Glossary
As the site evolves, we plan to make each type of data available in multiple formats; however, it will take some time to get there. Not all data will be available in all formats and other formats may be added to this list.
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CSV
A basic text format that can be opened by many spreadsheet applications such as Excel. Read about CSV format on WikiPedia
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XLS
A basic text format that can be opened by many spreadsheet applications such as Excel. Read about XLS on WikiPedia
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DWG
DWG is a GIS standard format native to Autodesk design and GIS software. It is supported by a wide variety of CAD applications. Read about DWG format on WikiPedia
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KML
KML is an XML-based language developed by Keyhole Inc. and subsequently acquired by Google to display data in Google Maps, Google Earth and similar applications. KML is an Open Geospatial Consortium standard. Read about KML format on WikiPedia
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SHP
SHP (pronounced "shape") is a format native to ESRI GIS software. It can be consumed by a wide variety of ESRI and non-ESRI software packages. Read about SHP format on WikiPedia
A note about projections:
- DWG and SHP formats are projected in MTM Zone 9, NAD83 (CSRS)
- KML and CSV/XLS formats are projected in latitude, longitude (WGS84); this is relevant for CSV/XLS files only if they contain latitude and longitude.