feature description file name will be either "soilst_t" (Shapefile format) or "ssf_t" (ArcInfo Coverage or ArcInfo Interchange format), depending on the format in which the spatial data was exported.  The corresponding soil survey area symbol is also embedded in this file's name.  For example, if spot feature descriptions for Cherry County, Nebraska existed, and if the spatial data was requested to be in Shapefile format, the spot feature descriptions would be contained in …\soil_ne031\spatial\soilsf_t_ne031.txt.