GEOREFERENCING

Georeferencing Software: Aligned Terrain, Imagery & CAD

Georeferencing software is what lets different datasets share the same real-world space. STREAM uses the embedded georeferencing of your data to place DEMs, orthophotos, point clouds and CAD drawings on the exact same ground — no manual alignment.

What is georeferencing?

Georeferencing ties a dataset to real-world coordinates so it lands in its true location on the earth. A georeferenced GeoTIFF or point cloud carries the position and coordinate system needed to place it precisely.

When every layer is georeferenced to the same system, they stack perfectly — the orthophoto sits on the DEM, and the CAD lines fall exactly where they belong.

Georeferencing Software in STREAM

Everything on the same ground

Load georeferenced DEMs, orthophotos, point clouds and DXF and STREAM aligns them automatically by their position and CRS.

Overlay and compare

Drape imagery on terrain and stack vectors on top, all in true position, to read and measure the site.

Live position readout

Read the real-world coordinates and elevation under the cursor anywhere on the terrain.

Reposition when needed

Nudge a layer's placement when a dataset needs a manual offset, without altering the source file.

How to get terrain, imagery and CAD to line up

  1. 1

    Load the base surface first

    Start with the DEM and confirm its coordinate system; everything else is checked against it.

  2. 2

    Add imagery and CAD

    Bring in the orthophoto and the DXF drawings, confirming the CRS of each as it is added.

  3. 3

    Look for the mismatch

    Drape the imagery on the surface and switch layers on and off. A shift that repeats everywhere is a datum problem, not a data problem.

  4. 4

    Fix it at the right level

    If the declared system is wrong, correct the assignment; if the system is right but the data sits off, apply the layer offset — the source file is never altered.

  5. 5

    Verify with a measurement

    Take a distance between two features you can identify in both datasets, and confirm it matches before you build anything on top.

Supported formats

GeoTIFF
Georeferenced DEM and orthophoto
LAS / LAZ
Georeferenced point cloud
DXF
CAD drawings placed in true position

Frequently asked questions

Does STREAM align data automatically?

Yes. STREAM uses the embedded georeferencing and CRS of each layer to place DEMs, orthophotos, point clouds and CAD on the same ground automatically.

Can I overlay imagery on the DEM?

Yes. Georeferenced orthophotos drape onto the terrain in true position, so you can read imagery and elevation together.

Can I manually offset a layer?

Yes. When a dataset needs a manual nudge, STREAM lets you reposition it in the scene without changing the source file.

Try Georeferencing in STREAM

Free beta for Windows x64. Works fully offline with GeoTIFF, LAS/LAZ and DXF.

Download STREAM free