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Elevation Layers

VTBuilder will read in elevation files and save them to a simple binary terrain format (BT). You can load multiple files, merge them, and select the area of interest to export.

VTBuilder can import elevation grid data from these formats:

If any of your terrain grids use different coordinates (such as different UTM zones), VTBuilder can convert them to the same projection for you.

The native format for elevation grids is the BT format.  BT can be read by the VTP Enviro program and other virtual terrain software.

VTBuilder can also export elevation to ArcInfo ASCII Grid, GeoTIFF, TerraGen, BMP, STM, MSI Planet, VRML ElevationGrid, RAW/INF for MS Flight Simulator, ChunkLOD, and 16-bit PNG.  However, format conversion is not the intended use of the software.  The primary purpose of VTBuilder is to prepare data for 3D visualization.

TINs (Triangular Irregular Networks)

Additionally, VTBuilder can import TIN elevation from these formats:

The native format for TIN data is the ITF file format.  ITF can be read by the VTP Enviro program for visualization.  Unfortunately, there is no common standard file format for TIN data.  That is why we had to invent our own ad-hoc native format (ITF).

Display of Elevation Layers

The default is to display elevation as artificially shaded and false-colored by elevation.  Elevation at sea level is shown in blue.  Areas of unknown elevation are shown in red, unless hidden with the View: Hide Unknown Areas option

How To Resample and Export Elevation

Elevation Menu