Open Printable/Searchable Copy - Global Mapper

Global Mapper User's Manual
The Import Type section allows the user to specify how they want the data in the file to be treated. The
different import types are defined as follows:
• Point Only - All lines from the file which are determined to contain coordinate data will result in a
single point feature to be generated.
• Point, Line, and Area Features - Any string of two or more consecutive lines with coordinate data
will result in a line or area feature. All isolated coordinate lines will result in a point feature.
• Elevation Grid - All lines from the file which are determined to contain 3D coordinate data will be
use generated a triangulated terrain which is then gridded to create a elevation grid. This grid has all
the capabilities of an imported DEM, including contour generation, line of sight and view shed
analysis, and raster draping. When selecting this option, the Create Elevation Grid dialog will appear
after setting up the ASCII file import options to allow setting up the gridding process.
The Coordinate Column Order section allows the user to specify in what order the coordinates are found on
coordinate lines in the file. Coordinates can either be x followed by y (i.e. longitude then latitude) or the
reverse. You can also load files with WKT (well-known-text) coordinate strings, allowing line, polygon, and
point feature coordinates all on a single line. MGRS (military grid reference system) coordinate strings can
also be loaded. Elevation values, if any, are always assumed to come after the x and y values.
The Fields to Skip at Start of Line setting controls what field index (column) the coordinates start in. For
example, if the x and y coordinates are in the 3rd and 4th columns, set this value to 2 so that the coordinates
will be grabbed from the appropriate place. The Coordinate Format option allows you to specify how
coordinate values are stored. The default option supports several formats, including using the exact decimal
representation for the coordinate and automatic recognition of separated latitude/longitude degree values, such
as DD MM SS with a large variety of supported separating characters. Support also exists for packed decimal
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