Formats and Data Sources

This chapter provides a list of topics documenting various file formats and data sources to which Manifold can connect.   Manifold can read virtually every format and data source in existence.   See the Big List of Formats and Data Sources topic for the huge list.   

 

There are so many formats and data sources that Manifold can read that most do not have their own topics.   A partial listing of formats documented within individual topics follows:

 

Big List of Formats and Data Sources

A more or less comprehensive list of all formats and data sources Manifold can handle, in addition to those for which the following individual topics are provided.  

. Files (CTG LULC) (".")

Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) data in CTG format in files that do not have a three letter extension.  See the CTG, LULC Grid Cell  topic.

. Files (GDAL/OGR) (".")

Launch the GDAL/OGR dataport:  files will be imported using GDAL/OGR.   See the GDAL / OGR  topic.

. Files (GIRAS LULC) (".")

Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) data in Geographic Information Retrieval and Analysis System (GIRAS) format in files that do not have a three letter extension.  See the GIRAS, LULC Vector Format topic.

. Files (GLOBE) (".")

Terrain elevation data in NOAA GLOBE format files that do not have a three letter extension.  GLOBE is usually considered a more modern, slightly more complete version of the USGS GTOPO30 project. See the GLOBE topic.  See also the DEM, GTOPO30  topic.

. Files (GRASS) (".")

Geographic Resources Analysis Support System (GRASS) format dot files.   See the GRASS topic.

Databases

 

Manifold Server

Manifold Server is a high performance, parallel, read-only, spatial database server.  It allows many Manifold users to share data that is published through Server.

Db2

 

MySQL

 

Oracle

 

PostgreSQL, PostGIS

 

SQL Server

 

ESRI SDE Geodatabase

ESRI enterprise geodatabases, also referred to as "SDE" style geodatabases and stored within a database server such as Oracle or SQL Server.  If we connect to a popular database server like Oracle or SQL Server, if there is an ESRI SDE geodatabase hosted on that server, Manifold will automatically show that as well.

File Databases

 

DB .db

Borland Paradox database files.  Requires installation of Microsoft's 64-bit Access Database Engine if 64-bit Microsoft Office has not been installed.

DBF, dBase / FoxPro

The ancient database format originally introduced by dBase II and used as a database component by ESRI shapefiles.

GDB, ESRI File Geodatabase

File geodatabases are ESRI's recommended geodatabase format.  Manifold's GDB dataport includes numerous features to facilitate read/write use of ESRI file geodatabases.

GDB, ESRI File Geodatabase, Old Format

Use GDAL to connect to ESRI's deprecated, "old" format for file geodatabases, as used by ArcGIS 9.  ArcGIS 10 and subsequent use new GDB format.

GPKG

The OGC GeoPackage format for storing vector and raster spatial data within an SQLite database container within a single .gpkg file.  As an interchange format, clearly superior to ubiquitous, but obsolete, shapefiles.

MAP, Manifold

All Manifold and Radian .map project files.

MDB, ESRI Personal Geodatabase

ESRI "personal" geodatabases stored using Microsoft Access .mdb format.

MDB Microsoft Access

All Microsoft Access formats, such as Access 2000 and Access 97 .mdb forma.    Requires installation of Microsoft's 64-bit Access Database Engine if 64-bit Microsoft Office has not been installed.

MFD, Manifold

Release 4.50 and earlier Manifold GIS .mfd files.

MXB, Manifold

An alternate, compressed, archival form of Manifold .map project files.

SQLITE

SQLite database files.

Folders

 

library

An image library is a data source that provides what appears to be a single image that is created by automatically forming a mosaic from one or more image files within a Windows folder.

librarylas

Create a single point cloud drawing from all LAS or LAZ files found within a given folder.  

Web Servers

 

ArcGIS REST Servers

The ArcGIS REST Server dataport connects to web servers using REST (representational state transfer) architecture that provide raster or vector data via ESRI ArcGIS protocols.  ESRI refers to ArcGIS REST servers that provide vector data as feature servers.

