DATA CONVERSION

-PRAVEEN
08RSGIS10
 Contents
 Definition
 Benefits of data conversion
 File formats of raster data
 Remote sensing image formats
 File formats used
 Feature Manipulation Engine
 Advanced Raster to Vector conversion software
 References
 Data Conversion-The conversion of data from an original form
(paper or electronic) into a form suitable for a particular use in
a digital form compatible with the computer system, software and
other data being used.

(OR)

 Data Conversion -Data Conversion from one format to a digital

uniform format to render data which is meaningful and useful to
generate information, storage and retrieval.

 Data Conversion is essential for each and every organization

since the data comes from various formats from different sources
like paper documents, forms; excel files, word documents, access
databases, scanned images of paper documents etc.
Benefits of Conversion:

 The storage cost goes down dramatically as digital data occupies

very little space
 The retrieval cost goes down in a big way as computer applications
can retrieve necessary information at the click of a button
 Minimal human resources are required because information can be
retrieved with in no time with the use of latest technology.
 Fast retrieval and just-in-time availability of information, helps in
effective decision making and ultimately brings profits to the
Company
 Retrieval of data from anywhere in the world and not only from the
office or where it is stored
 File formats of Raster data:

1. Generic raster file formats

2. Raster data interchange format
3. Raster data compression formats
4. Remote sensing image formats
5. Proprietary formats of GIS software products
 Generic raster file formats

 A generic raster file formats use standard ASCII file formats which
store ASCII characters in 32-bit.
 Since the cell values are stored generically, the size of the files are
huge for large raster files and are most suitable for cross platform
exchange of raster data.
 Raster data interchange format

 The function of the interchange file format is to facilitate the sharing of raster
data different organizations and different GIS applications.
 Tagged Image File(TIFF) format has emerged as the most popular raster
file format for exchanging raster image between application programs.
 Tiff is device-independent and is supported by a wide range of scanners
and image processing applications making a de-facto for desk-top
publishing.
 How-ever the TIFF format has several variants based on different
specifications that are not compatible with one another.
 This often causes incompatibility between raster files in Tiff format and GIS
application programs.
 Raster data compression formats

 The objective of data compression is to store the same amount of data

using small computer memory space.
 The formats that are generally used are RLC, GIF, JPEG etc,.
 These compression formats normally have a compression ratio
between 5:1 to 10:1.
 When compressed at these rates, the size of many raster geographic
data files are too large to be simply manageable.
 Using wavelet algorithms that decompose a raster image recursively
into layers at different levels of resolution, a new generation of
compression method such as Multi-resolution Seamless Image
Database (MrSID) and ER Mappere compressed Wavelet(ECR) are
capable of achieving compression ratios of 20:1 to 50:1 without the
loss of noticeable image quality.
 Remote sensing image formats

 Remote imaging satellite data are mostly stored in Binary generic

format.
 Because they are multi band data, the storing of each image can be
in one of the three image formats
1. Band Sequential(BSQ) by which each image file is kept as a
separate file.
2. Band Interleaved by Pixel(BIP) that places all the different bands
from a single pixel together.
3. Band Interleaved by Line(BIL) in which pixels of each band are
recorded band by band for each line or row in the image.
Some files names:

 The file extension is the last 3 charcters after the period in the file
name. Each of the steps will be looking at these characters
 Files with *.e00 are ArcInfo export files.
 A set of three files with the same name but with the extensions
*.shp, *.shx, and *.dbf are ArcView shapefiles.
 Files with *.mif and *.mid are MapInfo files.
 Files with *.dwg are AutoCAD files.
 Files with *.dxf are Drawing Exchange Files.
 Files with *.dgn are Bentley Microstation files.
 A TIFF (*.tif) file with an accompanying world header file
 (*.tfw) are georeferenced imagery files.
 Data conversion

 Data Automation Kit: ESRI’s software for converting data formats

into ArcView format.
 GeoTIFF Specifications: Specification home page for GeoTIFF, a
georeferenced image file.
 GIS Conversion Tools: GIS conversion tools for facilitating the
utilization of many of the common file formats currently found on the
internet.
 GIS Data Formats: Brief article by the GIS Data Depot outlining
some common GIS data formats.
 TIGER File: Document from the U.S. Census Bureau on
Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing
system (TIGER).
 Translators and Converters: Translators and converters to convert
one type of GIS format to another. Find resources for converting
MapInfo, ArcView, SDTS and many other files.
 BNA2MIF: Convert Atlas BNA files to MIF
 FME for Mapinfo: Picks up where the Universal Translator leaves
off!
 SHP to Mapinfo: Shareware MBX to go from SHP to Mapinfo
format - from MicroImages
 SDTS2MID: Converts SDTS attributes to Mapinfo MID
 SDTS2MIF: Converts SDTS vector data to Mapinfo MIF
 Mapinfo to Visual Explorer: Transform MapInfo maps into files
that can be read by Visual Explorer, or to import files generated by
Visual Explorer into MapInfo - from Paris PC Consult
 Highway Authority to Mapinfo: Converter of the Federal Highway
Authority CD files "National Highway Planning Network" into
MapInfo - from Paris PC Consult
 Blue Marble Desktop: Powerful geospatial data conversion, translation
and transformation. The new Blue Marble Desktop is an all in one
geospatial data management platform for Blue Marble’s popular data
transformation tools.
 CADD to GIS: Creating and maintaining this data often means
converting existing CADD drawing to a GIS format. They have
developed CADD standards and custom applications to save time while
enhancing accuracy and efficiency in CADD conversion.
 Updating Data to New GIS formats: With the development of the
geodatabase, update their existing data from shapefiles and coverages
to personal or enterprise geodatabases.
 Hardcopy drawing to GIS: When digital data are not available,
hardcopy drawings can be used to convert data to GIS. This involves a
process of scanning, georectifying, and digitizing.
 COGO: Coordinate Geometry (COGO) can be used to digitize areas into
GIS from written descriptions. COGO is commonly used to create
parcels and easements from legal written descriptions.
 MGESDTS: Converts SDTS transfers to/from MGE maps.
 MacDEM: MacDEM is an application to view and edit digitial elevation
model (DEM) files for the Mac OS. MacDEM imports USGS ASCII DEM
files and SDTS DEM files. It also imports DTED, GTOPO30, GLOBE,
Terrain Base, PGM, Raw ASCII, and Raw Binary
 MICRODEM: MICRODEM displays and merges digital elevation models
and satellite imagery
 SDTS DEM: Extension enabling users to import SDTS format grid digital
elevation data into ArcView
 SDTS/DLG Utils: Convert from SDTS to ArcView. See also sdts2dem
 SDTS2COV: This AML will import, build, and attach attributes to their
features and is intended for use with 24K, 100K and 2000K vector
DLG/SDTS datasets ONLY
 SDTS2DXF: Convert SDTS vector data to DXF
 SDTS2MID: Converts SDTS attributes to Mapinfo MID
 SDTS2MID: Converts SDTS attributes to MapInfo MID
 SDTS2MIF:Converts SDTS vector data to Mapinfo MIF
 SDTS2SHP: Convert SDTS format DLGs to ArcView - from the USGS
 Tru Flite: Unknown Image Visualization software - supports SDTS
 Data conversion by digitizing existing maps

