A number of formats are supported for reading and writing coordinate locations from a text string. Coordinates with formatted notation can be used in geoprocessing tools, such as the Convert Coordinate Notation tool.
The following syntax is used in the examples and explanations below:
- Vertical bar (|)—Represents an or condition. For example, + | - indicates that you can use either the + or the - character.
- Square brackets ([ ])—Opening and closing brackets wrap a list of choices. For example, [ + | - | N | S] indicates that you can use the +, -, N, or S character.
- Triangle brackets (< >)—Opening and closing brackets wrap a value.
Note:
Localization is not supported for decimal characters or for hemisphere abbreviations. For example, only a period can be used for decimal, not a comma, and only the N, S, E, and W characters can be used for hemisphere, not equivalent letters in other languages.
Degree-based formats
Degree-based formats must always be specified in the order latitude first (y-coordinate) then longitude (x-coordinate). Specify hemisphere with the +, -, N, S, E, or W character. These characters can be combined within a single latitude-longitude pair. If the character is omitted, a value is assumed to be positive (N for latitude or E for longitude).
DD (decimal degrees)
The input format for decimal degrees is represented as <latitude> <coordinate pair separator> <longitude>.
| Component | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
latitude | [ + | - | N | S ] <DD.dd> [ + | - | N | S ] | Case is ignored. |
coordinate pair separator | [ / | \ | | | , ] A space can also be used as a separator. | There can be more than one separator, for example, a comma followed by a space, or consecutive spaces. |
longitude | [ + | - | E | W ] <DDD.dd> [ + | - | E | W ] | Case is ignored. |
Latitude and longitude values can be formatted as <degrees> [<decimal>] <fraction of degree> [<degree mark>].
| Component | Notes |
|---|---|
degrees | Latitude can have a value of 0 to 90. Longitude can have a value of 0 to +180 and 0 to -180 |
decimal | . |
fraction of degree | 0 to 99 |
degree mark | Degree Sign ° (U+00B0) Ring Above ° (U+02DA) Masculine Ordinal Indicator º (U+00BA) Circumflex Accent (Caret) ^ (U+005E) Tilde ~ (U007e) Asterisk * (U+002A) |
Note:
The degree mark can be omitted.
The total length of a value cannot exceed 64 characters (including a null end character).
The following input examples are equivalent:
- 27.00N 087.00W
- 27.00n 087.00w
- 27.00N 087W
- +27.00 087W
- 27N -87
- N27.00 W087
- 27.00N/87W
- 27.00N/87W
- 27.00°N 087.00°W
When writing out decimal degree notation, leading zeroes are included and hemisphere letters are used.
The following form will be output by default:
- 27.00N 087.00W
- 27.00000N 087.00000W
DDM (degree minutes)
The degree minutes (DD MM.mmm format) format does not support multiple +/- signs.
The input format for decimal degrees is represented as <latitude> <coordinate pair separator> <longitude>.
| Component | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
latitude | [ + | - | N | S ] <DD MM.mmm> [ + | - | N | S ] | Case is ignored. |
coordinate pair separator | [ / | \ | | | , ] A space can also be used as a separator. | There can be more than one separator, for example, a comma followed by a space, or consecutive spaces. |
longitude | [ + | - | E | W ] <DDD MM.mmm> [ + | - | E | W ] | Case is ignored. |
Latitude <DD MM.mmm> and longitude <DDD MM.mmm> values can be formatted as: <degrees> [<degree mark>] [<separator>] <minutes> [<decimal>] <fraction of minute> [<minute mark>].
| Component | Notes |
|---|---|
degrees | Latitude can have a value of 0 to 90. Longitude can have a value of 0 to +180 and 0 to -180 |
degree mark | Degree Sign ° (U+00B0) Ring Above ° (U+02DA) Masculine Ordinal Indicator º (U+00BA) Circumflex Accent(Caret) ^ (U+005E) Tilde ~ (U007e) Asterisk * (U+002A) |
separator | A space, underscore, or hyphen can be used. |
minutes | 0 to 59 |
decimal | . |
fraction of minute | digits |
minute mark | Minute Sign ' (U+2032) Apostrophe ' (U+0027) |
Note:
Degree and minute marks can be omitted.
The total length of a value cannot exceed 64 characters (including a null end character).
The following input examples are equivalent:
- 27 54.00N 087 59.00W
- 27 54.00n 087 59.00w
- 27 54N 087 0W
- +27 54.00 087 59.00W
- N27 54.00 W087 59.00
- 27 54.00N/87 59W
- 27° 54.00’N 087° 59.00’W
The following form will be output by default:
- 27.00N 087.00W
- 27 00.00000N 087 00.00000W
DMS (degree minute seconds)
The degree minute seconds (DD MM SS.sss) format does not support multiple +/- signs.
