Special Attributes & ASCII Field Options

This document describes some of the recognized field names in Global Mapper when loading generic ASCII data files (i.e. .txt, .csv, .xyz, etc.). This is not a complete list. For good examples, try creating or loading vector data and setting it up how you want it to display, then use the File->Export Vector->Export Simple ASCII Text File menu command and check all attribute export options to get a sample text file with supported fields.

Special Attributes

Special attributes are used by Global Mapper for specific purposes as described below.

<Feature Name> - this attribute stores the label.
<Feature Type> - this is a classification that can be assigned to create consistent styling.
<Feature Desc> - the description of the feature (often the same as the feature type). For formats like DXF or DGN, this will be the DXF layer or DGN level name respectively.
<Feature Layer Name> - the name of the layer that the feature is in
<Feature Layer Group Name> - the name of the layer group that the feature is in
<Feature Source Filename> - the filename of the file the layer was loaded from
<Index in Layer> - the value is the 0-based index of the feature in the layer that the feature is in. Note that area, line, and point features are separately indexed.
<Last Modified Time> - this attribute is stored automatically when features get updated (starting in Global Mapper v20). This attribute is visible in the Attribute Editor and Feature Information dialog. Timestamps will persist in a workspace, or in a Global Mapper Package file, but do not export as an attribute. The timestamp will be displayed using the standard ISO format:

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS

Other Recognized Attribute Names

NAME, LABEL –the feature name: A-Z, 0-9

DESC, DESCRIPTION, LAYER, TYPE –feature description: A-Z, 0-9

GM_TYPE –classification other than default for the feature. The value of this or the description should match the name of a classification in Global Mapper in order for auto-assignment of classification on load to occur. See the Area Styles, Line Styles, and Point Styles tabs of the Configuration dialog for a list of available type names. If no GM_TYPE field is present but a recognized description field (see above) is present that matches a type name, it will be used for the type assignment.

ELEVATION, ELEV, Z, HEIGHT, DEPTH, Altitude –value will be used as feature’s elevation: +/-0-99999

IMAGE_LINK, FILE_LNK_1, FILE_LINK_2, etc. - These attributes are recognized by the feature info tool. IMAGE_LINK will automatically open the link with the generic photo viewer when using the feature info tool. FILE_LINK_1, etc. will provide the following options when selecting with the info tool:

Display Feature Information Dialog
Open Selected Value as File in Windows
Open Selected Value as File in Global Mapper

Style Attributes

SYMBOL, POINT SYMBOL, POINT_SYMBOL –if this value matches one of the following values, that symbol will be used for the point feature, attribute names are ignored for line features. The symbol name should either exactly match one of the symbol names in Global Mapper, or be in one of the following forms:

DOT_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
DOT_EMPTY_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
SQUARE_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
SQUARE_EMPTY_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
VERT_BAR_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
CROSS_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
DIAG_CROSS_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
STAR_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
STAR_EMPTY_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
TRIANGLE_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
TRIANGLE_EMPTY_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
DIAMOND_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>
DIAMOND_EMPTY_CUSTOM_<SIZE>_<RED>_<GREEN>_<BLUE>

Where the <SIZE> value is the radius in pixels of the dot or square or size of the cross or bar, and the <RED>, <GREEN>, and <BLUE> values represent the color to use.

ANGLE, SYM_ANGLE – specifies the angle (in degrees clockwise) to rotate the symbol for this point.

COLOR –formatted as RGB (red, green, blue). In the absence of specific fill or line color, it will be used

LINE COLOR, LINE_COLOR, BORDER COLOR, BORDER_COLOR, PEN COLOR, PEN_COLOR –formatted as RGB (red 0-255, green 0-255, blue 0-255)

LINE WIDTH, LINE_WIDTH, BORDER WIDTH, BORDER_WIDTH, PEN WIDTH, PEN_WIDTH – (1-30)

WIDTH_M, LINE_WIDTH_METERS - width of line in meters. The pixel width will vary as you zoom in and out.

