Import CSV Points
Use this tool to import a list of point locations from a spreadsheet. Most spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel can export their data to a CSV file. In order to import this data into the map your data must be organize such that each row is a record and the first row must contain column names.
Required Columns
Your CSV file must contain two columns that define the latitude and longitude of each point. The column names must match one of the following combinations
- Latitude, Longitude
- Lat, Lon
- Lat, Long
Alternate Coordinates
If your CSV file contains projected coordinates such as UTM or state plane then those coordinates must be in column names matching one of the following combinations
- X, Y
- Easting, Northing
Before you run an import containing projected coordinates you must first zoom the map to the approximate area where the points will be added. This will help the system automatically determine the correct projection to use when interpreting these coordinates. This step is not necessary when importing CSV files containing latitude/longitude coordinates.
Importing Based on Address (Geocoding)
If you to not have the coordinates mentioned above, you can import based on the address. Your CSV file must have three columns: Address, City, and State. You can then import the file into your map as usual. Alternatively, the City and State can be included in the Address column, but they must be present regardless. Note that geocoding is limited to 20,000 addresses per month.
Datum
WGS84 and NAD83 are two different flavors of Latitude/Longitude coordinates popular in North America. Indicate here which type of coordinates are contained in your CSV file. These two datums differ by about 3 feet. Most GPS devices use WGS84 so if you are not sure where your coordinates came from choose WGS84. However, if your coordinates came from a high-precision GPS device using RTK correction then they are probably NAD83 coordinates. Internally, Diamond Maps uses WGS84 to store its coordinates so whenever you import NAD83 coordinates, Diamond Maps will apply the appropriate correction. If your CSV file contains state plane coordinates then the datum correction will be automatically applied according to the rules of that projection.
Action
Create a new layer
A new layer is created in your map and all the CSV records are imported to it. This is the most common action.
Replace an existing layer
Use this action if you are re-importing. For example, let's say you previously imported a CSV file from your GPS device containing 50 valve points. Since then you have collected 100 additional valve points but you didn't clear out the original points from your GPS and so you now have 150 points to import. You don't want to append these features to your existing layer because that will result in 50 duplicates. So instead you choose the replace option which essentially deletes the 50 records you previously imported and replaces them with the 150 records in the new CSV file. Keep in mind that this also deletes any notes, pictures, or editing that you may have done to these original 50 records in the map.
Append to an existing layer
Use this action when you are combining multiple CSV files into the same layer on your map. To do this, import the first CSV using the "create new layer" action. Then import each of the other CSV's using this "append" action. The import will match field names in the CSV to field names in the existing layer. Any fields found in the CSV but not the layer will be automatically added to the existing layer's list of fields.