Manifold System Release 8.00 works with over 100 different vector, raster, terrain and database formats. Many of the formats listed below exist in significantly different subtypes and so constitute more than one format. Manifold will automatically detect such subtypes and use the correct importer. Some "raster" formats can be used for terrain elevation data while some surface formats can be used for images. Some "drawing" formats such as SDTS can contain other types of data such as surfaces. Manifold will work with such variations to import the data correctly.
Although all editions can read .e00 format, Enterprise Edition or higher is required to write to .e00. Enterprise Edition or above is required for direct connections to IBM DB2 with DB2 Spatial Extender, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Spatial, Microsoft SQL Server 2005 with Spatial Extender, Oracle or PostgreSQL/PostGIS when using the native spatial data types of those spatial DBMS products.
For information on direct links and connectivity to spatial DBMS products, see the
Spatial DBMS
topic in the online edition of the user manual.
Format availability is subject to change without notice.
Formats used for images and for surfaces have some overlap, as depending on the particular format an image can be stored in what is normally thought of as a "surface" format and vice versa.
|
ADRG |
NIMA ARC Digitized Raster Graphics |
|
AVHRR |
Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer Level 1 B, .l1b |
|
ADF |
ESRI .adf format, also sometimes called ArcGrid format. Note that .adf files can contain either raster or vector data.
|
|
BMP |
Windows bitmap, .bmp |
|
CADRG |
NIMA Compressed ARC Digitized Raster Graphics |
|
CIB |
NIMA Controlled Image Base |
|
CSV |
Images as virtual tables in comma-separated or other text file tables. |
|
DB |
Images as virtual tables in Borland Paradox files |
|
DBF |
Images as virtual tables in dBase, FoxPro files |
|
DNG |
An Adobe variation of TIFF used in digital photography. |
|
DOQ |
USGS Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle, .doq, .coq, .jpg |
|
DRG |
USGS Digital Raster graphics (scanned maps) in .tif format (used for DRG';s by USGS). |
|
DSN |
Images as virtual tables in Microsoft Data Source files, .dsn |
|
E00 |
ESRI .e00 files containing rasters. |
|
ECW / JPEG2000 |
ERMapper .ecw Wavelet compressed or JPEG2000 compressed format. Any size ECW or JPEG2000 image may be imported. |
|
EMF, WMF |
Windows Meta File and Extended Meta File, .emf, .wmf |
|
ENVI IMG |
ENVI .img format image files. |
|
ERDAS GIS |
ERDAS files in .gis, .lan formats. |
|
ERDAS IMG |
ERDAS .img format image files. |
|
ERS |
ERMapper .ers files. |
|
GIF |
A well-known image format, .gif
|
|
GeoSPOT |
GeoSpot satellite multispectral rasters |
|
GRASS |
US Army Corps of Engineers raster-based package. |
|
GXF |
Geosoft .gxf, an ASCII grid format mainly used for terrain elevation data.
|
|
HTML |
Images as virtual tables in HTML files. |
|
HDR |
GeoSPOT satellite files, .hdr |
|
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. |
|
IDRISI IMG |
IDRISI .img format. |
|
IMDISP |
US AVHRR / Conterminus US Land Cover, .lbl |
|
JPEG |
A well-known image format, .jpg, .jpeg.
