Projection of External Data


Use File > Project from Geographic to project data in external vector and raster files. Any projection supported by Flex Projector can be used, including custom-made projections created with Flex Projector.

  • File > Project from Geographic > Project Shape File: Project vector data in ESRI Shape files and store the result in one of these formats: DXF (georeferenced), ESRI Shape (georeferenced), Adobe Illustrator AI, JPEG, PDF, PNG, SVG, or Ungenerate (georeferenced). Esri Shape is the recommended format. Flex Projector does not create a .prj file when exporting to the Esri Shape format.
  • File > Project from Geographic > Project Image: Project a variety of raster image formats (PNG, JPEG, GIF, TIFF). PNG is the recommended format. Projected raster images are saved in TIFF format with a .tfw world file containing the information for georeferencing the projected image.
  • File > Project from Geographic > Project Grid: Project a grid in ESRI ASCII Grid format, containing a digital elevation model or other raster data, and store the projected grid in an ESRI ASCII Grid file.
After selecting the input file, a window for selecting a projection will appear. Select the last entry in the menu to apply the current custom-made projection in Flex Projector.
selectprojection
The projected files are not displayed in Flex Projector. Instead, Flex Projector will present a dialog to create a file to write the projected data to. You can then use the projected data in other applications.

Important
  • All data must be in the “geographic” projection (i.e. longitude / latitude or Plate Carrée projection), using degrees as units.
  • Esri Shape files with points, lines or polygons are supported. However, when polygons cross the datum line, artefacts might appear in some cases.
  • Projected maps are always centered on the standard Greenwich meridian.
  • Raster image data with a width-to-height ratio of 2:1 is automatically georeferenced, assuming a Plate Carrée projection.

When projecting raster images or grid data, there is the choice between nearest neighbor or bi-cubic Interpolation in the Preferences dialog. Use nearest neighbor for categorical data, such as thematic land cover data that should not be interpolated. Use bi-cubic Interpolation for continuous tone images or continuous grid data, such elevation models.

The Flex Projector contains a selection of files that you can use for free. Natural Earth is a highly recommendable source for free cartographic data at various scales.