Standard File Formats

Read, write, and get information about data files

Read, write, and get information about geospatial data files. For information about supported file formats, see Supported Geospatial File Formats for Import and Export.

Functions

`readgeoraster`	Read geospatial raster data file
`worldfileread`	Read world file and return reference object
`imread`	Read image from graphics file

`georasterinfo`	Information about geospatial raster data file
`geotiffinfo`	Information about GeoTIFF file
`getworldfilename`	Derive world file name from image file name

`geotiffwrite`	Write GeoTIFF file
`worldfilewrite`	Write world file from raster reference object
`imwrite`	Write image to graphics file
`mbtileswrite`	Write georeferenced image or data grid to MBTiles file (Since R2024b)

`readgeotable`	Read geospatial table from vector data file (Since R2021b)
`gpxread`	Read GPX file
`shaperead`	Read vector features and attributes from shapefile

shapeinfo Information about shapefile

`kmlwrite`	Write geographic data to KML file
`kmlwriteline`	Write geographic line data to KML file
`kmlwritepoint`	Write geographic point data to KML file
`kmlwritepolygon`	Write geographic polygon to KML file
`makeattribspec`	Create attribute specification
`shapewrite`	Write geographic vector data structure to shapefile
`makedbfspec`	Create DBF specification

`RasterInfo`	Information about geospatial raster data file
`RPCCoefficientTag`	Rational Polynomial Coefficients Tag

Functions That Read and Write Geospatial Data
Learn about the toolbox functions that read and write geospatial file formats and geospatial data products.
Read Data from OpenStreetMap Files
OpenStreetMap^® files identify locations using tags. Extract information from OpenStreetMap files based on their tags. (Since R2023b)
Data Stored in OpenStreetMap Layers
This topic describes the data stored in each layer of an OpenStreetMap file. (Since R2023b)
Display Buildings from OpenStreetMap Files
Read buildings from OpenStreetMap files. Visualize the buildings and their attributes using colors and data tips. (Since R2023b)
Export Vector Geodata
You can export geodata as a shapefile, which can be exchanged between different geographic information systems. You can also create KML files to upload geodata to the web.
Export KML Files for Viewing in Earth Browsers
Keyhole Markup Language (KML) specifies how a set of geographic features should be displayed in "Earth browsers".
Select Shapefile Data to Read
You can import a subset of elements in a shapefile by filtering elements according to attribute names and values.

Structure geographic point, line, and polygon vector data and export it to a KML file.

Write data referenced to standard geographic and projected coordinate systems to GeoTIFF files.

Create a spatially referenced digital surface model (DSM) from aerial lidar data, update the model, and export the result to a GeoTIFF file.

Read sea ice concentrations from a GRIB file and visualize the data using a 2-D map, an animated GIF, and histograms.