The input format for degree minute seconds is represented as <latitude> <coord-pair-separator> <longitude>.
| Component | Format | Notes |
|---|---|---|
latitude | [ + | - | N | S ] <DD MM SS.sss> [ + | - | N | S ] | Case is ignored. |
coordinate pair separator | [ / | \ | | | , ] A space can also be used as a separator. | There can be more than one separator, for example, a comma followed by a space, or consecutive spaces. |
longitude | [ + | - | E | W ] <DDD MM SS.sss> [ + | - | E | W ] | Case is ignored. |
Latitude <DD MM SS.sss> and longitude <DDD MM SS.sss> values can be represented as: <degrees> [<degree mark>] <separator> <minutes> [<minute mark>] <separator> <seconds> [<decimal>] <fraction of second> [<second-mark>]
| Component | Notes |
|---|---|
degrees | Latitude can have a value of 0 to 90. Longitude can have a value of 0 to +180 and 0 to -180 |
degree mark | Degree Sign ° (U+00B0) Ring Above ° (U+02DA) Masculine Ordinal Indicator º (U+00BA) Circumflex Accent (Caret) ^ (U+005E) Tilde ~ (U007e) Asterisk * (U+002A) |
separator | A space, underscore, or hyphen can be used. |
minutes | 0 to 59 |
minute mark | Minute Sign ' (U+2032) Apostrophe ' (U+0027) |
seconds | 0 to 59 |
decimal | "." |
fraction of a second | digits |
second-mark | Quotation Mark " (U+0022) Diaeresis ¨ (U+00A8) Double Acute Accent ˝ (U+02DD) |
Note:
Degree, minute, and second marks can be omitted.
The total length of a value cannot exceed 64 characters (including a null end character).
The following input examples are equivalent:
- 27 18 00.00N 087 00 00.00W
- 271800.00N 0870000.00W
A packed format, DDMMSS.sss, is also supported.
The following form will be output by default: 27 18 00.00N 087 00 00.00W.
Universal transverse Mercator
When working with a universal transverse Mercator (UTM) notation, the zone and a letter is specified. The letter usually represents a latitude band, as it does with MGRS and USNG. In some cases, an N or S character can be used to represent a north or south UTM zone. With a mixed list, UTM notation is always assumed to be using the latitude band.
If a UTM notation is given as a string with no spaces, the easting and northing portion is split in half. If there is an odd number of digits, the extra digit is assigned to the northing portion. The easting and northing values must be integers. The following are examples:
- 11S3455674321459 is equivalent to 11S 345567 4321459
- 11N345567432145 is equivalent 11N 345567 432145
Caution:
When the UTM notation contains no embedded spaces, an even number of digits may lead to an ambiguous case. For example, the easting might have five digits while the northing has seven, but the software will interpret both easting and northing as having six digits.
If there are embedded spaces, the easting and northing values are expected to be separated by a space and can optionally include decimal points.
The following format is not supported: 11S 3455674321459
If a comma is encountered, the string format is expected to be a comma-delimited set of values that represent the easting, northing, and zone band as follows: 554577,4183342,10S
Decimal points are allowed as follows: 554577.3,4183342.7,10S. Any spaces are ignored.
The following input examples are equivalent:
- 11S 345567 4321459
- 11S3455674321459
- 554577,4183342,10S
- 554577.3,4183342.7,10S
- 554577, 4183342, 10S
The following is an example of the output format: 11T 561192 4832027.
Military Grid Reference System
The Military Grid Reference System (MGRS) format is represented as ZZBGGEEEEENNNNN:
- ZZ—UTM zone
- B—Latitude band
- GG—Letters representing a 100 kilometer grid square (universal polar stereographic [UPS] area for polar regions)
- EEEEE—x-coordinate (Easting)
- NNNNN—y-coordinate (Northing)
Note:
Together, the first three letters, ZZB, are sometimes called the Grid Zone Designator.
Spaces are allowed on input, but not between the easting and northing values. Easting values are followed by northing values. The number of digits used for eastings and northings must match.
MGRS coordinates may be rounded to reflect lesser precision. The following are examples:
- 15SWC8081751205 is at one-meter refinement.
- 15SWC80825121 is at 10-meter refinement.
- 15SWC808512 is at 100-meter refinement.
- 15SWC8151 is at 1000-meter refinement.
Depending on the datum or ellipsoid, MGRS uses a new or old style. Old style uses an alternate lettering scheme. USNG, a simplified version of MGRS, only uses the new format even when based on a datum, NAD 1927, which in MGRS, uses the old style. Generally, one scheme is used for WGS84 and NAD 1983, and the other is used for older ellipsoids associated with local datums. For example, this coordinate is on WGS84: 15SWC8081751205.
