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class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">World file</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 7 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-7" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">7 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/World-File" title="World-File – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="World-File" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_file" title="World file – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="World file" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ha mw-list-item"><a href="https://ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fayil_na_Duniya" title="Fayil na Duniya – Hausa" lang="ha" hreflang="ha" data-title="Fayil na Duniya" data-language-autonym="Hausa" data-language-local-name="Hausa" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hausa</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%E3%83%89%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB" title="ワールドファイル – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="ワールドファイル" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fi%C8%99ier_World" title="Fișier World – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Fișier World" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/World-%D1%84%D0%B0%D0%B9%D0%BB" title="World-файл – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="World-файл" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ta mw-list-item"><a href="https://ta.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%AE%B5%E0%AF%87%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D%E0%AE%9F%E0%AF%8D_%E0%AE%AA%E0%AF%88%E0%AE%B2%E0%AF%8D" title="வேல்ட் பைல் – Tamil" lang="ta" hreflang="ta" data-title="வேல்ட் பைல்" data-language-autonym="தமிழ்" data-language-local-name="Tamil" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>தமிழ்</span></a></li> </ul> 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.ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-More_citations_needed plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-content ambox-Refimprove" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Question_book-new.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/50px-Question_book-new.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/75px-Question_book-new.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/Question_book-new.svg/100px-Question_book-new.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="399" /></a></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This article <b>needs additional citations for <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability" title="Wikipedia:Verifiability">verification</a></b>.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please help <a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/World_file" title="Special:EditPage/World file">improve this article</a> by <a href="/wiki/Help:Referencing_for_beginners" title="Help:Referencing for beginners">adding citations to reliable sources</a>. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.<br /><small><span class="plainlinks"><i>Find sources:</i> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?as_eq=wikipedia&q=%22World+file%22">"World file"</a> – <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbm=nws&q=%22World+file%22+-wikipedia&tbs=ar:1">news</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?&q=%22World+file%22&tbs=bkt:s&tbm=bks">newspapers</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/search?tbs=bks:1&q=%22World+file%22+-wikipedia">books</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22World+file%22">scholar</a> <b>·</b> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/action/doBasicSearch?Query=%22World+file%22&acc=on&wc=on">JSTOR</a></span></small></span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">December 2024</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Geographic data file</div> <p>A <b>world file</b> is a six line <a href="/wiki/Plain_text" title="Plain text">plain text</a> <a href="/wiki/Sidecar_file" title="Sidecar file">sidecar file</a> used by <a href="/wiki/Geographic_information_system" title="Geographic information system">geographic information systems</a> (GIS) to <a href="/wiki/Georeference" class="mw-redirect" title="Georeference">georeference</a> <a href="/wiki/Raster_graphics" title="Raster graphics">raster</a> map images. The file specification was introduced by <a href="/wiki/Esri" title="Esri">Esri</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Esri_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Esri-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Esri_wld_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Esri_wld-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Filename_extension">Filename extension</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_file&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Filename extension"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The base <a href="/wiki/Filename" title="Filename">filename</a> of a world file matches the raster's base filename, but has a different <a href="/wiki/Filename_extension" title="Filename extension">filename extension</a> (suffix). There are three <a href="/wiki/Filename_extension" title="Filename extension">filename extension</a> naming conventions used for world files, with variable support across software. </p><p>One simple convention with widespread