 Earlier the map digitizing was done by a special capture device

called digitizer.
 But now the data is captured by means of scanners and some times
the data is already in the digital format.
 After scanning the map, it is necessary to convert the raster image
to vector graphics, to build layer topology, and to link the resulting
graphical elements to their attribute data.
 During the recent years the raster to vector conversion is done
automatically by artificial intelligence and pattern recognition
techniques.
 Raster text conversion software recognizes characters in raster
image and change them into alphanumeric data.
 Raster symbol conversion recognizes symbols in the raster image
and converts into alphanumeric codes.
 Graphical data editing cleans the graphics by removing data
conversion errors.
 Attribute data tagging adds attribute data like feature identifiers,
feature codes and contour labels into graphical data after raster
vector conversion.
 These attribute data sometimes with the graphical data are also
linked by a common feature identifier to the digitized map.
 Link between the data files created in the attribute data conversion
to their associated layers is done using the user defined feature
identifiers as a common key.
 This means that the two types of files that are physically files are
accessed as a single logical data file during data processing, using
a common key.
 FME (Feature Manipulation Engine)

 FME (Feature Manipulation Engine) is a powerful software tool that can

extract, transform and load spatial data.
 FME Suite is an integrated collection of Spatial ETL (Extract, Transform,
and Load) tools for data transformation and data translation.
 This software is capable of doing these operations with many different file
formats.
 FME technology allows users to easily work with data in over 150 different
formats.
 FME Suite consists of three major components: a graphical authoring
environment (FME Workbench), a data inspection tool (FME Viewer), and a
translation engine (FME Universal Translator) that can be run from within
Workbench or as part of a batch system.
 FME 2006 includes over 1000 user-requested enhancements. Some of the
new formats now supported in FME 2006 include Google Earth™ KML,
GML 3.1.1, and six new raster preview formats.
 Three significant new features in FME 2006 that are already popular with
our test users are Custom Transformers, Shared Directories, and Published
Parameters.
 These three features allow individuals and teams to re-use and share
workflows instead of re-inventing them.
R2V: ADVANCED RASTER TO VECTOR CONVERSIO

 R2V is an advanced raster to vector conversion software for

automated map digitizing, GIS data capture and CAD conversion
applications. R2V is currently being used in more than 60 countries
by thousands of users for mapping and GIS data conversion
applications.
 R2V supports fully automatic vectorization and interactive line
tracing from scanned maps and drawings. R2V inputs bi-level,
grayscale, and color images in TIFF, GeoTIFF, GIF, JPEG, RLC,
PNG or BMP formats. It exports vector data to ArcView Shapefiles,
Arc/Info Generate, MapInfo MIF/MID, AutoCAD DXF, IGES, STL,
VRML, SVG ( Scalable Vector Graphics) and MapGuide SDL
formats.
 R2V provides complete on-screen image and vector editing,
labeling, and geo-referencing using GeoTIFF or user specified
control points, image rubber sheeting, color image classification and
separation, text symbol detection and recognition (OCR), automatic
polygon layer creation, 3D DEM and Grid creation, and 3D display
and image draping. R2V is currently being used in more than 60
countries for mapping and GIS database creation applications.
 References:

 http://software.geocomm.com/translators/sdts
 http://gislounge.com/file-formats/
 http://www.fws.gov/data/gisconv/sdts2av.html
 http://www.gis.state.mn.us/iisac/apd-c.html
 http://www.safe.com/products/desktop/overview.php
 http://www.issi-gis.com/index.htm
 http://en.mimi.hu/gis/data_conversion.html
 http://go.owu.edu/~jbkrygie/krygier_html/lws/chang.htm
 http://www.gis.unbc.ca/help/glossary.php
 http://www.vertices.com/index_main.htm
 http://www.esri.com/
 Concepts and Techniques of GIS: Albert K.W.Yeung
queries if any……..

THANK YOU