LINE STYLE, LINE_STYLE, BORDER STYLE, BORDER_STYLE, PEN STYLE, PEN_STYLE

Some of the line style names supported in Global Mapper are as follows:

Solid
Dash
Dot
Dash – Dot
Dash – Dot – Dot
Null
Railroad
Striped
Left – Facing Line
Right – Facing Line

FILL STYLE, FILL_STYLE –in order to use a fill style you must include CLOSED=TRUE

FILL COLOR, FILL_COLOR –RGB(red 0-255, green 0-255, blue 0-255), in order to use fill color you must include CLOSED=TRUE

FILL_ALPHA - specifies the transparency level for a solid filled area feature. The valid values are from 0 to 255, with 0 being completely transparent and 255 being completely opaque.

CLOSED – if this is set to “YES” or “TRUE”, the feature will be treated as a closed area feature and if it has at least vertices

ISLAND – if this is set to “YES” or “TRUE”, the feature will be treated as an island of the previous closed parent area feature if it has at least three vertices. If there are no previous parent areas, this attribute will be ignored.

FONT_NAME - Set to the face name to use for displaying labels for this feature. For example, use FONT_NAME="Arial" to make the feature use an Arial font.

FONT_SIZE - Specifies the font point size to use for displaying labels for this feature. For example, use FONT_SIZE=12 for a 12 point font.

FONT_COLOR - Specifies the color to use for the displaying labels for this feature. Formatted as RGB (red 0-255, green 0-255, blue 0-255). For example, to use a white font, use FONT_COLOR="RGB(255,255,255)".

FONT_ANGLE - Specifies the angle in degrees at which to display the font for this point feature. Angles start at 0 for normal horizontal text and proceed counter-clockwise.

FONT_HEIGHT_METERS or FONT_HT_M - Specifies the height (in meters) to display labels for this feature. Use this option to display a label that is a fixed size on the map rather than a fixed size relative to the screen.

FONT_STYLE - Specifies the style options to use for the font. Just specify each style that you want separated by a comma. The following styles are supported:

FONT_WEIGHT - Specifies the numeric weight of font to use. These are the normal font weights used in windows with the following numeric values (for example, use FONT_WEIGHT=700 for a bold font):

FW_DONTCARE	0	FW_MEDIUM	500
FW_THIN	100	FW_SEMIBOLD	600
FW_EXTRALIGHT	200	FW_BOLD	700
FW_LIGHT	300	FW_EXTRABOLD	800
FW_NORMAL	400	FW_HEAVY	900

FONT_PLACEMENT - Specifies how to place a label relative to a point feature. The following numeric values are supported:

0 - Automatically place label at best location
1 - Center the label on the point
2 - Label is up and to the right of point
3 - Label is to the right of point
4 - Label is below and to the right of point
5 - Label is below the point
6 - Label is below and to the left of point
7 - Label is to the left of point
8 - Label is above and to the left of point
9 - Label is above the point

Calculated Measurements

Global Mapper assigns particular attribute names to measurements or attributes calculated from within its tools.

Creating a Line Feature

LENGTH
BEARING
SINUOSITY

Creating an Area Feature

PERIMETER
ENCLOSED_AREA
LENGTH
WIDTH
CLOSED - Yes or No if the area feature is closed

Time

MODIFIED_DATE - This attribute can be automatically added by enabling the configuration setting Add MODIFIED_DATE to Modified Vector Features. This attribute will update automatically when a feature is modified.
The attribute editor supports sorting a column by date, when the field is in the following formats:
- YYYYMMDD
- YYYY-MM-DD
- YYYY/MM/DD
- *DD-MMM-YYYY (MMM is the 3-letter abbreviation for the month)
- *MM-DD-YYYY or DD-MM-YYYY, (based on system locale and date format settings)
- *MM/DD/YYYY or DD/MM/YYYY, (based on system locale and date format settings)
*Note that these date formats can also use a 2-digit year. The prefix for all two digit years is assumed to be 19.

Modify Feature Info attributes

FILE_LNK_1 , FILE_LNK_2... - Use the Add File Link button on the Modify Feature info dialog to add this attribute. A File Link has special behaviour in the Feature Info tool, with options to open the file directly in windows or Global Mapper.
TIMESTAMP - This attribute can be added using the Add Time Stamp button on the Modify Feature Info dialog.
NOTATION - This attribute can be added using the Add/Edit Notation button in Modify Feature Info dialog. A notation attribute can be viewed in a text box pop-up, including line breaks. It provides better support for interacting with longer descriptive attributes in Global Mapper and Global Mapper Mobile.

