GenesisIV can directly import the following landscape height data types
| ASCII Text (*.txt) | Simple space-delimited ascii data import. |
| GenesisII XYZ (*.xyz) | Simple XYZ format used by GenesisII. Good format if you need to import your own data from a non standard source. |
| Graphics File (*.bmp) | Imports data from greyscale or colour BMP files. |
| Terragen (*.ter) | Files created by the popular landscape program Terragen |
| UK OS NTF Panorama (*.ntf) | 20km square tiles from the UK Ordnance Survey. This excellent data is now largely discontinued, but can still be obtained from some sources. |
| USGS DEM (*.dem) | Digital terrain model files from the US Geological Survey. GenesisIV supports most versions. |
| Pixel Greymap (*.pgm) | Pixel Greymap is a simple ascii text format for greyscale images. It is extremely simple to use and probably the format of choice if you need to create your own import routine. This format is also used by the modelling program Bryce. |
| SRTM (*.stm) | Data published by NASA from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. |
| Vistapro DEM (*.dem) | DEM files from this old, but popular, landscape program. Please note that Vistapro DEMs are in completely different format to USGS DEMs |
The following types can be imported via plugins
| ArcInfo Grid (*.asc) | Also know as common GIS format, this is a widely support standard heighfield format used by GIS programs such as ArcInfo, ArcView, Vertical Mapper and many others. |
| Raw Binary (*.bin) | Direct raw binary import. Supports several different binary types. |
In addition some other file formats, such as Japanese SEM files, may be converted to XYZ format before importing. See the Genesis utilities on this site for details of available programs for doing this.
Direct ImportThe procedure for importing data differs in detail according to the source file being used. However, in general the steps are:
- Open the Landscape Definition Module
- Select Import... from the File menu. This displays a File Open dialog.
- Select the type of data source you wish to use from the File Type drop down list box.
- Select the import file.
Depending on the type of data source to be used an Import Parameters dialog box may be displayed. Set any required parameters and click on OK. The data is then imported and displayed on the map canvas. Once displayed imported data is handled in exactly the same way as directly enter data. You will probably want to add terrain information or possibly edit the imported heights data.
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Digital Data Import dialog. This dialog is displayed when importing USGS DEMs, XYZ and NTF data. By default the data is imported into a new auto-sized map with the 0,0 coordinate in the file set as the 0,0 coordinate in the map. However the map can be loaded at a position other than the 0,0 X,Y coordinate by setting the origin coordinates, or data loaded from an offset within the file by setting the X,Y offset coordinates. |
In most cases you will let GenesisII create a map of the correct size and grid point spacing using the data from the import file. Sometimes however it is desirable to import into a previously defined map either to reduce the number of points, or to join two or more maps files together.
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BMP Import dialog. This dialog is displayed when importing BMP data. As a BMP file contains no landscape grid information grid spacing information must be specified. The maximum value in the image will be set at the maximum specified. The various radio buttons determine byte order if processing colour files. For greyscale images these have no effect. The PGM Import dialog is similar, but without the colour order choice as these files are always greyscales. |
Plugin Import
Select the appropriate plugin from the plugins menu and follow the instructions
on the dialog shown.