MATHEMATICA IMPORT/EXPORT FORMAT

TIGER

TIGER/Line GIS file format.
U.S. Census Bureau file format.
Used for archiving cartographic information and data.
Stores geometric as well as numerical and textual information.
TIGER is an acronym for Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing.
A TIGER bundle consists of multiple files combined in a file archive or directory.
ASCII format.

Import supports all versions of the TIGER/Line file format.

Import and Export Import and Export

Import["dir", "TIGER"] or Import["dir"] imports an entire TIGER directory and returns a combined rendering of all graphics layers.
Mathematica can read TIGER files from directories or file archive bundles.
Import["dir"] returns a Graphics object.
Import["dir", "elem"] imports the specified element from a TIGER file.
Import["dir", {{"elem₁", "elem₂", ...}}] imports multiple elements.
See the reference pages for full general information on Import.

Elements Elements

General Import elements:

	"Elements"	list of elements and options available in this file
	"Rules"	full list of rules for each element and option
	"Options"	list of rules for options, properties, and settings

Data representation elements:

	"Graphics"	all layers combined into a single Graphics object
	"GraphicsList"	list of graphics representing the layers of a TIGER archive
	"Data"	graphics primitives for each layer

Import by default uses the element for the TIGER format.
Import with element gives the combined graphics contents as vector graphics.
Import["file", "Data"] returns an expression of the form . Individual layers are given as a list of rules representing the geometry as well as numerical and textual information associated with the features.
Meta-information elements:

	"LayerNames"	all layer names, given as a list of strings
	"LayerTypes"	what graphics primitives comprise each layer
	"SpatialRange"	range of geographic coordinates, typically given in decimal degrees

Elements representing the geodetic datum and reference ellipsoid used in the file:

	"CoordinateSystem"	name of the coordinate system used in the file
	"Datum"	geodetic datum
	"SemimajorAxis"	semimajor axis of the reference ellipsoid in meters
	"SemiminorAxis"	semiminor axis of the reference ellipsoid in meters
	"InverseFlattening"	inverse flattening of the ellipsoid