|
|
LAS/LBL |
Log ASCII Standard (LAS) format used for well logging data. An ASCII format originally developed by the Canadian Well Logging society in the late 1980's and now used by USGS and others, .ddr
|
|
MDB |
Images as virtual tables in Microsoft Access 2000 or Access 97 .mdb format |
|
NITF |
NIMA .ntf image format (different than UK Ordance Survey .ntf) |
|
PCX |
PC Paintbrush format by ZSoft, .pcx
|
|
PIX |
PCIDISK, Silicon Graphics Alias / Wavefront .pix format |
|
PNG |
Portable Network Graphics (pronounced "Ping"), .png - Just say no to .gif! |
|
PPM |
Portable PixMap (PPM) format. Intended as a "lowest common denominator" color image file format. Used in UNIX systems, .ppm
|
|
RAW |
Raw text and raw binary files, .raw
|
|
IDRISI32 RST |
IDRISI .rst format files |
|
SGI |
Silicon Graphics .sgi format files |
|
SID |
"MrSID" images using LizardTech proprietary format. Requires prior installation of any one of several free import utilities. .sid |
|
SPOT |
SPOT satellite .dat format files |
|
SRTM |
Shuttle SRTM data in .hgt, .inc,.mag, .pol and .err files. |
|
SUN |
Sun Microsystems .sun files |
|
TAB |
MapInfo TAB grid files, .tab |
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TGA |
Targa .tga files |
|
TIF |
Regular .tif, .tif with .tfw "world files", etc.
|
|
TIFF .tif (geocoded) |
GeoTIFF, regular .tif, .tif with .tfw "world files", etc. |
|
UDL |
Images as virtual tables in a Microsoft Universal Data Link connection, .udl |
|
WKx |
Images as virtual tables in Lotus files, .wj, .wk |
|
WMF |
Windows Meta File (see EMF), .wmf |
|
WMS |
Links to images served by OGC WMS servers. |
|
XLS |
Images as virtual tables in Microsoft Excel files, .xls |
|
XLSX |
Images as virtual tables in Microsoft XLSX files (Microsoft Office 2007 and later), .xlsx |
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XYZ |
Generic XYZ |
|
ADO.NET |
Images as virtual tables via generic ADO.NET data sources |
|
ADO.NET ODBC |
Images as virtual tables via ODBC through ADO.NET |
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ADO.NET OLE DB |
Images as virtual tables via OLE DB through ADO.NET |
|
ADO.NET Oracle |
Images as virtual tables via ADO.NET built in connection to Oracle. |
|
ADO.NET SQL Server |
Images as virtual tables via ADO.NET built in connection to SQL Server |
|
Oracle Data Sources |
Oracle Call Interface (OCI) for direct connect to Oracle tables or Oracle Spatial storage using GeoRasters. Requires Enterprise Edition or above. |
|
ODBC |
Images as virtual tables via any ODBC driver. |
|
OLE DB |
Images as virtual tables via any OLE DB Provider. |
|
ADF |
ESRI .adf format, also
sometimes called ArcGrid format. Note that .adf files can contain either
raster or vector data.
|
|
BNA .bna |
Atlas |
|
CSV .csv, .asc, etc. |
Comma-separated tables containing vector
information |
|
DB .db |
Database files containing vector information |
|
DBF .dbf |
Database files containing vector information |
|
DGN .dgn |
Intergraph |
|
DSN .dsn |
Microsoft data source files providing
connections to data sources containing vector information |
|
DLG .dlg, .opt |
USGS Digital Line Graph
Optional |
|
DWG .dwg |
