Export data
ORBAT Mapper can export units and features to these data formats:
Start the export
To start the export, select Export scenario from the File menu.
ORBAT Mapper
Choose ORBAT Mapper to export selected side groups and layers as a scenario file. For a side without groups, select Include side to include it in the file. Layers start unchecked each time you open the export, even after an earlier export, so a file for one team only contains the layers you check for it. Load a preset to restore a saved layer list. To export every layer, click Select all layers; click Clear layers to start over. The scenario name and filename are suggested from the source name and selected sides (for example, Northern Exercise — Blue and northern-exercise-blue.json). Layers-only exports use a Layers suffix; exporting all content keeps the source name. Suggestions update with your selections until you edit the corresponding field. Names loaded from a preset are preserved. You can add a turn label manually, such as Turn 3.
Snapshot groups
Tick Snapshot under a selected group to export it as a snapshot. A snapshot holds where the group's visible units are at the snapshot time and nothing else: each unit's name, short name, symbol, position and, unless you leave it out, status. It leaves out their earlier and planned moves, descriptions, equipment, personnel, supplies, range rings and chain of command, so use it to show a side the opposing units it has detected. Units hidden on the map or not on the map at that time are left out. A side exported only as snapshots also leaves out its description and the units attached directly to it.
Snapshots are taken at the current scenario time. Click Change snapshot time to take them at another time, and Use current time to go back.
Include unit status is on by default, so the recipient sees each unit's status at the snapshot time, such as Damaged or Destroyed, in the unit details. A unit without a status, or with its status cleared to None, has none in the file. Turn the option off when the recipient should not know the result of an attack.
Show units only from the snapshot time is also on by default. Each unit's position and status are then written as one entry at the snapshot time in the unit's history, so the recipient does not see the unit before that time and can tell when it was observed. After the snapshot time the unit stays at its last known position. Turn the option off to show the units at their snapshot positions at every time.
Snapshot groups cannot be imported into an existing scenario, so they never replace its units.
Reuse an export preset
Select the groups and layers for a recipient, expand Export presets, and enter a Preset name (for example, “Blue contacts update”), and click Save as new preset. A preset remembers the selected groups, empty sides and layers, snapshot choices and options, scenario name, and filename.
Choose a Saved preset to restore its settings. After making changes, click Update preset to save them, or Save as new preset to keep another variation. Delete preset removes the saved preset without changing the current selection.
Presets are stored in this browser for the current scenario; they are not included in downloaded scenario files. New groups and layers are not automatically added. If a saved group or layer has been deleted, loading the preset omits it and displays a notice. Review the selection before exporting.
Preview recipient data
Click Preview recipient data to inspect included groups, unit counts, layers, and scenario-wide data. Expand entries to inspect their stored contents, or expand Inspect complete recipient data to see everything together. The preview updates when you change your selections.
Hidden units and layers are still included when their group or layer is selected. Descriptions, events, templates, catalogs, settings, and stored unit histories may also contain information you do not intend to share. Group and layer selection does not remove scenario-wide data. Review these contents before distributing a file. The downloaded file receives a new scenario ID and export timestamp.
GeoJSON
GeoJSON is an open standard format that many applications use. It gives simple geographical features with their non-spatial attributes.
KML
KML (Keyhole Markup Language) is a format that uses XML. Mapping applications such as Google Earth use it to show geographic data. When you export to KML, you can easily send your scenario data to usual geospatial tools and show it there. For more data, see the KML documentation.
Control measures are exported as their complete rendered geometry with resolved line, fill, opacity, width, and label styling. KML has no portable dash-pattern or patterned-fill primitive, so those paint details use a solid fallback in KML/KMZ viewers.
KMZ export offers two control-measure label modes. Native keeps labels searchable and compact, but KML viewers draw them upright. Rendered embeds labels and text amplifiers as transparent images so their orientation, pixel size, anchor, typography, background, and halo are retained. Plain KML always uses native labels because it cannot package the required image assets.
XLSX
Export units to the Microsoft Excel format (.xlsx). Use this format to send unit data to spreadsheet applications, or to do more analysis.
Export options
- One sheet per side: If you enable this option, the export makes one worksheet for each side in the scenario. If you disable it, the export puts all the units in one sheet.
Unit attributes
Select the unit attributes for the export:
| Attribute | Description |
|---|---|
| id | Unique unit identifier |
| name | Unit name |
| sidc | Symbol Identification Code (SIDC) |
| shortName | Abbreviated unit name |
| description | Unit description |
| url | External URL |
| location | Current position of the unit |
| parent ID | ID of the parent unit |
| side ID | ID of the side of the unit |
| side name | Name of the side |
Location format
Select the format of the coordinates in the export:
| Format | Example |
|---|---|
| JSON array [lon, lat] | [10.7522, 59.9139] |
| Lat, Lon | 59.9139, 10.7522 |
| Lon, Lat | 10.7522, 59.9139 |
| MGRS | 32VNM8546314523 |
| Degrees Minutes Seconds | 59°54'50"N 10°45'8"E |
| Decimal Degrees | N59.9139° E10.7522° |
MilX
ORBAT Mapper has experimental support for the export of a scenario as MilX layers. You can use these layers with map.army.
WARNING
ORBAT Mapper supports only a small part of the MilX format. There is also an important compatibility problem. Map.army uses MILSTD 2525C/APP6-C symbol codes with letters. It is not always possible to change 2525D/APP6-D codes into 2525C/APP6-C codes. ORBAT Mapper tries to find the symbol that agrees most closely, but this operation can fail.