Strike and Dip Point

DIP
DIP_AZI - The dip azimuth (direction) in degrees, where North is 0, East is 90, South is 180 and West is 270.
STRIKE_AZI - The strike azimuth (direction) in degrees, where North is 0, East is 90, South is 180 and West is 270.

Range Ring

RANGE - Radius of Range Ring
PERIMITER
ENCLOSED_AREA

Watershed Streams

STREAM_ID
IN_FLOW - Calculated by the number of cells that flow in and out. If your cell size is 5m x 5m, each one is 25m^2. An IN_FLOW of 100 means that 2500m^2 of ground drains into the stream.
OUT_FLOW
DRAIN_AREA -Total area that drains through in a normal unit rather than count. The Drain Area is the Out Flow converted to area

Watershed Areas

STREAM_ID
NEXT_STREAM_ID

Calculate Elevation/Slope Stats

ASPECT— Direction that the slope is facing (i.e. south facing slope is 180, north facing is 0). This is the most commonly occurring slope direction in the area feature.
AVG_ASPECT— Average of reported aspects in the area feature. This is the direction the slope is facing (i.e. south facing slope is 180, north facing is 0).
AVG_ELEV_M, AVG_ELEV_FT— Average Elevation. Reported in Feet or Meters based on unit settings.
AVG_SLOPE_DEG— Average slope angle in reported degrees
AVG_SLOPE_PCT— Average slope angle in reported percent rise
ENCLOSED_AREA— Enclosed planar (planimetric) area. This value may also be auto-calculated for new features with the Add measure attributes to new features setting
MAX_ELEV_M, MAX_ELEV_FT— Maximum elevation in the area feature, based on unit settings.
MAX_ELEV_X— X coordinate of the highest elevation point in the area.
MAX_ELEV_Y— Y coordinate of the highest elevation point in the area.
MAX_SLOPE_DEG— the max slope in degrees. The slope is calculated by dividing the rise by the run.
MAX_SLOPE_PCT— the max slope percent. The slope percentage is calculated by dividing the rise by the run and multiplying this number by 100. If the value is over 100%, the rise is greater than the run.
MIN_ELEV_M— Minimum elevation in the area feature, based on unit settings.
MIN_ELEV_X— X coordinate of the lowest elevation point in the area.
MIN_ELEV_Y—Y coordinate of the lowest elevation point in the area.
MODE_ELEV_M— Most frequently observed elevation in Meters.
PERIMETER— Perimeter or the area feature. This value may also be auto-calculated for new features with the Add measure attributes to new features setting
SLOPE_1QUAR_DEG— Slope value in degrees in first quarter (quadrant). In a sorted list of the reported slopes in the area feature, this is the value 1/4 of the way through the list.
SLOPE_1QUAR_PCT— Slope value in percent in first quarter (quadrant). In a sorted list of the reported slopes in the area feature, this is the value 1/4 of the way through the list.
SLOPE_3QUAR_DEG— Slope value in degrees in third quarter (3rd quadrant). In a sorted list of the reported slopes in the area feature, this is the value 3/4 of the way through the list.
SLOPE_3QUAR_PCT— Slope value in percent in third quarter (3rd quadrant). In a sorted list of the reported slopes in the area feature, this is the value 3/4 of the way through the list.
SLOPE_MEDIAN_DEG — Median slope in degrees.
SLOPE_MEDIAN_PCT— Median slope in percent rise.
STD_DEV_ELEV_M, STD_DEV_ELEV_FT — Standard Deviation of the elevation values with units noted.
STD_DEV_SLOPE_DEG, STD_DEV_SLOPE_PCT — Standard deviation of the slope values, in degrees or percent slope.
SURFACE_AREA_3D — Three-dimensional surface area of the area feature. This the area measured following along the surface of all of the slopes of the terrain, as opposed to a planimetric area.

