Take GRIP’s data with you: survey marks as a CSV for a controller or a spreadsheet, a DXF for CAD, a KML for GIS software.

An export area drawn on the map.

Figure 1. An export area drawn on the map.

In this guide

  1. Which format?
  2. Where the exports are — the Tools panel
  3. CSV — survey marks
  4. DXF — a drawing for CAD
  5. KML — for GIS software
  6. Know what you are exporting
  7. Quick answers

1  Which format?

  Format Use it for
  CSV Survey marks with coordinates and heights, for a survey controller, CAD point import or a spreadsheet. Up to 3,000 marks.
  DXF A layered CAD drawing of what the map has on: parcels and labels, marks, boundary dimensions, addresses and road names, with the aerial photo where it fits. Up to 200 hectares.
  KML Parcels, appellations and marks for GIS software, such as QGIS or ArcGIS — to overlay on your own data, or to carry into the field. The current view, up to about 6 km by 3 km.

For a sheet to hand someone, use Print instead: see Map - Printing.

2  Where the exports are

All three are tabs of the Tools panel — the spanner on the right-hand toolbar.

The Tools panel: Company Data, Streetview, KML, DXF and CSV.

Figure 2. The Tools panel: Company Data, Streetview, KML, DXF and CSV.

3  CSV

  1. Turn on the Marks layer, so you can see what you are exporting.
  2. Open Tools › CSV.
  3. Click Select Area, then click round the area on the map. Double-click to finish.
  4. Set the options, and click Download CSV.

Selecting the area: click round it, and double-click to finish.

Figure 3. Selecting the area: click round it, and double-click to finish.

The CSV options.

Figure 4. The CSV options.
  Option What it does
  Min / Max Order Only marks between these horizontal orders, 0 to 12.
  Non-Boundary / Boundary Marks Which kinds of mark to include.
  Horizontal / Vertical Datum The coordinate systems to export in. Only marks that LINZ holds in that datum have a value: nothing is converted.
  Point ID Custom numbers counting up from Start Point ID, or the LINZ Node ID.
  Column Format Fourteen column orders, to match what your software expects.
  Exclude Headers Leaves the column names off the first line.
  Null Height Value A height to give marks that have none, if your software needs one.
  File Name What the file is called.

4  DXF

  1. Set the layers the way you want the drawing: Layer Control decides what is in the DXF. Filters do not.
  2. Open Tools › DXF.
  3. Set the Text Height in metres and the Horizontal Datum.
  4. Click Select Area, click round the area and double-click to finish.
  5. Click Create DXF Download. A large area takes a few minutes; the file downloads when it is ready.

The DXF options, and what the drawing will and will not include.

Figure 5. The DXF options, and what the drawing will and will not include.
  • Included: primary and non-primary parcels with their labels, marks with their labels, boundary dimensions, street addresses and road names, and the basemap or aerial photo where the area is small enough.
  • Not included: vectors other than boundary dimensions, survey plans, company data, infrastructure and the Other group.
  • Everything arrives on its own CAD layer, in one coordinate system.
Tip  Turn off what you do not need before you export. The file is smaller and the drawing is cleaner.

5  KML

  1. Turn on the layers you want, and zoom to the area: the KML is the current view.
  2. Open Tools › KML, and click Download KML.
  3. Open the file in your GIS software: QGIS and ArcGIS both read KML.

The KML tab.

Figure 6. The KML tab.

A KML carries primary, non-primary and approved parcels with their appellations, and geodetic, boundary and non-boundary marks. If the view is too large, GRIP says so: zoom in and try again.

6  Know what you are exporting

Note  An export carries the accuracy of its source, no more. Boundaries in particular are LINZ’s digital record, not a survey. Check the order of a mark and the accuracy of a boundary before relying on either. See Boundary accuracy in New Zealand.

7  Quick answers

The download never arrives.

Check the browser is allowed to download from GRIP. A DXF of a large area can take several minutes: leave the tab open.

“Please select an area.”

Click Select Area, click round the area on the map, and double-click to close it.

“Area too large.”

Zoom in, or draw a smaller area: 200 hectares for DXF, about 6 km by 3 km for KML, 3,000 marks for CSV.

My DXF is missing the contours / services.

Infrastructure and the Other group are not part of the DXF.

Heights are blank in my CSV.

The mark has no height in the vertical datum you chose. Choose another datum, or set a Null Height Value.

Putting the map on a sheet is covered in Map - Printing.

data management export