AutoCAD versions 13, 14,
and 15 |
|
DXF .dxf |
AutoCAD versions 13, 14,
and 15 |
|
EOO .e00 |
ESRI ArcINFO "export"
format. All editions can read .e00. Writing .e00 equires
Enterprise Edition or above. |
|
ESRI Geodatabase |
ESRI "geodatabase" format using .mdb |
|
GDF .gdf |
European common format |
|
Geocoding Database |
Manifold Geocoding Database files for import
of roads, hydrography, etc. Requires Geocoding Tools extension. |
|
GML .gml |
Ordnance Survey (UK) version of GML used in
MasterMap. GML may well be the utterly stupidest format ever created by a
committee of bureaucrats. |
|
HTML |
Database files containing vector information |
|
IDRISI VCT |
Idrisi vector format files |
|
KML/KMZ |
Google Earth "Keyhole"
KML and KMZ |
|
LULC |
GIRAS |
|
MAP |
Manifold 5.00 or 5.50 .map project
files |
|
ETAK MapAccess |
Proprietary ETAK format
(Acquired by TeleAtlas) |
|
ETAK MBS .mbs, .xbs |
ETAK MapBase (Acquired by
TeleAtlas) |
|
MDB |
Microsoft Access MDB database files containing
vector information |
|
MFD .mfd |
Manifold 4.50 |
|
MIF .mif |
MapInfo mid/mif |
|
MWS |
Manifold 4.50 workspace files |
|
NTAD .are, .lnk, .nod,
.pnt |
BTS National
Transportation Atlas Database |
|
NTF .ntf |
UK Ordnance Survey
including several NTF subformats. |
|
S57 |
Vector format popular for marine navigation, a
"bare bones" importer aimed at grabbing core vector information. |
|
STDS |
US government Spatial
Data Transfer Standard |
|
SHP .shp |
ESRI ArcView, including
3D and measured Shapefiles |
|
TAB .tab |
MapInfo Tab, including
shapefiles referenced by a TAB file. |
|
TAIF .nde, .edg, .fac |
Tele Atlas Interchange
Format, Street Net, Multi Net |
|
TIGER/Line |
US Bureau of the Census
TIGER (TL '95, '97, '98, '99, '00 and '00 Redist, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2006SE) |
|
UDL |
Microsoft Universal Data Link files providing
connections to data sources containing vector information |
|
VCT .vct |
IDRISI |
|
VMAP .dht |
NIMA Vector Product
Format: VMAP0, VMAP1 and VMAP2 (.vpf) |
|
WKx .wj, .wk |
Lotus database files
containing vector information |
|
XLS .xls |
Microsoft Excel database files containing vector information |
|
XLSX .xlsx |
Vector information in Microsoft XLSX files (Microsoft Office 2007 and later), .xlsx |
|
ADO.NET |
Generic ADO.NET data source
containing vector information |
|
ADO.NET ODBC |
ODBC through ADO.NET
containing vector information |
|
ADO.NET OLE DB |
OLE DB through ADO.NET
containing vector information |
|
ADO.NET Oracle |
ADO.NET built in connection to Oracle
containing vector information |
|
ADO.NET SQL Server |
ADO.NET built in connection to SQL Server
containing vector information |
|
ODBC |
Any ODBC driver providing
connections to data sources containing vector information |
|
Oracle Data Sources |
Oracle Call Interface (OCI) for direct connect
to Oracle tables or Oracle Spatial storage using SDO_GEOMETRY.
Requires Enterprise Edition or above. |
|
OLE DB |
Any OLE DB Provider
providing connections to data sources containing vector information |
|
ADF |
ESRI .adf format, also
sometimes called ArcGrid format. Note that .adf files can contain either
raster or vector data.
