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Project Raster

  • Summary
  • Usage
  • Syntax
  • Code sample
  • Environments
  • Licensing information

Summary

Transforms a raster dataset from one coordinate system to another.

Learn more about how Project Raster works

Usage

  • The coordinate system defines how your raster data is projected. You can use the same coordinate system for your data so it will all be in the same projection.

  • A raster dataset is projected into a new spatial reference using a bilinear interpolation approximation method that projects pixels on a coarse mesh grid and uses bilinear interpolation between the pixels.

  • This tool guarantees that the error range is less than half a pixel.

  • To apply the transformation without creating a file, use the Warp tool.

  • You can choose a preexisting spatial reference, import it from another dataset, or create one.

  • This tool can only output a square cell size.

  • You can save your output to BIL, BIP, BMP, BSQ, DAT, Esri Grid , GIF, IMG, JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNG, TIFF, MRF, CRF, or any geodatabase raster dataset.

  • When storing your raster dataset to a JPEG file, a JPEG 2000 file, or a geodatabase, you can specify a Compression Type and Compression Quality in the Environments.

  • The NEAREST option, which performs a nearest neighbor assignment, is the fastest of the four interpolation methods. It is primarily used for categorical data, such as a land-use classification, because it will not change the cell values. It should not be used for continuous data, such as elevation surfaces.

  • The BILINEAR option uses bilinear interpolation to determine the new value of a cell based on a weighted distance average of the four nearest surrounding cells.The CUBIC option uses cubic convolution to determine the new cell value by fitting a smooth curve through the surrounding points. These are the most appropriate choices for continuous data but may cause some smoothing. Note that cubic convolution may result in the output raster containing values outside the range of the input raster. Neither of these techniques be used with categorical data because different cell values may be introduced, which may be undesirable.

  • The cells of the raster dataset will be square and of equal area in map coordinate space, although the shape and area a cell represents on the surface of the earth will never be constant across a raster. This is because no map projection can preserve both shape and area simultaneously. The area represented by the cells will vary across the raster. Therefore, the cell size and the number of rows and columns in the output raster may change.

  • Always specify an output cell size, unless you are projecting between spherical (latitude–longitude) coordinates and a planar coordinate system and don't know the appropriate cell size.

  • The default cell size of the output raster is determined from the projected cell size at the center of the output raster. This is typically the intersection of the central meridian and latitude of true scale and is the area of least distortion. The boundary of the input raster is projected, and the minimum and maximum extents dictate the size of the output raster. Each cell is projected back to the input coordinate system to determine the cell's value.

  • The geographic transformation is an optional parameter when the input and output coordinate systems have the same datum. If the input and output datum are different, a geographic transformation must be specified.

  • The registration point allows you to specify the origin point for anchoring the output cells. All output cells will be an interval of the cell size away from this point. This point does not have to be a corner coordinate or fall within the raster dataset. If a snap raster is set in the Environment settings, the registration point will be ignored.

  • CLARKE 1866 is the default spheroid if it is not inherent to the projection (such as NEWZEALAND_GRID) or another is specified with the SPHEROID subcommand.

  • The snap raster setting will take priority over the registration point if both are set.

  • To perform a vertical transformation, check the optional Vertical parameter on the dialog box. By default, the Vertical parameter is unavailable and is only available when the input and output coordinate systems have a vertical coordinate system (VCS), and the input feature class coordinates have z-values. Also, additional data (coordinate systems data) setup must be installed on the system.

    When you select the output coordinate system, you can choose both the geographic or projected coordinate system and a VCS. If the input and output VCS are different, an appropriate vertical and an optional geographic (datum) transformations is available. If a transformation should be applied in the opposite direction to its definition, choose the entry with the tilde (~) in front of the name.

Syntax

ProjectRaster(in_raster, out_raster, out_coor_system, {resampling_type}, {cell_size}, {geographic_transform}, {Registration_Point}, {in_coor_system}, {vertical})
ParameterExplanationData Type
in_raster

The raster dataset that will be transformed into a new projection.

Mosaic Layer; Raster Layer
out_raster

The raster dataset with the new projection that will be created.

When storing the raster dataset in a file format, you need to specify the file extension:

  • .bil—Esri BIL
  • .bip—Esri BIP
  • .bmp—BMP
  • .bsq—Esri BSQ
  • .dat—ENVI DAT
  • .gif—GIF
  • .img—ERDAS IMAGINE
  • .jpg—JPEG
  • .jp2—JPEG 2000
  • .png—PNG
  • .tif—TIFF
  • .mrf—MRF
  • .crf—CRF
  • No extension for Esri Grid

When storing a raster dataset in a geodatabase, no file extension should be added to the name of the raster dataset.

When storing your raster dataset to a JPEG file, a JPEG 2000 file, a TIFF file, or a geodatabase, you can specify a Compression Type and Compression Quality in the geoprocessing Environments.

Raster Dataset
out_coor_system

The coordinate system of the new raster dataset.

Valid values for this parameter are the following:

  • A file with the .prj extension
  • An existing feature class, feature dataset, raster dataset (basically anything with a coordinate system)
  • An ArcPy SpatialReference object

Coordinate System
resampling_type
(Optional)

The resampling algorithm to be used. The default is NEAREST.