CSV Servers

How to connect to web servers providing data in CSV format.  

Custom Servers

Generic image servers.

Document Servers

Google Sheets spreadsheets served by Google.   The dataport is named generically since other document servers, such as Microsoft's Office 365 or other options, may be added in the future.

Geocoding Servers

Provides access to popular web-based geocoders.  Some geocoding servers may require licensing or a key for access.  Geocoders built into the dataport include Bing, Google, Here, MapBox, MapQuest, OpenCage, and Yandex, with geocoding, reverse geocoding, search by attribute filter, search within radius, and search within bounding rectangle for many geocoders.

GeoJSON Servers

How to connect to web servers providing data in GeoJSON format.   

Image Servers

Image servers, often written in concatenated form as imageservers, are a subset of web servers  that serve imagery in a form supported by dedicated modules specific to each such image server.  Many image server modules are already built into Manifold, providing a choice of popular image servers providing street maps and satellite views, like Bing, Google, Here, MapBox, MapQuest, NearMap, OpenStreetMap, WikiMapia, Yandex, and custom servers.    Pre-built image servers provide options for both free access as well as paid access requiring API or other credentials.

JSON Servers

How to connect to web servers providing data in JSON format.   

KML Servers

Manifold can connect to KML or KMZ files on our computer or, using the Web Server: kmlserver choice in the New Data Source dialog, Manifold can connect to a KML or a KMZ file hosted by a web server. 

KoBo Servers

KoBo Toolbox servers storing data collected in the field using survey forms.   

OSM Servers

OpenStreetMap servers.

TMS Servers

The TMS Server dataport connects to web servers using the Tile Map Service (TMS) protocol developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).  TMS servers provide raster data, that is, images.   They do not provide vector drawings.   

WFS Servers

The WFS Server dataport connects to web servers using the Web Feature Service (WFS) protocol developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).  WFS servers provide vector data, that is, drawings with attribute tables.    They do not provide images or image tiles.

WMS Servers

The WMS Server dataport connects to web servers using the Web Map Service (WMS) protocol developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).  WMS servers provide raster data, that is, images.   They do not provide vector drawings.  

WMTS Servers

The WMTS Server dataport connects to web servers using the Web Map Tile Service (WMTS) protocol developed by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).  WMTS servers provide raster data, that is, images, in the form of pre-rendered raster tiles.   They do not provide vector drawings.  

File Formats

 

000, S57

Used for nautical charts, especially for ENC electronic chart displays used in shipping.

ADF, ESRI ArcGrid

ADF files can contain raster data, ESRI TIN data or vector (drawing) data.

ADRG, .thf

NGA ARC Digitized Raster Graphics, loaded from .thf files.

AVHRR, l1b

Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Level 1b raw data, from satellites such as the NOAA Polar Orbiter.

BIL, ESRI Band Interleaved by Line

BIL is an ESRI format used for raster data.

BIN

Generic raw binary files.   See the RAW, RWB, RWT, BIN topic.

BMP

Windows bitmap.

BNA, Atlas BNA

Atlas BNA format, a legacy vector format used with Atlas GIS packages.

BWx, USGS TIGER

BWx is a legacy US Census Bureau TIGER file format.

COPC

Cloud Optimized Point Cloud (COPC) format stores point cloud data, typically LiDAR data, is a special form of LAZ format that stores point data organized in a clustered octree.   COPC data is automatically read by Manifold's LAZ dataport.    This topic is a stub provided for anyone looking to import or to link (a better idea with LiDAR data) COPC data.

CSV, ASC, PSV, TAB

Comma Separated Values (CSV)  and similar formats for text files, where each line is a record and the values for fields are separated by a character such as a comma (CSV), a | "pipe" character (Pipe Separated Values, or PSV) and similar.   Includes the File:csv type when creating a new data source.   