support is to append the letter "w" to the end of the raster filename. For example, a raster named <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886049734">.mw-parser-output .monospaced{font-family:monospace,monospace}</style><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.jpg</span> should have a world file named <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.jpgw</span>. </p><p>An alternative file naming convention that uses a three-character extension to conform to the <a href="/wiki/8.3_filename" title="8.3 filename">8.3 file naming</a> convention uses the first and last character of the raster file's extension, followed by "w" at the end. For example, here are a few naming conventions for popular raster formats: </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Raster format</th> <th>Raster file name</th> <th>World file name </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/GIF" title="GIF">GIF</a></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.gif</span></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.gfw</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/JPEG" title="JPEG">JPEG</a></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.jpg</span></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.jgw</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/JPEG_2000" title="JPEG 2000">JPEG 2000</a></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.jp2</span></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.j2w</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Portable_Network_Graphics" class="mw-redirect" title="Portable Network Graphics">PNG</a></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.png</span></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.pgw</span> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/TIFF" title="TIFF">TIFF</a></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.tif</span></td> <td><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced"><i>mymap</i>.tfw</span> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>A third convention is to use a <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced">.wld</span> file extension, irrespective of the type of raster file, as supported by <a href="/wiki/GDAL" title="GDAL">GDAL</a> and <a href="/wiki/QGIS" title="QGIS">QGIS</a>, but not <a href="/wiki/Esri" title="Esri">Esri</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Esri_wld_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Esri_wld-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>a<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Content">Content</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_file&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Content"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:WorldFileParametersSchemas.gif" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/41/WorldFileParametersSchemas.gif" decoding="async" width="395" height="998" class="mw-file-element" data-file-width="395" data-file-height="998" /></a><figcaption>Graphical view of world files parameters and computed values of the four first upper left pixels of an image.</figcaption></figure> <p>The generic meaning of the six parameters in a world file (as defined by Esri<sup id="cite_ref-Esri_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Esri-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>) is: </p> <ul><li>Line 1: <i>A</i>: pixel size in the <i>x</i>-direction in map units/pixel</li> <li>Line 2: <i>D</i>: rotation about <i>y</i>-axis</li> <li>Line 3: <i>B</i>: rotation about <i>x</i>-axis</li> <li>Line 4: <i>E</i>: pixel size in the <i>y</i>-direction in map units, almost always negative<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>b<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>Line 5: <i>C</i>: <i>x</i>-coordinate of the center of the upper left pixel</li> <li>Line 6: <i>F</i>: <i>y</i>-coordinate of the center of the upper left pixel</li></ul> <p>This description is however misleading in that the <i>D</i> and <i>B</i> parameters are not angular rotations, and that the <i>A</i> and <i>E</i> parameters do not correspond to the pixel size if <i>D</i> or <i>B</i> are not zero. The <i>A</i>, <i>D</i>, <i>B</i> and <i>E</i> parameters are sometimes named "x-scale", "y-skew", "x-skew" and "y-scale". </p><p>A better description of the <i>A</i>, <i>D</i>, <i>B</i> and <i>E</i> parameters is: </p> <ul><li>Line 1: <i>A</i>: <i>x</i>-component of the pixel width (<i>x</i>-scale)</li> <li>Line 2: <i>D</i>: <i>y</i>-component of the pixel width (<i>y</i>-skew)</li> <li>Line 3: <i>B</i>: <i>x</i>-component of the pixel height (<i>x</i>-skew)</li> <li>Line 4: <i>E</i>: <i>y</i>-component of the pixel height (<i>y</i>-scale), typically negative</li> <li>Line 5: <i>C</i>: <i>x</i>-coordinate of the center of the original image's upper left pixel transformed to the map</li> <li>Line 6: <i>F</i>: <i>y</i>-coordinate of the center of the original image's upper left pixel transformed to the map</li></ul> <p>All four parameters are expressed in the map units, which are described by the <a href="/wiki/Spatial_reference_system" title="Spatial reference system">spatial reference system</a> for the raster. </p><p>When <i>D</i> or <i>B</i> are non-zero the pixel width is given by: </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\sqrt {A^{2}+D^{2}}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <msup> <mi>A</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mo>+</mo> <msup> <mi>D</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> </msqrt> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\sqrt {A^{2}+D^{2}}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/e5ae49e6bbe8fe247b8332fdc0fa9ad060c7e1a2" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:10.94ex; height:3.