Extract text from ER Mapper header files (ERS)
To convert ERS header files to another format, you need ERDAS IMAGINE or other GIS software.
To convert other file formats to the "Raster Metadata Header" file type, you need software like ERDAS IMAGINE or a similar tool.
The .ERS file format primarily functions as an ER Mapper Raster Dataset header file. It is a plain text file that stores crucial georeferencing metadata, such as coordinate systems, cell sizes, data types, and map projections. This header must accompany a raw binary image file to form a complete GIS raster dataset, which is widely used for storing massive satellite and aerial imagery datasets.
These files are native to Hexagon ERDAS IMAGINE (formerly Earth Resource Mapping). A secondary, completely different use for .ERS files is the Evidence Record Syntax format. This acts as an electronic signature evidence record to guarantee data integrity over long periods. It is notably used by European logistics companies like Chronopost for secure e-mail timestamping based on IETF standards.
The main disadvantage of the .ERS ER Mapper format is its strict dependency. A standalone .ERS file is virtually useless for image viewing because it only contains text-based metadata, not the actual pixels. To view or convert the map, you must possess the accompanying binary data file in the exact same directory. Furthermore, the format relies on specialized GIS logic, making it entirely incompatible with standard image viewers, mobile devices, and modern web browsers.
If you have the complete spatial dataset, the best conversion targets are TIF (GeoTIFF) to preserve the spatial coordinates, or standard JPG and PNG formats for simple web viewing. Note that converting to consumer image formats will permanently strip the geographic coordinates, flattening the dataset into a simple, unmapped picture. For the Evidence Record versions, converting to PDF or TXT is ideal for human readability and auditing.
Because the .ERS file is highly specialized, standard online converters fail to process it. It is difficult to convert because a GIS engine must simultaneously parse the header and a massive separate binary file. Just drag and drop your .ERS file into convert.guru to identify the format, view its internal structure, and convert it when possible. Since the .ERS file is plain text, our analysis can easily extract and display the internal metadata, coordinate systems, or signature details even if full raster conversion requires desktop software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your ERS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted ECW, EPS, ZIP, XML, RRD, GIS and NITF files.
If you want to convert ERS file to SHP, KML, KMZ, GPX, GEOJSON, TOPOJSON, TIF, TIFF, ECW, SID, IMG or DEM, you can use ERDAS IMAGINE or similar software from the "Raster Dataset Spatial Metadata" 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 ERS, try ERDAS IMAGINE or another comparable tool in the "Raster Dataset Spatial Metadata" 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 ERS converter.