CSV Servers

Web servers providing data in CSV (comma separated values) format, using typical variations on the format.  Link to data in CSV (comma separated values) format files provided by web URLs.   The CSV web dataport allows refreshing tables to re-read the latest data from the web.

CTG, LULC Grid Cell

LULC (Land Use Land Cover) data from USGS in CTG (Composite Theme Grid) raster format, also known as Grid Cell files.

CUR

CUR is an image format used for saving images that will be used for icons.  Using images from CUR files is basically identical to using ICO files.   See the ICO topic for details.

DAT, SPOT

SPOT satellite raster data.

DDF, SDTS

US government SDTS (Spatial Data Transfer Standard) format using file names that end in a three-letter DDF extension.   DDF files can store raster or vector data.

DDR, LAS

DDR files as used with Log ASCII Standard (LAS) format used for well logging data. This is a legacy format different from the LAS format used for LiDAR data.   LAS is a format originally developed by the Canadian Well Logging society in the late 1980's.     DDR files are most often encountered with older raster data from archival sites providing satellite images recorded by earth observation satellites in the 1990's.  

DEM

USGS DEM files, typically used for terrain elevation.   A different format than DEM as used in GTOPO30 format.

DEM, GTOPO30

USGS GTOPO30 DEM files, a different format than USGS DEM format.

DGN, Intergraph

A legacy vector format used with Intergraph and Bentley Microstation GIS products.

DLG, USGS .DLG, .DO, .OPT

USGS Digital Line Graph Optional

DNG, Adobe

DNG is an Adobe raster image format similar to TIF.  It provides no projection information and is primarily used for photography and non-spatial graphics arts.

DOQ, USGS .DOQ, .COQ

USGS Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle

DRG, USGS .TIF

USGS Digital Raster graphics (scanned maps) in .tif format.

DTx, DTED, NIMA .DT0, DT1, DT2

Digital Terrain Elevation Data (US Military / NGA), DTED Level 0 (dt0), Level 1 (dt1), Level 2 (dt2)

DWG, AutoCAD

AutoCAD DWG format, a spatially-unaware CAD format that saves neither database information nor projection settings.  

DXF, AutoCAD

AutoCAD DXF format, a spatially-unaware CAD format that saves neither database information nor projection settings.  

E00, ESRI

ESRI .e00 is a complex legacy format used with ESRI's ArcINFO GIS product. It is capable of storing different types of data, including images and surfaces ("grids"), but is most often used for drawings.

ECW

ERMapper, ERDAS format.  A high performance, more modern technology for raster compression using wavelet algorithms.  Manifold can link or import ECW and can export to ECW as well.

EMF, WMF

Windows Meta File and Extended Meta File

ERS

ERMapper .ers files.

FLT

ESRI ArcINFO Floating-Point Grid

GDAL / OGR

GDAL / OGR is not a single format but a collection of open source libraries that can read many formats, including many formats that Manifold can directly read.

GDF

Geographic Data Format (GDF) as used in TeleAtlas MultiNet and generic European GDF use.

GeoJSON

Files providing spatial data using GeoJSON, a "geographic" format using text written in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON).  Manifold automatically reads TopoJSON when a GeoJSON file contains TopoJSON.  Geometry collections are expanded automatically.

GeoJSON Servers

Web servers providing spatial data using GeoJSON, a "geographic" format using JavaScript Object Notation (JSON). Manifold automatically reads TopoJSON when a GeoJSON Server provides TopoJSON. Geometry collections are expanded automatically. Link to data in GeoJSON format files provided by web URLs.   The GeoJSON web dataport allows refreshing tables to re-read the latest data from the web.

GIF

A well-known image format.

GIRAS, LULC Vector Format

LULC (Land Use Land Cover) data from USGS in GIRAS (Geographical Information Retrieval and Analysis System) vector format.

GIS, LAN ERDAS

ERDAS .gis or .lan formats are often used for raster images, for example, from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite imagery.

