Posted on February 10, 2023 (Updated on July 10, 2025)

Problem with viewing ASCII data files in ArcGIS

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How do I open an ASCII file in ArcGIS?

Procedure

  1. In ArcGIS Pro, open a new blank project.
  2. In the Analysis tab, click the Tools icon in the Geoprocessing group to activate the Geoprocessing pane.
  3. Navigate to Toolboxes > Conversion Tools > To Raster > ASCII to Raster.
  4. In the Parameters section, browse the ASCII file as the Input ASCII raster file.

Is ASCII file readable?

The term “ASCII file” refers to a “text” file that is readable by the naked eye (it only contains the letters a-z, numbers, carriage returns, and punctuation marks). Conversely, a binary fie is not readable by the naked eye (it contains the ASCII characters in addition to binary codes).
 

How do I open ASCII files?

You can open an ASCII file in most text editors or word processors, including:

  1. Microsoft Notepad.
  2. Apple TextEdit.
  3. GitHub Atom.
  4. Microsoft Word.
  5. Apple Pages.

 

Which type of text files can ArcGIS read?

You can use data stored in a comma-separated values (CSV) text file (. csv) or data stored in a delimited text file (. txt) or GPS Exchange Format file (. gpx) in ArcGIS Online.

Is ASCII same as CSV?

CSV files are ASCII files whose values are separated by commas or other separators (semicolons, spaces, etc).

Do ASCII files contain formatting?

ASCII files do not contain any worksheet formatting information such as row height, column width, or cell formatting. When ASCII files are loaded into the worksheet, the default column formatting parameters are applied to the data.

What is the main problem with ASCII?

The problem with ASCII or extended ASCII is that the ASCII system can only represent up to 128 (or 256 for EASCII) different characters. The limitation on the number of character sets means representing character sets for several different language structures is not possible.

What are the problems with ASCII?

Limitation of ASCII
The 128 or 256 character limits of ASCII and Extended ASCII limits the number of character sets that can be held. Representing the character sets for several different language structures is not possible in ASCII, there are just not enough available characters.

What is a disadvantage of ASCII?

Quote from video:

How do you convert ASCII to hex?

How to Convert Text to Hex

  1. Get character.
  2. Get decimal code of character from ASCII table.
  3. Convert decimal to hex byte.
  4. Continue with next character.

Can you open PPKX in ArcMap?

The ppkx is a Project packages (. ppkx file) that can be used with ArcGIS Pro. A project package is a file that contains all maps and the data referenced by its layers, as well as folder connections, toolboxes, geoprocessing history, and attachments.
 

How do I import a text file into ArcGIS?

Adding the data to ArcGIS
ini file and saved it in the same folder as the text file you wish to import, the next step is to add it to ArcGIS using the standard Add Data function. This will add the data as a table in your map document which can be opened by right clicking on it in the table of contents.