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\sqrt {A^{2}+D^{2}}}}" /></span></dd></dl> <p>and the pixel height by </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\sqrt {B^{2}+E^{2}}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <msqrt> <msup> <mi>B</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> <mo>+</mo> <msup> <mi>E</mi> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mn>2</mn> </mrow> </msup> </msqrt> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\sqrt {B^{2}+E^{2}}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/b81d7afc2ef79075d92828b0fb320f3c9c3c0b9e" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -0.838ex; width:10.83ex; height:3.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\sqrt {B^{2}+E^{2}}}}" /></span></dd></dl> <p>World files describing a map on the <a href="/wiki/Universal_Transverse_Mercator_coordinate_system" title="Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system">Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system</a> (UTM) use these conventions: </p> <ul><li><i>D</i> and <i>B</i> are usually 0, since the image pixels are usually made to align with the UTM grid</li> <li><i>C</i> is the UTM easting</li> <li><i>F</i> is the UTM northing</li> <li>Units are always <a href="/wiki/Meters" class="mw-redirect" title="Meters">meters</a> per pixel</li></ul> <p>The above description applies also to a rectangular, non-rotated image which might be, for example, overlaid on an orthogonally projected map. If the world file describes an image that is rotated from the axis of the target projection, however, then A, D, B and E must be derived from the required affine transformation (see below). Specifically, A and E will no longer be the meter/pixel measurement on their respective axes. </p><p>These values are used in a six-parameter <a href="/wiki/Affine_transformation" title="Affine transformation">affine transformation</a>: </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\begin{bmatrix}x\prime \\y\prime \end{bmatrix}}={\begin{bmatrix}A&B&C\\D&E&F\end{bmatrix}}{\begin{bmatrix}x\\y\\1\end{bmatrix}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow> <mo>[</mo> <mtable rowspacing="4pt" columnspacing="1em"> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>x</mi> <mi class="MJX-variant" mathvariant="normal">′</mi> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>y</mi> <mi class="MJX-variant" mathvariant="normal">′</mi> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> <mo>]</mo> </mrow> </mrow> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow> <mo>[</mo> <mtable rowspacing="4pt" columnspacing="1em"> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>A</mi> </mtd> <mtd> <mi>B</mi> </mtd> <mtd> <mi>C</mi> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>D</mi> </mtd> <mtd> <mi>E</mi> </mtd> <mtd> <mi>F</mi> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> <mo>]</mo> </mrow> </mrow> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mrow> <mo>[</mo> <mtable rowspacing="4pt" columnspacing="1em"> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>x</mi> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>y</mi> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd> <mn>1</mn> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> <mo>]</mo> </mrow> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\begin{bmatrix}x\prime \\y\prime \end{bmatrix}}={\begin{bmatrix}A&B&C\\D&E&F\end{bmatrix}}{\begin{bmatrix}x\\y\\1\end{bmatrix}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/748a1db8e9f3e1ae0799ca5a74067c11540ee656" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -4.171ex; width:26.774ex; height:9.509ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\begin{bmatrix}x\prime \\y\prime \end{bmatrix}}={\begin{bmatrix}A&B&C\\D&E&F\end{bmatrix}}{\begin{bmatrix}x\\y\\1\end{bmatrix}}}" /></span></dd></dl> <p>which can be written as this set of equations: </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x'&=A\,x+B\,y+C\\y'&=D\,x+E\,y+F\end{aligned}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtable columnalign="right left right left right left right left right left right left" rowspacing="3pt" columnspacing="0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em" displaystyle="true"> <mtr> <mtd> <msup> <mi>x</mi> <mo>′</mo> </msup> </mtd> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mi>A</mi> <mspace width="thinmathspace"></mspace> <mi>x</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mi>B</mi> <mspace width="thinmathspace"></mspace> <mi>y</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mi>C</mi> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd> <msup> <mi>y</mi> <mo>′</mo> </msup> </mtd> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mi>D</mi> <mspace width="thinmathspace"></mspace> <mi>x</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mi>E</mi> <mspace width="thinmathspace"></mspace> <mi>y</mi> <mo>+</mo> <mi>F</mi> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x'&=A\,x+B\,y+C\\y'&=D\,x+E\,y+F\end{aligned}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/63d4c1b277dd298f20a044b18c784b8fdc331dfb" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -2.338ex; width:20.245ex; height:5.