GLOBE

Terrain elevation data in NOAA GLOBE format files that do not have a three letter extension.  GLOBE is usually considered a more modern, slightly more complete version of the USGS GTOPO30 project.   See also the DEM, GTOPO30  topic.

GML

GML uses XML-like text to encode spatial data.

GPX

GPX Exchange format

GRASS

Format for the "Geographic Resources Analysis Support System" (GRASS) raster-oriented package, originally developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and still surviving as open source.

GRD, ESRI .ASC, .GRD

ESRI ArcINFO ASCII Grid

GRD, Northwood .GRC, .GRD

Northwood / Vertical Mapper Grid Format

GRD, Surfer .GRD

Golden Software Surfer Grid Format

GXF

Geosoft Grid Exchange File, an ASCII grid format mainly used for terrain elevation data but also for raster data for concentrations and similar.

HDF

SeaWiFS, EOS, NCSA (National Center for Supercomputing Applications) Hierarchical Data Format (HDF). Used mostly for images. Used widely in Earth Observation Satellite (EOS) projects.

HEIF, HEIC .heic

High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) files storing images and sequences of images.  Manifold works with HEIF as implemented using Microsoft modules, reading and writing files with an .heic extension. HEIF capability requires downloading and installing optional, free packages from Microsoft.

HGT

Space Shuttle SRTM data in .hgt, including .inc, .mag, .pol and .err files.

HTML

Tables in HTML files.    Requires installation of Microsoft's 64-bit Access Database Engine if 64-bit Microsoft Office has not been installed.

ICO

Bitmap image files in .ico format, often used to store icons.

IMG

ENVI, ERDAS, IDRISI and IMDISP .img formats. ManifoMd autodetects and configures the right dataport.  When linking ERDAS IMG file ensembles that include intermediate levels in the RRD file, Manifold will automatically use those intermediate levels to provide very fast display.

INP EPANET

EPANET files.

J2K, JPEG 2000

A compression format using wavelet compression similar to ECW and MrSID.  

JPG, JPEG, JPE

A well-known image format using .jpg, .jpeg, or .jpe extension.

JSON

Generic JSON text files, written in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), often used to convey metadata or table data.

JSON Servers

Web servers providing data in generic JSON text files, written in JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), often used to convey metadata or table data. Link to data ix JSON format files provided by web URLs.  The JSON web dataport allows refreshing tables to re-read the latest data from the web.

KML, KMZ Google

Text based format introduced by Google. Connect to KML files using the New Data Source dialog to follow recursive links within the KML file.   KMZ is the same thing, but compressed using "zip" compression.

KML Servers

Web servers providing data in KML or KMZ format.   Connect using the New Data Source dialog to KML files provided by web URLs.

L1B .l1b

NOAA Polar Orbiter Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Level 1 B

LAS, LAZ LiDAR

Format for storing LiDAR data (LAS) or LiDAR data in zipped form (LAZ).

LPK  ESRI

An ESRI ArcGIS layer package .lpk file is a zipped form of an ESRI file GDB plus layer information for ArcGIS.

MAP, Manifold

All Manifold and Radian .map project files.

MBS, .mbs, .xbs

ETAK / TeleAtlas MapBase

MFD, Manifold

Release 4.50 and earlier Manifold GIS .mfd files.

MIF, MID  MapInfo

MapInfo mid/mif, an interchange format for vector drawings.

MML, Manifold

Manifold Markup Language .mml files for generic storage of Release 9 / Radian projects.

MWS, Manifold

Manifold 4.50 .mws workspace files, including automatic import from referenced .mfd and .mdb files.

NC, NetCDF

NetCDF files in .nc format

NDE TAIF .nde, .edg, .fac

TAIF is TeleAtlas Interchange Format, used in Street Net and Multi Net data sets.

NITF, .ntf

US military NGA .ntf image format, a different format than UK Ordnance Survey .ntf.

