Raster Options

Importing Rasters

Import a raster file by selecting Open in the File menu. Select the proper raster file as shown in the following table. Select Open. At the popup Load it as..., select DEM.

Format	File to Open	Source	Importance	Level of Support
ArcInfo Binary Grid	w001001.adf	ESRI	1	Supported in GMS and in SMS
ArcInfo Ascii Grid	*.asc	ESRI	2	Supported in GMS and in SMS
USGS DEM Grid Float	*.flt	http://seamless.usgs.gov	2	Supported in GMS and in SMS
USGS NED Grid Float	*.flt	http://seamless.usgs.gov	2	Supported in GMS and in SMS
Canadian DEM	*.dem	http://www.geobase.ca	3	Supported in GMS and supported in SMS
DTED	*.dt0	ERDC	3	Supported in GMS and supported in SMS
Aster DEM	*.tif	http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gdem-wist.asp	4	Supported in GMS and supported in SMS as images
SDTS	*.ddf	http://data.geocomm.com/dem/demdownload.html	5	Supported in GMS and supported in SMS

How to export TINs in ADF format from ArcGIS in a format that XMS will read

1. Load the TIN into ArcMap
2. Expand the “3D Analyst Tools | Conversion Tools | From TIN” toolset in ArcToolbox
3. Double-click the TIN to Raster tool in ArcToolbox (specify your current TIN file in the Input TIN field). Make a note of the path in the Output Raster field.
4. Expand the “Conversion Tools | From Raster” toolset in ArcToolbox
5. Double-click the Raster to ASCII tool in ArcToolbox (specify the raster file that you created in the previous step as the input raster, and make a note of the path for the output file)
6. Open Windows Explorer (My Computer) and browse to the location of the ASCII *.txt file output in step 5
7. Make a copy of the *.txt file created in step 5
8. Change the extension of the *.txt file to *.dem
9. Open the *.dem file in WMS

Displaying Rasters

The raster display options are accessed by clicking on the Raster Options item or tab in the Display Options dialog. The default options vary between applications, and the options may be changed, saved, and restored within the project.

The Raster tab of the Display Options dialog.

The following table describes the raster display options.

Display Option	Description
Image Display	Select the Display as raster radio button to display the raster as a flat image rather than as a surface with elevation changes. Contour options are applied to form the image with block color fill.
Image Elevation	The raster image is drawn at an elevation of 0.0 by default. Change the Elevation: value to draw it at a different elevation.
Surface Display	Select the Display as surface radio button to display the raster as a height varying surface rather than as a flat image. Enable either Contours, Edges, or Boundary to see that type of surface or nothing will be shown.
Surface Contour	Select the Contours check box to apply contour options to the surface with contour lines and/or smooth color fill.
Surface Edges	Select the Edges check box to display the polygonal edges between height samples in the surface. The control to the left sets line color and either enables line dashes or species line width for the edges. This is typically the slowest surface to render.
Surface Boundary	Select the Boundary check box to display only those polygonal edges between height samples on the perimeter of the surface. The control to the left sets line color and either enables line dashes or species line width for the boundary. This is typically the fastest surface to render.

Back to XMS