When it is converted to NAD-27 datum, Clarke 1866 ellipsoid, its value is 15SWN8083350993.
The UPS version divides the antarctic region into A and B and the arctic region into Y and Z. No zone number is used:
- ZAK4500045522, 169 36 50.2E 87 45 7.2N, and (169.6139E 87.7520N) are equivalent.
- ZGG7902863771 and 85:40:30.0 N 85:40:30.0 W are equivalent.
- ATN2097136228 and 85:40:30.0 S 85:40:30.0 W are equivalent.
The following input examples are equivalent:
- 15SWC8081751205
- 15S WC 8081751205
- ZAK4500045522
The following form will be output by default:
- 15SWC8081751205
- ZAK4500045522
No space is allowed on output, pursuant to the standard.
United States National Grid
The United States National Grid (USNG) coordinate notation format is a simplified version of MGRS based on the United States National Grid.
For more information, see Standard for a United States National Grid, FGDC-STD-011-2001.
USNG allows the use of only two geographic coordinate systems: NAD 1983 (equivalent to WGS84) or NAD 1927. USNG uses NAD 1983 by default. If you're using NAD27, explicitly specify it, for example, 18SUJ2306 (NAD 27). Unlike MGRS, USNG applies the same lettering scheme to its 100 kilometer squares regardless of the geographic coordinate system. MGRS shifts the northing letter 10 places when using the old style, which includes NAD 1927. Thus, if based on NAD 1927, MGRS and USNG cannot be included in a combined list of notations.
USNG allows spaces, for example, 18T WL 807 046, unlike MGRS.
USNG only covers the United States, including outlying territories and possessions. MGRS is defined for the world. In the latitude range 80°S and 84°N, it is defined in terms of UTM, but outside this range, it is defined in terms of UPS. Because of its limited range, USNG has no need for UPS and is defined entirely in terms of UTM.
The following input examples are equivalent:
- 11SMT8246475207
- 11S MT 82464 75207
The following form will be output by default: 11S MT 82464 75207.
World Geographic Reference System
The World Geographic Reference System (GEOREF) is based on longitude and latitude and divides the world first into 15 by 15 degree cells that are lettered. Each 15 by 15 degree cell is then divided into 1 by 1 degree cells, also lettered. Each 1 by 1 degree cell can be divided into 60 by 60 minutes as shown in the output example below. Further subdivisions are allowed to 0.01 minutes.
The following is an example of the input format: PGAM16281221.
The following is an example of the output format: PGAM1628.
Global Area Reference System
The Global Area Reference System (GARS) is based on longitude and latitude and divides the world into 30 minute by 30 minute cells. The first three digits represent a 30 minute wide longitude band. The fourth and fifth letters represent a 30 minute tall latitude band. Each 30 by 30 minute cell can be divided into four 15 by 15 minute cells with the 15 by 15 minute cells further divided into nine 5 by 5 minute cells. Converting from GARS, the lower left of the represented square is used to calculate degree-based coordinates.
The following are examples of the input format:
- 391JL41
- 391JL
The following is an example of the output format: 391JL41.
Mixed notation formats
There are further requirements when converting a set of mixed notation strings. Some notation formats cannot be determined effectively.
Any list of mixed notation formats must use the same geographic coordinate system (datum). If the geographic coordinate system is not explicitly specified, WGS84 is assumed.
Depending on the datum or ellipsoid, MGRS uses a new style or the old style. The old style uses an alternate lettering scheme. USNG, a simplified version of MGRS, only uses the new format even when based on a datum, NAD 1927, which in MGRS, uses the old style. If both MGRS and USNG notation strings based on NAD 1927 are in a single list, it is impossible to convert correctly into another coordinate type or notation.
When working with a UTM notation, the zone plus a letter is specified. The letter usually represents a latitude band, as it does with MGRS and USNG. In some cases, an N or S character can be used to represent a north or south UTM zone. With a mixed list, UTM notation is always assumed to be using the latitude band.
GARS is assumed to be lower left (not center).
The format DD.MMSSsss is not supported (ambiguous with DD.dddddd or DD.MMmmm).
When specifying all degree notation such as DD.dddd, DDMM.mmmm, DDMMSS.ssss, or DD MM SS.ssss, both latitude and longitude values must use the same format.
You can mix +/- or N, S, E, and W characters, but the character must occur at the beginning or end of the value (dd mm ss.ssss-).
You cannot have multiple +/- signs in the DD MM.mmm or DD MM SS.ssss formats.