Spatial import and export

Spatial data moves in and out of echoMike through a deliberately small set of formats. This page lists all of them, where each one is accepted, and what leaves the app.

Formats at a glance

Format	Import	Export	Used for
KML (.kml)	Yes	Yes	Flight area boundaries, TOAL zones, operational volume evidence, annotation groups
KMZ (.kmz)	No	Yes	Annotation groups
CSV (.csv)	Yes	Yes	Control points, survey points
Text (.txt)	Yes	No	Control points, survey points
Trimble JobXML (.jxl)	Yes	No	Site calibration and its control points, survey points
JPEG, PNG, WebP + world file	Yes	No	Orthophotos
ZIP (.zip)	No	Yes	Raw survey source files, bundled

What goes in where

Flight area boundaries. In the flight area wizard, Upload KML accepts .kml only, up to 10 MB per file. KMZ is rejected with Only .kml files are supported (KMZ coming soon). You can also reuse a KML already attached to the project with Pick existing project KML, or skip files entirely and use Draw polygon or Draw buffered line.

Control points. The Import Control Points dialog accepts .csv and .txt. You map each column to Name, Easting, Northing, Elevation, Description, Code or Skip, with one-click presets for the PENZC, PNEZC, PENZ and PENZCD layouts. Name, Easting and Northing are mandatory. You choose the file’s coordinate system separately from the project’s — see Coordinates and control points.

Site calibration. Setting a project’s CRS to Local Coordinate System (LOCAL) opens a .jxl dropzone. The calibration is stored against the project, and any control points inside it can be imported in the same step.

Surveys. The survey import dropzone accepts .jxl, .csv and .txt, several at a time — multiple files merge into one survey list. Format help for the CSV and TXT column layouts is linked from the dropzone itself. Surveys can also be pulled from a linked Trimble Connect project.

Orthophotos. Two files together: an image (.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .webp) and its world file (.jgw, .jpgw, .wld, .pgw, .pngw), maximum 10 MB for the image. See Orthophotos.

Project documents. The project Files tab accepts any file type — it is a document store, not a spatial importer. Uploading a KML there makes it available to Pick existing project KML in the flight area wizard.

What comes out

Flight area geometry. The flight area inspector offers Download operational volume evidence as KML, Download all boundaries as KML and Download all TOAL zones as KML, plus per-row downloads for a single boundary, a single TOAL zone or a single overlap zone.

Annotations. Select Export annotations on an annotation group and pick Download KML or Download KMZ. The filename is built from the project or job name and the group name.

Control points. The CSV button on a control-point set returns the original uploaded file if it is still stored; otherwise it generates one with the header Name,Easting,Northing,Elevation,Code,Description, containing only active points.

Surveys. Download survey data offers three shapes, with a Vertically adjusted Z switch applied to the point exports:

Option	What you get
Raw source files (.zip)	The files as they were uploaded, bundled
All survey points (.csv)	One flat file with classification, easting, northing, elevation, code and source file
Propeller export (2× .csv)	Two files, splitting AERO points from GCPs and checkpoints

Not supported

There is no GeoJSON, shapefile, DXF, GPX or GeoPackage import or export anywhere in the app, and no cloud-optimised GeoTIFF path for imagery. GeoJSON is used internally to store geometry, but it is never offered as a file.

KMZ can be exported from annotation groups but cannot be imported anywhere.

Size and shape limits

Limit	Value	Where it bites
KML file size	10 MB per file	Flight area boundary upload
Orthophoto image size	10 MB	Orthophoto upload
Organisation storage	2 GiB on Starter, 25 GiB on Pro, 150 GiB on Business, unlimited on Enterprise	Every upload, including project files
Flight areas per project	200	Creating a flight area
Boundaries per flight area	1,000	Uploading, drawing or splitting boundaries

There is no cap on vertex count, but a dense KML import carries far more points than the analysis needs and slows every calculation that reads it. Use Simplify boundaries in the flight area wizard to thin it, rather than editing the file outside the app.