Introduction

Planet is a product by Marconi, now part of the Ericsson group. Product information here

When we refer to "Planet format" we mean a mapping data format used by Planet as well as several other major tools for planning of radio networks.

Terracopter does not need all features of the format. The information relevant to Terracopter is listed below.

Directory structure by example

Download the Terracopter release from the Downloads section and paste this into the address bar of an Internet Explorer window. The folder origdata is an example of a "Main mapping data folder" as described in the description below :

  %PROGRAMFILES%\Dewire\Terracopter\origdata

You'll see the following files:

   Directory coiba

    2004-06-22  19:10       <DIR>          heights
    2004-06-23  13:34       <DIR>          ortho

   Directory coiba\heights

    2004-06-22  19:10            8 396 802 binarydem.dat
    2004-06-22  15:46                   46 index.txt

   Directory coiba\ortho

    2004-06-23  10:13           12 587 124 coiba_ls7_2048.tif
    2004-06-22  15:47                   51 index.txt

Description of directory structure

There is no fixed directory structure as all data is located based on the contens of an index file. However, using relative (or absolute) paths in the index files always carries the risk of compatibility problems. so we suggest the files are organised in the following manner:

Main mapping data folder

Usually the mapping data is organised so that each dataset is contained in a separate folder under a main mapping data folder. An example of the contents of a main mapping data folder is:

• Europe
• Italy
• Rome
• Sicily

Note that the Terracopter mapping data import does not need the data to be organised with a main mapping data folder, but it makes things easier - which is why we recommend it.

Dataset folder

Normally containing a "heights" folder and optionally "clutter" and/or "scan/ortho" folders.

Height data folder

Normally named "height", "terrain" or "DEM". Containing the following files

• index file "index" or "index.txt" [1]
• height data files

Clutter folder

Normally named "clutter" or "landusage". Containing the following files

• index file "index" or "index.txt" [1]
• clutter listing file "menu" or "menu.txt" [2]
• clutter data files

Orthofoto data folder

Normally named "ortho", "scan" or "backdrop". Containing the following files

• index file "index" or "index.txt" [1]
• image data files (see "Imgage file format" beloe for supported formats)

Index file format (example):

  terrain1.dat 11000.0 14000.0 30000.0 35000.0 30.0
  terrain2.dat 14000.0 17000.0 30000.0 35000.0 30.0

Each row contains the following information, each value separated by a space:

• Name of the raster file [3]
• Minimum easting value (metres)
• Maximum easting value (metres)
• Minimum northing value (metres)
• Maximum northing value (metres)
• Resolution (metres per pixel) [4]

Menu file format (example):

  1 Water
  2 Open
  3 Forest
  4 Urban

Raster file format (example)

If the index file reads:

   terrain.dat 11000.0 14000.0 30000.0 35000.0 10.0

... the data file "terrain.dat" will have a size corresponding to:

   ( 14000 - 11000 ) * ( 35000 - 30000 ) * 2 / 10 / 10

... i.e. 2 bytes per "map pixel"

Image file format

PNG, TIFF and JPG are supported. The filename must have an extension reflecting the contents, i.e.

• ".png" for PNG
• ".tif" or ".tiff" for TIFF
• ".jpeg" or ".jpg" for JPEG

and be on the format indicated by the extention.

The image file must have "square pixels" and on a resulution of an even multiple of the height database.

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[1] The mapping data import process will first look for a file called "index". If that file is not found, it will look for "index.txt".

[2] The mapping data import process will first look for a file called "menu". If that file is not found, it will look for "menu.txt".

[3] We recommend avoiding absolute and relative paths in the index files, i.e. place the index file in the data folder itself and remove relative or absolute paths.

[4] The resolution value is not required for image data.