diff --git a/plugins/input/shape/shape_utils.cpp b/plugins/input/shape/shape_utils.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d83db47dd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/input/shape/shape_utils.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+ *
+ * This file is part of Mapnik (c++ mapping toolkit)
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2011 Artem Pavlenko
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+ *
+ *****************************************************************************/
+
+// mapnik
+#include <mapnik/datasource.hpp>
+#include "shape_utils.hpp"
+
+// boost
+#include <boost/algorithm/string.hpp>
+// stl
+#include <sstream>
+#include <iostream>
+
+
+void setup_attributes(mapnik::context_ptr const& ctx, 
+                      std::set<std::string> const& names,
+                      std::string const& shape_name,
+                      shape_io & shape, 
+                      std::vector<int> & attr_ids)
+{
+    std::set<std::string>::const_iterator pos = names.begin();   
+    std::set<std::string>::const_iterator end = names.end();   
+    for ( ;pos !=end; ++pos)
+    {
+        bool found_name = false;
+        for (int i = 0; i < shape.dbf().num_fields(); ++i)
+        {
+            if (shape.dbf().descriptor(i).name_ == *pos)
+            {                
+                ctx->push(*pos);
+                attr_ids.push_back(i);
+                found_name = true;
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+        
+        if (! found_name)
+        {
+            std::ostringstream s;
+
+            s << "no attribute '" << *pos << "' in '"
+              << shape_name << "'. Valid attributes are: ";
+
+            std::vector<std::string> list;
+            for (int i = 0; i < shape.dbf().num_fields(); ++i)
+            {
+                list.push_back(shape.dbf().descriptor(i).name_);
+            }
+            s << boost::algorithm::join(list, ",") << ".";
+
+            throw mapnik::datasource_exception("Shape Plugin: " + s.str());
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/plugins/input/shape/shape_utils.hpp b/plugins/input/shape/shape_utils.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cbffa5c3a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/plugins/input/shape/shape_utils.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*****************************************************************************
+ *
+ * This file is part of Mapnik (c++ mapping toolkit)
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2011 Artem Pavlenko
+ *
+ * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
+ * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
+ * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * Lesser General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+ * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+ * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA  02110-1301  USA
+ *
+ *****************************************************************************/
+
+#ifndef SHAPE_UTILS_HPP
+#define SHAPE_UTILS_HPP
+
+// mapnik
+#include <mapnik/feature.hpp>
+#include "shape_io.hpp"
+// stl
+#include <set>
+#include <vector>
+#include <string>
+
+void setup_attributes(mapnik::context_ptr const& ctx, 
+                      std::set<std::string> const& names,
+                      std::string const& shape_name,
+                      shape_io & shape, 
+                      std::vector<int> & attr_ids);
+
+#endif // SHAPE_UTILS_HPP