Add Coordinate Bounds to selected points

X - calculated Easting / Longitude Coordinate
Y - calculated Northing / Latitude Coordinate

Add Style Attributes to Selected Points

POINT_SYMBOL

Add Style Attributes to Selected Lines

LINE_STYLE
LINE_COLOR
LINE_WIDTH

Add Style Attributes to Selected Area Features

BORDER_STYLE
BORDER_COLOR
BORDER_WIDTH
FILL_STYLE

Add Pixel Coordinates to selected Points

LAYER_PIXX
LAYER_PIXY

Address Attributes

FR_ADDR_R, R_FROM_ADR - starting address number on the right side of the road
FR_ADDR_L, L_FROM_ADR - starting address number on the left side of the road
TO_ADDR_R, R_TO_ADR - ending address number on the right side of the road
TO_ADDR_L, L_TO_ADR - ending address number on the left side of the road
PLACE_R, R_CITY - city or town on the right side of the road
PLACE_L, L_CITY - city or town on the left side of the road
STATE_R, R_STATE - state or province on the right side of the road
STATE_L, L_STATE - state or province on the left side of the road
ZIP_R, R_ZIP, R_PCODE - postal code on right side of road
ZIP_L, L_ZIP, L_PCODE - postal code on left side of road
COUNTRY_R, R_COUNTRY - country on right side of the road
COUNTRY_L, L_COUNTRY - country on left side of the road
PARITY_R, R_PARITY - numeric parity value on right side of road. A value of 1 means odd parity (addresses are all odd), a value of 2 means even parity (address are all even), and a value of 3 means there is not parity (addresses can be even and odd). For any other value the parity will be automatically determined.
PARITY_L, L_PARITY - numeric parity value on left side of road. A value of 1 means odd parity (addresses are all odd), a value of 2 means even parity (address are all even), and a value of 3 means there is not parity (addresses can be even and odd). For any other value the parity will be automatically determined.

ViewShed Areas

RADIUS
TRANSMITTER_HEIGHT
TRANSMITTER_GROUND_HEIGHT
RECEIVER_HEIGHT
START_ANGLE
SWEEP_ANGLE
PERCENT_VISIBLE
PCT_CLR_FRESNEL
FREQ_FRESNEL

View Shed Parameters

OFFSETA or TRANSMITTER_HEIGHT - height above ground in meters (or feet if 'ft' in value) for transmitter (observation point)
OFFSETA_MSL (or OFFSETA_MS if coming from a Shapefile) - height above sea level in meters (or feet if 'ft' in value) for transmitter (observation point)
OFFSETB or RECEIVER_HEIGHT - height above ground in meters (or feet if 'ft' in value) for receiver
OFFSETB_MSL (or OFFSETB_MS if coming from a Shapefile) - height above sea level in meters (or feet if 'ft' in value) for receiver
AZIMUTH1 or SWEPT_ANGLE - start angle for view shed (0 is north, 90 is east, etc.)
AZIMUTH2 or END_ANGLE - end angle for view shed (0 is north, 90 is east, etc.)
SWEPT_ANGLE - number of degrees to sweep clockwise. Value must be greater than 0 and up to 360.0. You would use AZIMUTH2 or SWEPT_ANGLE, but not both
RADIUS2 or RADIUS- outer radius in meters of view shed calculation. You can include units after the value to specify something other than meters, like '3 km' or '5 miles'
RADIUS1 - inner radius in meters of view shed calculation (default is 0, which does entire radius). You can include units after the value, see RADIUS2 for details.
VERT1 - The top of the vertical angle to limit the scan (receiver angle range top value)
VERT2 - The bottom of the vertical angle to limit the scan (receiver angle range bottom value)

Calculate Color Statistics in Area

MOST_PRESENT_COLOR this is the RGB value that occurs the largest number of times within the area feature
AVG_RGB The average Red, Green, and Blue color values
MODE_RGB The mode (most frequent) Red, Green and Blue color values.
1ST_QUARTILE_RGB The first quartile value
MEDIAN_RGB The median Red, Green and Blue color values
3rd_QUARTILE_RGB The 3rd quartile value.

Equal Value Areas

COLOR