|
|
AVHRR .l1b |
Advanced Very High
Resolution Radiometer Level 1 B |
|
BIL .bil, .hdr |
ESRI BIL surfaces/terrain
elevation |
|
CEOS .vdf |
SeaWiFS Satellite |
|
CSV |
Surfaces as
virtual tables in comma-separated or other text file tables. |
|
DAT .dat |
SPOT files |
|
DB |
Surfaces
as virtual tables in Borland Paradox files |
|
DBF |
Surfaces
as virtual tables in dBase, FoxPro files |
|
DDR .ddr |
LAS files |
|
DEM |
USGS Digital Elevation
Module |
|
DEM STDS |
USGS DEM using Spatial
Data Transfer Standard |
|
DEM ArcInfo .dem, .hdr |
ESRI ArcINFO |
|
DEM GLOBE |
Global Land One-kilometer
Base Elevation |
|
DEM GTOPO30 |
Global 30 Arc Second
Elevation Data Format |
|
DSN .dsn |
Surfaces as
virtual tables in Microsoft Data Source files |
|
DTED |
Digital Terrain Elevation
Data (US Military / NIMA), DTED Level 0, Level 1, Level 2 |
|
E00 .e00 |
ESRI .e00 Grid files |
|
ENVI IMG .img |
ENVI IMG |
|
ERDAS GIS .gis,.lan |
ERDAS |
|
ERDAS IMG .img |
ERDAS |
|
ERS .ers |
ERMapper |
|
ESRI ASCII Grid GRD .grd |
ESRI ArcINFO ASCII Grid |
|
ESRI Fload Grid FLT .flt |
ESRI ArcINFO Floating-Point
Grid |
|
GeoSPOT .hdr |
GeoSPOT satellite |
|
GRC .grc,.grd |
Northwood GRC/GRD Grid
Files |
|
GRASS |
US Army Corps of
Engineers |
|
GXF .gxf |
Grid Exchange File
|
|
HDF .hdf |
EOS |
|
HDF .hdf |
SeaWiFS |
|
HDR .hdr,.img |
ENVI IMG |
|
HDR .hdr |
GeoSPOT |
|
HTML .htm, .html |
Surfaces
as virtual tables in HTML files. |
|
IMG .img |
IMDISP |
|
IMG .img |
IDRISI IMG |
|
GRC .grc |
Northwood Grid Files |
|
LULC CTG .ctg |
Land Use and Land Cover |
|
MDB |
Microsoft Access MDB database files containing
vector information |
|
NTF .ntf |
NTF Grid |
|
PIX .pix |
PCIDISK, Silicon Graphics
Alias / Wavefront .pix format
|
|
RAW ASCII |
Flexible format raw ASCII |
|
RAW Binary |
Flexible format raw
Binary |
|
SDTS |
Surfaces in Spatial Data Transfer Standard (SDTS)
format. |
|
SRTM |
Space Shuttle terrain elevation data in either
30 meter or 90 meter resolution. |
|
Surfer GRD |
Surfer 6, 7 or ASCII GRD files, automatically
recognizing the correct Surfer format. |
|
TAB .tab |
MapInfo TAB grid files |
|
TIF .tif |
Geocoded TIFF, generic
TIF as surfaces |
|
UDL .udl |
Surfaces
as virtual tables in a Microsoft Universal Data
Link connection. |
|
VDF .vdf |
CEOS SeaWiFS |
|
WKx .wj, .wk |
Surfaces
as virtual tables in Lotus files. |
|
XLS .xls |
Surfaces as virtual tables in Microsoft Excel files. |
|
XLSX .xlsx |
Surfaces as virtual tables in Microsoft XLSX files (Microsoft Office 2007 and later), .xlsx |
|
XYZ .xyz |
Generic XYZ |
|
ADO.NET |
Surfaces as
virtual tables via generic ADO.NET data source. |
|
ADO.NET ODBC |
Surfaces as
virtual tables via ODBC through ADO.NET |
|
ADO.NET OLE DB |
Surfaces as
virtual tables via OLE DB through ADO.NET |
|
ADO.NET Oracle |
Surfaces as virtual tables via ADO.NET built
in connection to Oracle. |
|
ADO.NET SQL Server |
Surfaces as virtual tables via ADO.NET built
in connection to SQL Server |
|
ODBC |
Surfaces
as virtual tables via any ODBC driver. |
|
OLE DB |
Surfaces
as virtual tables via any OLE DB Provider. |
Some data may be exported in multiple forms, for example, as an image or as a surface. Although graphics arts formats like .ai or .pdf may be thought of as "vector" formats, they can contain rasters and are listed here as printing formats.
Use of image servers requires image server
modules that may be provided by third parties and can be downloaded for free
from the web. The following are typical examples of image server modules
that are widely used within the Manifold user community.
Suggestions to improve Manifold are always welcome. If you would like to suggest a new format, please see the
Suggestions
page for tips on making effective suggestions.
