Guides / Get your data ready

Get your data ready

Step 2 of 4 · what to export, and how to keep uploads small and quick.

What becomes what

Coordinate systems

Export in your projected grid (a UTM zone, a South African Lo system or another national grid), not "arbitrary" or local coordinates. The coordinate system travels inside GeoTIFF and LAS/LAZ files, or in the .prj next to a shapefile or world file. If a file has none, the console asks you to pick one before the upload starts.

Smaller uploads, faster conversion

• Point clouds as LAZ, not LAS: typically 5 to 10 times smaller, nothing lost.
• One merged file per orthomosaic and per point cloud, not a folder of tiles.
• Compressed GeoTIFF for the aerial image: JPEG at about 90 quality is much smaller than LZW or none, with no visible difference on screen. Use BigTIFF if it's over 4 GB.
• Native resolution: exporting finer than the real ground resolution only makes the file bigger.
• Don't make web tiles first (MBTiles, Google tiles, Cesium, Potree): upload the originals and we make the web versions.

Step by step for your software

Global Mapper, QGIS, ArcGIS, Trimble Business Center, TerraSolid, LP360 and CloudCompare all export these same formats.

Size limits

The largest single file depends on your plan (see pricing). Uploads resume if your connection drops. For very large jobs, contact us for a quote.

Next: Create a delivery and upload →