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x'&=A\,x+B\,y+C\\y'&=D\,x+E\,y+F\end{aligned}}}" /></span></dd></dl> <p>where: </p> <dl><dd><i>x'</i> is the calculated UTM easting of the pixel on the map</dd> <dd><i>y'</i> is the calculated UTM northing of the pixel on the map</dd> <dd><i>x</i> is the column number of the pixel in the image counting from left</dd> <dd><i>y</i> is the row number of the pixel in the image counting from top</dd> <dd><i>A</i> or <i>x</i>-scale; dimension of a pixel in map units in <i>x</i>-direction</dd> <dd><i>B</i>, <i>D</i> are rotation terms</dd> <dd><i>C</i>, <i>F</i> are translation terms: <i>x</i>, <i>y</i> map coordinates of the center of the upper-left pixel</dd> <dd><i>E</i> is negative of <i>y</i>-scale: dimension of a pixel in map units in <i>y</i>-direction</dd></dl> <p>The <i>y</i>-scale (<i>E</i>) is negative because the origins of an image and the UTM coordinate system are different. The origin of an image is located in the upper-left corner, whereas the origin of the map coordinate system is located in the lower-left corner. Row values in the image increase from the origin downward, while <i>y</i>-coordinate values in the map increase from the origin upward. Many mapping programs are unable to handle "upside down" images (i.e. those with a positive <i>y</i>-scale). </p><p>To go from UTM(x'y') to pixel position(x,y) one can use the equation: </p> <dl><dd><span class="mwe-math-element"><span class="mwe-math-mathml-inline mwe-math-mathml-a11y" style="display: none;"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" alttext="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x&={\frac {Ex'-By'+BF-EC}{AE-DB}}\\y&={\frac {-Dx'+Ay'+DC-AF}{AE-DB}}\end{aligned}}}"> <semantics> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mstyle displaystyle="true" scriptlevel="0"> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mtable columnalign="right left right left right left right left right left right left" rowspacing="3pt" columnspacing="0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em 2em 0em" displaystyle="true"> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>x</mi> </mtd> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mi>E</mi> <msup> <mi>x</mi> <mo>′</mo> </msup> <mo>−</mo> <mi>B</mi> <msup> <mi>y</mi> <mo>′</mo> </msup> <mo>+</mo> <mi>B</mi> <mi>F</mi> <mo>−</mo> <mi>E</mi> <mi>C</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mi>A</mi> <mi>E</mi> <mo>−</mo> <mi>D</mi> <mi>B</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </mtd> </mtr> <mtr> <mtd> <mi>y</mi> </mtd> <mtd> <mi></mi> <mo>=</mo> <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mfrac> <mrow> <mo>−</mo> <mi>D</mi> <msup> <mi>x</mi> <mo>′</mo> </msup> <mo>+</mo> <mi>A</mi> <msup> <mi>y</mi> <mo>′</mo> </msup> <mo>+</mo> <mi>D</mi> <mi>C</mi> <mo>−</mo> <mi>A</mi> <mi>F</mi> </mrow> <mrow> <mi>A</mi> <mi>E</mi> <mo>−</mo> <mi>D</mi> <mi>B</mi> </mrow> </mfrac> </mrow> </mtd> </mtr> </mtable> </mrow> </mstyle> </mrow> <annotation encoding="application/x-tex">{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x&={\frac {Ex'-By'+BF-EC}{AE-DB}}\\y&={\frac {-Dx'+Ay'+DC-AF}{AE-DB}}\end{aligned}}}</annotation> </semantics> </math></span><img src="https://wikimedia.org/api/rest_v1/media/math/render/svg/043b039557b206f931b5a4ed127c4dd9246d5acc" class="mwe-math-fallback-image-inline mw-invert skin-invert" aria-hidden="true" style="vertical-align: -5.338ex; width:31.047ex; height:11.843ex;" alt="{\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}x&={\frac {Ex'-By'+BF-EC}{AE-DB}}\\y&={\frac {-Dx'+Ay'+DC-AF}{AE-DB}}\end{aligned}}}" /></span></dd></dl> <p>Example: Original <code>falknermap.jpg</code> is 800×600 pixels (map not shown). Its world file is <code>falknermap.jgw</code> and contains: </p> <pre>32.0 0.0 0.0 -32.0 691200.0 4576000.0 </pre> <p>The position of <a href="/wiki/Falkner_Island" title="Falkner Island">Falkner Island</a> light on the map image is: </p> <pre>x = 171 pixels from left y = 343 pixels from top </pre> <p>This gives: </p> <pre>x1 = 696672 meters Easting y1 = 4565024 meters Northing </pre> <p>The UTM (grid) zone is not given so the coordinates are ambiguous — they can represent a position in any of the approximately 120 <a href="/wiki/Universal_Transverse_Mercator_coordinate_system#Notation" title="Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system">UTM grid zones</a>. In this case, approximate latitude and longitude (41.2, −072.7) were looked up in a <a href="/wiki/Gazetteer" title="Gazetteer">gazetteer</a> and the UTM (grid) zone was found to be 18 using a Web-based converter. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Localization">Localization</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_file&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Localization"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>When writing world files it is advisable to ignore <a href="/wiki/Internationalization_and_localization" title="Internationalization and localization">localization</a> settings and always use dot <span class="nounderlines" style="border: 1px solid var(--border-color-muted,#ddd); color: var(--color-base,#202122); background-color: var( --background-color-neutral-subtle, #fdfdfd); padding: 1px 1px;">.</span> as the <a href="/wiki/Decimal_separator" title="Decimal separator">decimal separator</a>. Also, negative numbers should be specified with the "-" character exclusively. This ensures maximum portability of the images. