Standard File Formats

Read, write, and get information about data files

Read, write, and get information about geospatial data files. Read data in formats such as Esri Binary Grid, Esri GridFloat, DTED, GeoTIFF, and GPX. Write data in GeoTIFF, world file, shapefile, and KML formats.

Functions

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Raster Data

Read

`readgeoraster`	Read geospatial raster data file
`worldfileread`	Read world file and return reference object
`imread`	Read image from graphics file

Get Information

`georasterinfo`	Information about geospatial raster data file
`geotiffinfo`	Information about GeoTIFF file
`sdtsinfo`	Information about SDTS data set
`getworldfilename`	Derive world file name from image file name

Write

`geotiffwrite`	Write GeoTIFF file
`worldfilewrite`	Write world file from raster reference object
`imwrite`	Write image to graphics file

Vector Data

Read

`readgeotable`	Read geospatial table from vector data file
`gpxread`	Read GPX file
`shaperead`	Read vector features and attributes from shapefile

Get Information

shapeinfo Information about shapefile

Write

`kmlwrite`	Write geographic data to KML file
`kmlwriteline`	Write geographic line data to KML file
`kmlwritepoint`	Write geographic point data to KML file
`kmlwritepolygon`	Write geographic polygon to KML file
`makeattribspec`	Create attribute specification
`shapewrite`	Write geographic vector data structure to shapefile
`makedbfspec`	Create DBF specification

Objects

`RasterInfo`	Information about geospatial raster data file
`RPCCoefficientTag`	Rational Polynomial Coefficients Tag

Topics

Export Vector Geodata
You can export geodata as a shapefile, which can be exchanged between different geographic information systems. You can also create KML files to upload geodata to the web.
Export KML Files for Viewing in Earth Browsers
Keyhole Markup Language (KML) specifies how a set of geographic features should be displayed in "Earth browsers".
Select Shapefile Data to Read
You can import a subset of elements in a shapefile by filtering elements according to attribute names and values.

Featured Examples

Exporting Vector Data to KML

Structure geographic point, line, and polygon vector data and export it to a KML file.

Open Live Script

Export Images and Raster Grids to GeoTIFF

Write data referenced to standard geographic and projected coordinate systems to GeoTIFF files.

Open Script

Create, Process, and Export Digital Surface Model from Lidar Data

Create a spatially referenced digital surface model (DSM) from aerial lidar data, update the model, and export the result to a GeoTIFF file.

Open Live Script