Raster maps

The software is shipped only with a few demo maps because it is not feasible to bundle it with all the most recent and detailed maps worldwide. To ensure almost any map can be loaded, a wide range of file formats is supported. This makes that Hydromagic can be used with the most commonly used map formats. Two types of maps are supported: vector maps and raster maps. The list below shows information on some of the supported raster map formats.

Supported raster maps

Raster maps are basically bitmap images. They only contain image data, and in some cases (GeoTIFF), some geo-referencing information. These maps do not support high zoom levels, because they are limited by the number of pixels the map is stored in. The following raster formats are supported:

• Arc/Info ASCII Grid files;
• BSB nautical map files;
• GeoTIFF / TIFF files;
• Graphical Interchange Format (GIF) files;
• JPEG Image files;
• Microsoft Windows Bitmap (BMP) files;
• Portable Network Graphics (PNG) files;
• XYZ gridded elevation data (ASCII or binary);

You can import a vector map into your project by right-clicking the 'Maps' folder in the 'Project Explorer' and selecting the 'Import Map...' option from the context menu, as shown in the screenshot below:

Right-click the "Maps" folder in "Project Explorer" to import a raster map.

GeoTIFF

GeoTIFF files are based on the TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) standard. This format allows you to insert all sorts of tags into an image file. GeoTIFF uses this to store information on calibration info and/or projection information in the file. When you try to load a map that only contains the calibration info (X,Y boundaries and scale information), you will be asked to set the projection parameters for the map.

JPG, GIF, TIF, BMP and PNG image files

It is possible to use your own images to project routes, waypoints, tracks and real time position on. These images can be downloaded from the web (for instance, image created with Google Earth or maps exported from "OpenStreetMaps.org", or created by scanning paper maps. To use these images, they must be geo-referenced and calibrated. A map is geo-referenced when it is provided with projection and world files. When downloading a street map or satellite image from the built-in map downloading tool, these files will be generated by the software.

BSB maps

BSB map files are raster charts designed especially for nautical charts. They are used by several authorities like NOAA. Nautical maps can often be downloaded for free in the BSB format. When loading BSB files in Hydromagic, the map is displayed directly because all geo-referencing and coordinate reference system info is included in the map. BSB maps use Lambert Conformal Conic, Mercator and Polyconic projection.