NGS Software Download
Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who is authorized to download the National Geodetic Survey Software?
2. What platform are the programs written for?
3. How do I download the programs?
4. Where is the program documentation?
5. I see lots of files here, which ones do I need?
6. What are these files with the '.zip' extension?
7. How do I unzip a '.zip' file?
8. What do all the file name extensions mean?
9. How do I run the program on my SUN Unix system?
10. I recompiled Nadcon on my SUN Unix system but it doesn't work. Why ?
11. What is the NGS software disclaimer ?

1. Who is authorized to download the National Geodetic Survey Software?

   Anyone, and it's free when obtained by you from our Internet site.

2. What platform are the programs written for?

   MS-DOS with the exception of DSWIN which is an MS Windows program.

3. How do I download the programs?

   Left click on the file from your browser, your system should open a Save File window. Select a destination folder and click Save. In most cases the file will begin to download.

   Sometimes instead of downloading, the 3 character extension of the file name (mime type) causes an application on your system to run, attempting to use the file as input. If this happens, instead of left clicking, try one of the following:

   1. Hold down the Shift key while left clicking the file to open the Save File window.
   2. Right click on the file, and select Save Link As or Copy to Folder to open the Save File window.
   3. Click File from the menu bar, and select Save As or Copy to Folder to open the Save File window.

   TIP: If you continue to have problems, clear your browser's disk cache and try again.

4. Where is the program documentation?

   Look for a file with a name starting with 'readme' or ending with '.doc'

5. I see lots of files here, which ones do I need?

   To be safe you should download all files. Some files may be required for the program to run. For example, vertcon.exe requires the 3 additional files vertcone.94, vertconw.94, and vertconc.94. Be sure to read the associated README file or program documentation before you download files.

6. What are these files with the '.zip' extension?

   These are compressed archival files, which when 'unzipped' will expand into all the files required for the program.

7. How do I unzip a '.zip' file?

   Run an unzip utility. If you do not have it, the pkzip shareware may be downloaded from www.pkware.com, or search for other unzip utilities at CNET's download.com

8. What do all the file extensions mean?

   .exe = The program (This is the main file you need).
   .bat = MS-DOS Batch Program file.
   
   .txt = Documentation
   .1st = Documentation
   .doc = Documentation, usually ASCII, could be WordPerfect.
   .asc = Documentation in ASCII format
   .wp = Documentation in Word Perfect format
   
   .hlp = Help File
   
   .par = Parameter file, required for Nadcon, Geoid, Deflec
   
   .dat = Data files, ASCII Format.
   
   .las = Binary files required by program Nadcon
   .los = Binary files required by program Nadcon
   .geo = Binary files required by program Geoid
   .eta = Binary files required by program Deflec
   .xii = Binary files required by program Deflec
   
   .94 = Binary files required by program Vertcon
   
   .bas = Basic Program (May not work on your system).
   
   .zip = Zip (Archived and compressed files).
   
   .h = Source Code header files.
   .c = Source Code written in C programming language
   .cpp = Source Code written in C++ programming language
   .for = Source Code written in FORTRAN Programming language
   .f = Source Code written in FORTRAN Programming language

9. How do I run the program on my SUN Unix system?

   Download all source code (.c, .f, .for, .h) files to your SUN Unix system and recompile them there.

10. I recompiled Nadcon on my SUN Unix system but it doesn't work. Why ?

    You must also convert the Nadcon MS-DOS binary grid files (.las, .los) to SUN binary grid files. Run program nadgrd.exe on the PC to convert the MS-DOS binary files to ASCII, move these ASCII files to your SUN system, then run nadgrd(recompiled) on your SUN system to convert the ASCII files to binary. See Nadcon's readme.txt for more details. Programs Geoid, Deflec, Vertcon, all have similar file conversion utilities.

This file was last modified on May 16,2017.
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