osm2cdr.com Blog

Articles about map export formats, tools and OpenStreetMap data use cases.

TomTom ITN — Plain-text Route for GO/Start: Micro-degrees, 100-stop Limit and Legacy Status

TomTom ITN file for GO/Start/Via: ASCII waypoints with long,lat in micro-degrees and type, 100-point limit. Legacy route format before ov2 POI overlay era.

2026-05-24 · 9 min
TomTomITNitinerarynavigation

TIFF — Aldus and Adobe Extensible Raster Format for Print and Archival

TIFF is a tag-based raster format from Aldus (1986, Adobe 1994): TIFF 6.0 (1992), multi-page, lossless LZW/Deflate, BigTIFF for large files; parent of GeoTIFF.

2026-05-23 · 13 min
TIFFAdoberasterlossless

MapInfo TAB — Format Behind Russian Cadastre and Municipal GIS: Internals, MITAB and OSM Export

MapInfo TAB since 1990: 4-5 files (.tab/.dat/.map/.id), Precisely's proprietary spec, reverse-engineering via Frank Warmerdam's MITAB, OSM export to TAB via QGIS.

2026-05-21 · 8 min
TABMapInfocadastreGIS

Training Center XML — Garmin Training Format 2007: Activity/Lap/Track XML and Transition to FIT

Garmin TCX since 2007: XML with TrainingCenterDatabase>Activity>Lap>Track>Trackpoint, HR/cadence/altitude. Primary format before FIT 2012, still imported by Strava.

2026-05-21 · 8 min
TCXTraining CenterGarminXML

SUMO — XML Format from DLR's Urban Mobility Traffic Simulator (Eclipse SUMO)

SUMO is DLR's open-source traffic simulator (2001+): XML formats .net/.rou/.add, microscopic+macroscopic, TraCI API, netconvert OSM-to-SUMO, EPL-2.0 license.

2026-05-20 · 10 min
SUMODLRtraffic simulationtransportation

STEP (ISO 10303 AP242) format: B-Rep CAD exchange — OSM model export for manufacturing

STEP/ISO 10303 (1994, AP242 since 2014): B-Rep solids, PMI, AP203/AP214/AP242, CATIA/NX/SolidWorks, OSM buildings.

2026-05-19 · 12 min
cadiso-standardmechanicalbrep

STL — 3D Printing Format Since 1987: Binary vs ASCII, Slicers and OSM Building Export

Chuck Hull's STL and 3D Systems since 1987: 50 bytes per triangle, binary/ASCII variants, slicer watertight requirement, OSM building export with extrusion and ground plate.

2026-05-19 · 9 min
STL3D printingmeshstereolithography

STAC: SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog for Cloud-Native Geo Discovery

STAC 1.0/1.1 — JSON catalog standard for geo assets: Catalog→Collection→Item→Asset hierarchy, STAC API on top of OGC Features, pystac and stac-fastapi tooling.

2026-05-18 · 6 min
staccatalogmetadatacloud-native

SpatiaLite format: SQLite + GEOS + PROJ — portable spatial database for OSM

SpatiaLite by Alessandro Furieri 2008: SQLite extension with WKB BLOB, R-Tree, ST_* functions, single-file spatial database.

2026-05-17 · 12 min
gisdatabasesqliteembedded

PSD (Photoshop Document) format: cartographic editorial — OSM export for print graphics

PSD from Adobe 1990: layered raster, blend modes, smart objects, .psd vs .psb, cartographic editorial pipeline.

2026-05-15 · 15 min
rasteradobephotoshopeditorial

Shapefile — Why the 1998 Format Is Still Everywhere in 2026, and Its 7 Hard Limits

Deep guide to Shapefile: 1998 ESRI format, mini-zoo of 4–6 files, 2 GB limit, 10-character column names. When you're forced to export it.

2026-05-15 · 9 min
ShapefileSHPESRIGIS

PNG — Complete Guide: W3C History 1994-2026, How to Open, How to Make an OSM PNG Map

Deep guide to PNG (Portable Network Graphics): what's inside the W3C chunked format, the history of replacing GIF, which programs open it, pros and cons. How to get a raster PNG map from any OpenStreetMap area at 72-300 DPI in 30 seconds.

2026-05-14 · 11 min
PNGrasterW3Cweb