Note on MassGIS data coordinate system/projection:
All data distributed by MassGIS are registered to the NAD83 datum, Massachusetts State Plane Mainland Zone coordinate system. Units are in meters. Please note that if you are using data in other projections or in other units (e.g. feet) your data will not be spatially aligned to MassGIS data unless your GIS software supports on-the-fly projection. Currently some shapefile .exes do not contain .prj files, which provides spatial reference information for ArcGIS 8.x and above.

Note on using MassGIS data:
When using MassGIS data on maps or in digital applications, source credit should be stated as "Office of Geographic Information (MassGIS), Commonwealth of Massachusetts Information Technology Division"
 

Note: On June 27, 2011, MassGIS deployed a new FTP server. At the present time the ability to view directory listings and use command-line ftp and other FTP client software is disabled. This functionality may be restored in the future. All download links on the MassGIS Web site are now http-based.