How to open MIF/MID (MapInfo) and GML — or download the map in a familiar format

Someone sent you a pair of .mif and .mid files or a .gml file, and your usual program won't open them. Let's sort it out quickly: what these formats are, how to open them for free, and how to download the area you need straight in a convenient format if the files you got are inconvenient.

What MIF/MID and GML are

MIF/MID is MapInfo's interchange format. It always comes as a pair: .mif holds geometry (points, lines, polygons) and the schema, while .mid holds the attribute data (the table). It's the text counterpart of MapInfo's binary .tab, designed specifically to move data between programs.

GML (Geography Markup Language) is an open XML format for geography from the OGC. Verbose, but fully text-based and standardized; it's common in government and cadastral exports.

How to open them

QGIS. Free and no plugins: Layer → Add Layer → Add Vector Layer → select the .mif (QGIS picks up the .mid pair itself) or the .gml. Geometry and attributes open as a normal layer — from there you can style, measure and export.

GDAL/OGR. For the command line and scripts — ogr2ogr reads both MIF/MID and GML and converts them to anything (e.g. GeoJSON or GeoPackage). It's the universal GIS Swiss army knife.

MapInfo Pro. For .mif/.mid the native program is MapInfo Pro, but it's a paid product; just to "take a look" it's easier to open in QGIS.

Technical breakdowns are in MIF: a deep dive, MapInfo MID and GML: a deep dive. About the binary .tab — in the MapInfo TAB format guide.

How to download a map in the format you need

Often people open MIF/MID or GML not for the files themselves but because they need data for a territory — and the file they got is the wrong area or cluttered. Don't bother with conversion: select an area and download it straight in a suitable format.

• MapInfo MIF/MID — if you work in the MapInfo ecosystem;
• GML — if you need the open OGC standard;
• GeoPackage — one modern container with all layers, handier for QGIS;
• GeoJSON — if the data goes into a web map or code.

You get a clean map of the right territory with OpenStreetMap layers, instead of figuring out someone else's file. It's free and takes seconds.

In short

• MIF/MID is MapInfo's text interchange format (a file pair); GML is an open XML from the OGC.
• Both open for free in QGIS and GDAL/OGR.
• Need an area map — download it in MIF/MID, GML or GeoPackage.