Uploading GIS Data to Optioneer
To upload GIS data to Optioneer please ensure it aligns with the requirements stated in this article.
Once you have ensured the data is appropriate to upload carry out the following steps:
Expand ‘map controls’ from any pages within the map view
Select ‘ADD DATASET’ option in the ‘Vector’ section for vector data upload OR ‘ADD DATASET’ option in the ‘Raster’ section for raster data.
Select from 3 available options
Upload dataset
Import from library
Convert polygons
Optioneer will let you know when your data upload is successful. Your data will not show on the map instantly, as it carries out some processing in the background first.
Assigning your vector data to collections
When uploading vector data, you will be asked to assign your layers to collections. By assigning a collection, we can divide layers into more convenient groupings for routing. These are then directly linked to your configuration.
Assign each layer into one of the following collections based on how you want to use the layer and whether it’s a line or polygon:
Linear - line data including roads, rivers and utilities
Constraints - polygon data modelling constraints in the project area
Environmental - polygon data modelling designations
None - This data is for visualisation only, I do not want to report on it. This can be updated at a later time.
Updating configurations
You will be asked to Update Configuration. Select the configurations that you want to update with the latest layers and select Update. It may be the case that a configuration will not be required.
6. Apply penalties and constrains to the newly added layers.
Penalties are applied to constraints in Optioneer in the Parameter Window.
Types of data that Optioneer can work with:
Vector Data as constraints. This includes lines and polygons (Points need to be buffered for Optioneer to navigate them as a constraint)
Polygons:
buildings, functional sites or sites of special purpose - industrial, commercial, residential
environmentally designated sites such as forests, wetlands, protected habitats
urban areas, rural areas and land use types
geotechnical information and flooding areas limits
culturally designated areas and locations of special buildings
planning and zoning information
Lines:
existing infrastructure such as roads, railways and trails
watercourses and rivers
existing networks such as electricity, pipelines
administrative boundaries
Raster datasets
Project Features: points, lines and polygons
📔 Vector Data
Vector data includes:
Polygons:
buildings, functional sites or sites of special purpose - industrial, commercial, residential
environmentally designated sites such as forests, wetlands, protected habitats
urban areas, rural areas and land use types
geotechnical information and flooding areas limits
culturally designated areas and locations of special buildings
planning and zoning information
Lines:
existing infrastructure such as roads, railways and trails
watercourses and rivers
existing networks such as electricity, pipelines
administrative boundaries
🗄 Filetypes and conventions
Filetypes accepted by Optioneer are:
✅ GeoJSON (.geojson) → popular open source format
✅ Shapefile (.shp) → ESRI ArcGIS format, often supplied as a compressed folder (.zip) with other files
✅ GeoPackage (.gkpg) → popular open source format
✅ Keyhole Markup Language KML (.kml ) → popular open source format used in Google Earth. Note we do not currently support .kmz's.
Common filetypes not served by Optioneer:
❌ GeoDatabase (.gdb) → unfortunately, this format is not currently served by Optioneer
⚙️ Technical recommendations and limits
For all datasets:
ensure no corrupt data entries (like NaN) are present
inspect visually if the data is aligned correctly with source data
merge sources into a single file for the entire project area i.e. we prefer 30 large coverage files with one layer each than more smaller coverage files with 30 layers each
where possible, provide values in SI units
do NOT use special characters in file name or layer names
verify that your file can be opened without warnings with open source software like QGIS (version 3+)
provide the data in WGS84, rather than local systems
minimise the amount of metadata attached to features / layers, focus on geometries and types
please avoid using file formats specific to a software provider and use open-source formats instead
if more than 24 layers are present, please split the file into smaller files by common type. For example, split linear features into roads, rivers & streams, utilities files, rather than alphabetically or by feature count
💯 Limitations
up to 1,000,000 features per layer
up to 1GB per dataset file size
up to 63 layers per dataset
no mixed geometries, each dataset has to be uploaded as a lines-only or polygons-only dataset
📔 Raster Data
This can represent the following:
Elevation / bathymetry
This data shows the elevation at any given point, usually represented as a grid of fixed resolution, such as 5 or 1 arc-second (circa 30m). There is a global dataset based on NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (source), with the baseline file supplied with every project in Optioneer.
Slope
This data is derived from the elevation data and allows to understand how steep the gradient of the terrain is at any given point, represented in [degrees].
Population density
This data shows how many people are likely to live in a given area, usually represented a value per km2.
Visual sensitivity
This is a proprietary type of data generated by Continuum Industries, based on the terrain formation, locations of buildings, tourist attractions and vantage points. More detail can be found in the article below.
Sensitivity map
This is a proprietary type of data generated by Continuum Industries, based off weighted risk due to constraints; normally, it comes with considerations of technical risks, permitting risks and risks to biodiversity. More detail can be found in the articles below.
Basemap
This is simply an image of a map that can be uploaded to Optioneer in case the basemap used by the software is not sufficient. Available base maps can be reviewed here (provided by MapBox).
🗄 Filetypes and conventions
Filetypes served by Optioneer are:
✅ GeoTIFF (.geotiff, .tif, .tiff) → popular open source format
Common filetypes not served by Optioneer:
❌ netCDF / asci (.asc / .ascii) / ESRI Grid
When providing elevation or bathymetry files, please ensure that positive values indicate ‘above sea level’ while negative values indicate ‘below sea level’.
⚙️ Technical recommendations and limits
For all datasets:
ensure no corrupt data entries (like NaN) are present
inspect visually if the data is aligned correctly with source data
merge sources into a single file for the entire project area i.e. we prefer 30 large coverage files with one layer each than more smaller coverage files with 30 layers each
where possible, provide values in SI units
do NOT use special characters in file name or layer names
use WGS84 (lat/longs) where possible
if possible, verify that your file can be opened without warnings with open source software like QGIS (version 3+)
minimise the amount of metadata attached to features / layers, focus on geometries and types
please avoid using file formats specific to a software provider and use open-source formats instead
raster conventions:
provide average value when downsampling
ensure that the no-data value is set! ‼️
no skew
suggested data type is float
💯 Limitations
up to 1GB per dataset file size
👃 Project features - points, lines and polygons
These features are different to general geospatial data and are uploaded as project features rather than data layers that can be used as constraints. Although, these can be converted to constraints later.
These features can be uploaded as .geojson and can contain individual or multiple features. In order to upload points/lines or polygons in .geojson format, and ensure your file complies with the following.
Field names are as follows,
"name" : This will provide the input to the name of the point/line
"description" : This will provide the input the to description of the point/line
The file is in WGS84 Projection (EPSG:4326).
Ensure multipart are converted to singleparts
The file is in .geojson format.