Extract text from GIS raster files (BIL)
To convert BIL raster files to another format, you need ESRI ArcGIS or other GIS software.
To convert other file formats to the "Raster Elevation Data" file type, you need software like ESRI ArcGIS or a similar tool.
A .BIL file primarily functions as a Band Interleaved by Line image format used in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). It stores raw raster data, such as satellite imagery or elevation models, by writing pixel values band-by-band for each line of the image. This format is heavily utilized by ESRI products and open-source mapping tools like GRASS GIS. Minor, unrelated uses for the .BIL extension include receipt data in ADDISON financial software, Siemens heating system logs, and Thai medical billing claims.
The main disadvantage of the .BIL format is its lack of standalone usability. A GIS .BIL file is essentially a raw binary dump that requires an accompanying header file (typically HDR) to be read correctly. If you lose this header file, the .BIL file becomes a useless block of unreadable bytes. Furthermore, standard image viewers and web browsers cannot natively open them. Accessing the data usually requires installing heavy, complex, and expensive GIS software like ArcGIS.
To make this data accessible and safe to share, conversion is required. For continued GIS work with better self-contained metadata, convert .BIL to GeoTIFF (TIF). If you simply need to view the raster data as an image on the web or in a presentation, convert it to PNG or JPG (note that this strips away the geographic coordinates). For the rare text-based data log variants, converting to CSV is ideal.
Convert.Guru analyzes your BIL file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ZIP, KMZ, JPG, RS_, TFW and BIP files.
If you want to convert BIL file to SHP, KML, KMZ, GPX, GEOJSON, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF, ECW, SID, IMG or DEM, you can use ESRI ArcGIS or similar software from the "Geographic Raster Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert LAZ, KMZ, DTM, CSV, DEM, PRJ, LAS, GPX, DSM, SHP, DBF or KML files to BIL, try ESRI ArcGIS or another comparable tool in the "Geographic Raster Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our BIL converter.