NTF .ntf

UK Ordnance Survey .ntf files, including various NTF subformats.

PBF .pbf, OSM, O5M

OpenStreetMap (OSM) native Protocol Binary Format (PBF) for total, native access to every detail of OSM data using OSM's recommended format. Manifold also reads OpenStreetMap OSM and O5M formats.

PCX

PC Paintbrush format by ZSoft

PDS, XML

NASA Planetary Data System files. NASA's PDS4 version of PDS has adopted XML as a standard way of describing the data in a PDS file set.  The Manifold PDS dataport currently imports  tables and images within PDS file sets that are provided with an .xml file.   Choosing the XML file will import the images and tables it describes.  Note that older PDS file sets often do not include an XML file.   In many cases, the formats used for images and tables in such older "PDS" file sets can be imported into Manifold using direct import of files.  For example, .img files containing images are often in ENVI .img format and can be directly imported. using Manifold's IMG dataport.

PIX

PCIDISK, Silicon Graphics Alias / Wavefront

PNG .png

Portable Network Graphics (pronounced "Ping"), a well-known image format.

RAW, RWB, RWT, BIN

Raw binary or raw text format files using various extensions.

RST

IDRISI .rst format raster image files

SGI

Silicon Graphics .sgi format files

SHP, Shapefiles

Notes on ESRI shapefiles, including exporting drawings to shapefiles.

SID, MrSID

A format for raster compression using wavelet technology that was popular with government agencies in the early 2000's. Manifold directly reads MrSID format as a built-in format.

SUN

SUN Microsystems .sun files

TAB, MapInfo

MapInfo TAB "table" format consists of multiple files, usually five files, referenced by a controlling .tab file. TAB format can result in drawings, labels, and raster images.

TGA

Targa Truevision .tga files

TIF, TIFF, GeoTIFF

TIF and variations such as GeoTIFF and cloud optimized GeoTIFF. Adobe Tagged Image File Format (TIFF or TIF) is so universally used few people know it is a Adobe format.  The GeoTIFF form of TIF includes tags providing projection information.  Manifold reads virtually all known variations of TIF/TIFF and will extract projection information from GeoTIFF or older TIF files accompanied by TFW "world" files.  Manifold reads GeoTIFF info and always writes TIF files with internal tags providing projection information that make them GeoTIFFs.   The GeoTIFF form of TIF includes tags providing projection information.  Manifold also always stores intermediate levels within the TIF from smallest to largest, so every TIF file Manifold writes is also a cloud optimized GeoTIFF as well.  Manifold also reads cloud optimized GeoTIFF, taking advantage of stored intermediate levels for faster display when linking cloud optimized GeoTIFFs.

TOC .toc, .thf

NGA ARC Digitized Raster Graphics (ADRG) and Compressed ADRG (CADRG).   Same as using .thf but using a .toc file.

VCT

IDRISI vector format

VEC

IDRISI vector format

WEBP

Google .webp image format.

WKx .wj, .wk

Lotus.   Requires installation of Microsoft's 64-bit Access Database Engine if 64-bit Microsoft Office has not been installed.

XLS .xls, XLSX .xlsx

Microsoft Excel.  Microsoft XLSX files appeared in Microsoft Office 2007 and later.    Requires installation of Microsoft's 64-bit Access Database Engine if 64-bit Microsoft Office has not been installed.

XYZ

ASCII gridded XYZ.

 

Notes

Z exports - Exporting to BIL, FLT, XYZ and other formats often used for height data will apply Z offset / scale values to pixels.

 

Mixed Geometry Types - Copying and pasting a table with geometry data from a .map file into a data source that does not allow mixing geometry types within a single table, for example, GDB,  automatically sets the geometry type of pasted data to that used by most records.   This is a way of ensuring that tables which use only one type (points, lines, areas) have the type that they use correctly specified in the destination data source.

 

See also

Big List of Formats and Data Sources