  • NEAREST — Nearest neighbor is the fastest resampling method; it minimizes changes to pixel values since no new values are created. It is suitable for discrete data, such as land cover.
  • BILINEAR — Bilinear interpolation calculates the value of each pixel by averaging (weighted for distance) the values of the surrounding four pixels. It is suitable for continuous data.
  • CUBIC — Cubic convolution calculates the value of each pixel by fitting a smooth curve based on the surrounding 16 pixels. This produces the smoothest image but can create values outside of the range found in the source data. It is suitable for continuous data.
  • MAJORITY —Majority resampling determines the value of each pixel based on the most popular value in a 3 by 3 window. Suitable for discrete data.

The NEAREST and MAJORITY options are used for categorical data, such as a land-use classification. The NEAREST option is the default since it is the quickest and also because it will not change the cell values. Do not use either of these for continuous data, such as elevation surfaces.

The BILINEAR option and the CUBIC option are most appropriate for continuous data. It is recommended that neither of these be used with categorical data because the cell values may be altered.

String
cell_size
(Optional)

The cell size of the new raster using an existing raster dataset or by specifying its width (x) and height (y).

Cell Size XY
geographic_transform
[geographic_transform,...]
(Optional)

The geographic transformation when projecting from one geographic system or datum to another. A transformation is required when the input and output coordinate systems have different datums.

For information about each supported geographic (datum) transformation, see geographic_transformations.pdf in <install location>\ArcGIS\Desktop10.<version>\Documentation.

String
Registration_Point
(Optional)

The lower left point for anchoring the output cells. This point does not have to be a corner coordinate or fall within the raster dataset.

The Snap Raster Environment setting will take priority over the Registration Point parameter. To set the registration point, make sure Snap Raster is not set.

Point
in_coor_system
(Optional)

The coordinate system of the input raster dataset.

Coordinate System
vertical
(Optional)

Specifies whether a vertical transformation will be performed.

This parameter is only enabled when the input and output coordinate systems have a vertical coordinate system and the input feature class coordinates have z-values.

When the VERTICAL keyword is used, the geographic_transform parameter can include ellipsoidal transformations and transformations between vertical datums. For example, “~NAD_1983_To_NAVD88_CONUS_GEOID12B_Height + NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_1” transforms geometry vertices that are defined on NAD 1983 datum with NAVD 1988 heights into vertices on the WGS 1984 ellipsoid (with z-values representing ellipsoidal heights). The tilde (~) indicates reversed direction of transformation.

  • NO_VERTICAL —No vertical transformation is applied. The z-values of geometry coordinates will be ignored and the z-values will not be modified. This is the default.
  • VERTICAL —The transformation specified in the geographic_transform parameter is applied. The Project Raster tool transforms x-, y-, and z-values of geometry coordinates.

Many vertical transformations require additional data files that must be installed using the ArcGIS Coordinate Systems Data installation package.

Boolean

Code sample

ProjectRaster example 1 (Python window)

This is a Python sample for the ProjectRaster tool.

import arcpy
from arcpy import env
arcpy.ProjectRaster_management("c:/data/image.tif", "c:/output/reproject.tif",\
                               "World_Mercator.prj", "BILINEAR", "5",\
                               "NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_5", "#", "#")
ProjectRaster example 2 (stand-alone script)

This is a Python script sample for the ProjectRaster tool.

##====================================
##Project Raster
##Usage: ProjectRaster_management in_raster out_raster out_coor_system {NEAREST | BILINEAR 
##                                | CUBIC | MAJORITY} {cell_size} {geographic_transform;
##                                geographic_transform...} {Registration_Point} {in_coor_system}
    
import arcpy

arcpy.env.workspace = r"C:/Workspace"

##Reproject a TIFF image with Datumn transfer
arcpy.ProjectRaster_management("image.tif", "reproject.tif", "World_Mercator.prj",\
                               "BILINEAR", "5", "NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_5", "#", "#")

##Reproject a TIFF image that does not have a spatial reference
##Set snapping point to the top left of the original image
snapping_pnt = "1942602 304176"

arcpy.ProjectRaster_management("nosr.tif", "project.tif", "World_Mercator.prj", "BILINEAR",\
                               "5", "NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_6", snapping_pnt,\
                               "NAD_1983_StatePlane_Washington_North.prj")

Environments

  • Cell Size
  • Cell Size Projection Method
  • Compression
  • Current Workspace
  • Extent
  • Geographic Transformations
  • NoData
  • Output CONFIG Keyword
  • Output Coordinate System
  • Parallel Processing Factor
  • Pyramid
  • Raster Statistics
  • Resampling Method
  • Scratch Workspace
  • Snap Raster
  • Tile Size

Licensing information

  • Basic: Yes
  • Standard: Yes
  • Advanced: Yes

Related topics

  • An overview of the Projections and Transformations toolset
  • About map projections
  • List of supported map projections
  • What are geographic coordinate systems?
  • What are projected coordinate systems?
  • Projection basics for GIS professionals
  • Datums
  • Geographic transformation methods

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