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_file&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Esri_grid" title="Esri grid">Esri grid</a> – embeds a similar georeferencing context within a single raster file</li> <li><a href="/wiki/GeoTIFF" title="GeoTIFF">GeoTIFF</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MapInfo_TAB_format" title="MapInfo TAB format">MapInfo TAB format</a> - a popular geospatial vector data format for GIS software</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_file&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Esri_wld-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Esri_wld_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Esri_wld_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Esri also has another <i>world file</i> format that applies to computer-aided design or <a href="/wiki/Computer-aided_design" title="Computer-aided design">CAD</a> drawing files. That standard refers to the format of plain text computer files with names ending in <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886049734" /><span class="monospaced">.wld</span> and is not discussed in this article.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The <i>E</i> parameter is often a negative number. This is because most image files store data from top to bottom, while the software utilizes traditional <a href="/wiki/Cartesian_coordinates" class="mw-redirect" title="Cartesian coordinates">Cartesian coordinates</a> with the origin in the conventional lower-left corner. If your raster appears upside-down, you may need to add a minus sign. The parameter therefore describes the map distance between consecutive image lines.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_file&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Esri-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Esri_1-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Esri_1-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230304183331/https://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000002860">"FAQ: What is the format of the world file used for georeferencing images?"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Esri" title="Esri">Esri</a>. 2016-05-05. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000002860">the original</a> on 2023-03-04<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2017-09-29</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=FAQ%3A+What+is+the+format+of+the+world+file+used+for+georeferencing+images%3F&rft.pub=Esri&rft.date=2016-05-05&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fsupport.esri.com%2Fen%2Ftechnical-article%2F000002860&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AWorld+file" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=World_file&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051310/http://egb13.net/2009/03/worldfile-calculator//">Online Worldfile Calculator</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://freegeographytools.com/2007/worldfile-basics">Worldfile Basics</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kralidis.ca/gis/worldfile.htm">Esri World File Format</a></li></ul>    </div><noscript><img src="https://auth.wikimedia.org/loginwiki/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?useformat=desktop&type=1x1&usesul3=1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> <div class="printfooter" data-nosnippet="">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_file&oldid=1279424806">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_file&oldid=1279424806</a>"</div></div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Help:Category" title="Help:Category">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:GIS_raster_file_formats" title="Category:GIS raster file formats">GIS raster file formats</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Cartography" title="Category:Cartography">Cartography</a></li></ul></div><div id="mw-hidden-catlinks" class="mw-hidden-catlinks mw-hidden-cats-hidden">Hidden categories: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_needing_additional_references_from_December_2024" title="Category:Articles needing additional references from December 2024">Articles needing additional references from December 2024</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:All_articles_needing_additional_references" title="Category:All articles needing additional references">All articles needing additional references</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Articles_with_short_description" title="Category:Articles with short description">Articles with short description</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Short_description_is_different_from_Wikidata" title="Category:Short description is different from Wikidata">Short description is different from Wikidata</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </main> </div> <div class="mw-footer-container"> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" > <ul id="footer-info"> <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 8 March 2025, at 14:06<span class="anonymous-show"> (UTC)</span>.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Text is available under the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_the_Creative_Commons_Attribution-ShareAlike_4.0_International_License" title="Wikipedia:Text of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License">Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License</a>; additional terms may apply. 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