Loading a Raster Image

Loading a raster image will normally be the first operation you perform with WinTopo.

Raster images can be loaded in a few different ways:

Load from a file.
Scan via a scanner.
Paste from the clipboard.

Bitmap, PNG, TIFF, GIF and JPEG files

From the File menu select the Open Image... option. The file selection window will appear from which you can locate and identify the desired raster file.

Open Image Dialog

WinTopo will read the following file types:

BMP - Bitmap files [*.bmp]
TIFF - Tagged Image File Format [*.tif and *.tiff] and GeoTiff
GIF - Compuserve GIF files [*.gif]
JPEG - JPEG/JFIF Encoded pictures [*.jpg and *.jpeg]
PNG - Portable Network Graphic files [*.png]
WTX - WinTopo Project files [*.wtx]

By default the file selection window will display files with names ending in .bmp, .tif, .tiff, .gif, .png, .jpg and .jpeg, but you can show all file names by selecting the All Files (*.*) option in the Files of type box.

WinTopo will load the raster file correctly even if it has a non-standard file name extension, or no file extension at all. For example, if a TIFF file has been saved as scan.bmp WinTopo will identify it as a TIFF rather than a Bitmap and load it accordingly.

If you have GeoTiff files then WinTopo Pro will automatically extract the coordinate georeference information for the vector drawing. Similarly, if your Tiff file has a matching .tfw world file the georeference information will be automatically extracted and applied to the vector drawing.

The WinTopo Project file (.wtx) does not actually contain raster data, but it contains the name of the raster file that was used in the WinTopo session. By opening the .wtx file you re-instate the same WinTopo session, with the raster file, the vectors, and the georeferencing. For this process to succeed the orginal raster file must still exist. The format of the .wtx file is described in the Save Vectors help page

Many raster images can be open at the same time within WinTopo. You are limited only by your computer's memory and disk space.

Scanners and other TWAIN sources

(This option is not available on the Freeware version)

WinTopo Pro can take images direct from your scanner. Select the File->Acquire->Import from TWAIN scanner... option.

WinTopo Pro will use your scanner's software to allow you to scan the image. Each scanner comes with its own software. Here is an example of a typical scanner driver.

Scanner Driver Window

After you have scanned the image the scanner window will close and the raster will be shown in the WinTopo Pro window. You can then process the raster in the same way as though it had be loaded from a file.

If you want to save the scanned image to file, then select the File->Save Image As... option.

Paste from Clipboard

Many applications have a Copy option for putting an image on the clipboard. You can Paste an image from the clipboard into WinTopo. There are a few ways to do this:

File->Paste from clipboad when WinTopo is first opened.
Edit->Paste if another image is already loaded.
Press Ctrl-V on the keyboard.
Click the toolbar button.

NOTE: These paste options will only be active when there is an image on the clipboard.

If you want to capture an image direct from the screen you can press the Prt Scr button on your keyboard (usually near the F12 button). If you want to capture just the active window then press Alt-Prt Scr. (Then paste into WinTopo in any of the above ways).

Many people ask us if it is possible to vectorise a PDF file. The answer is yes if the PDF file contains raster data. Simply open the PDF file in Abobe® Reader (version 7 or higher), click the Select toolbar button and click on the image. It will appear shaded over. Hovver the mouse over the shaded image and you'll see a button for Copy Image to Clipboard. Click this button, then go to WinTopo and paste the image in any of the above ways. (And then vectorise in the usual way).

Adobe Reader PDF Example