Articles about map export formats, tools and OpenStreetMap data use cases.
Разбор сдвига на 100–150 метров при открытии чужого слоя: параметры перехода в .prj, привязка растра в .pgw/.tfw и что делать, когда координаты есть, а системы нет.
How to convert KML or KMZ into DWG and DXF without losing coordinates: unpacking KMZ, reprojecting to metres in QGIS or ogr2ogr, layers and labels. Why a direct import gives a drawing a fraction of a unit across.
How to make a free city map poster: pick the area and style, download a vector SVG or PDF, finish it in Illustrator, Inkscape or Figma, and send it to print at any size.
Vector maps explained in plain words: how vector differs from a picture using a map as the example, which vector formats exist (SVG, PDF, DXF, GeoJSON, SHP) and what each of them is for.
How to place a topographic survey onto a plan in AutoCAD so it lands in real coordinates: XREF, units, local CRS vs WGS-84, two-point alignment. And what to do when there is no survey.
What Russian local MSK coordinate systems are, where zones come from, how to find your zone by region and longitude, and why MSK does not match WGS84. Honest about cadastre and how to download data in a suitable projection.
How WGS 84, EPSG:4326 and EPSG:3857 differ in plain words: datum, degrees and web mercator. Why the map drifts and when meters matter more than degrees. Plus — a choice of 165 coordinate systems on export.
How to turn KMZ into KML (and back) online or by hand in a minute: KMZ is a ZIP with KML inside. Plus — a converter for OSM data to KML/KMZ and downloading an area straight in the right format.
All working ways to download a map from OpenStreetMap: export from osm.org, the Overpass API, Geofabrik and planet.osm, the QuickOSM plugin — honestly about each one's limits. Plus — ready export in 124 formats and a REST API.
Will USGS give you a GeoTIFF for QGIS? Yes — but only after signing up, and SRTM stops at 60°N. How to get elevation for the area you need, by coordinates and without an account — HGT tiles from the global Copernicus GLO-30 DEM — and turn them into a GeoTIFF right in QGIS.
Got a .rvt file and nothing opens it? RVT is Autodesk Revit's closed format — you need Revit or the free Revit Viewer. And get the city site context for BIM in IFC, DWG or DXF — Revit links them.
Need OSM maps for Navitel? Honestly: we don't produce the native .nm7, but Navitel imports GPX — we show the steps. Plus native formats for Garmin (IMG), OsmAnd (OBF), TomTom (OV2) and Lowrance chartplotters.