Surfer and ArcGIS can be combined to improve the maps and models for your stakeholders. Surfer offers more variety of advanced gridding speed, precision, and customization options than what's available in the base version of ArcGIS and at a fraction of the cost of the Esri extensions that are required for these specialized functions. While Surfer supports numerous file formats for seamless data exchange, moving surface data between the platforms requires choosing the correct export options. Below are more details on how to properly export raster grids and vector features from Surfer into ArcGIS without degrading your underlying dataset.
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Golden Nugget : If your goal is to manipulate or analyze Surfer surface data inside ArcGIS Pro, do not export your Surfer contour map layer as a GeoTIFF image. A GeoTIFF of a map layer only exports a flattened visual image of the contour lines, not the underlying elevation or data values. Instead, you must export or share the original Surfer Grid (.GRD) file or convert it to an Esri-native raster format. |
How to Properly Import a Surfer Grid into ArcGIS Pro
To perform raster mathematics, calculate slopes, or render surfaces in ArcGIS using a grid generated by Surfer's superior interpolation methods, use one of the two workflows below:
Method A: Direct Import (Recommended)
Modern versions of Esri ArcGIS Pro can read standard Surfer grid formats directly without any external file conversion.
- In Surfer, complete your gridding via Home | Grid Data | Grid Data and save your output as a Surfer Grid (.GRD).
- Open your ArcGIS Pro project.
- In the Catalog pane, navigate to the folder containing your .GRD file.
- Drag and drop the Surfer .GRD file directly into your active Map view. ArcGIS Pro will recognize it immediately as a continuous raster dataset.
Method B: Exporting as an Esri-Native Raster
If you are working in an older Esri environment (like legacy ArcMap) or encounter a projection conflict, convert the grid to an Esri-native raster format inside Surfer:
- In Surfer, click Grids | Edit | Convert (or Grids | Info | Grid Info).
- Select your input grid file.
- In the Save Grid As dialog, change the Save as type dropdown to one of the following native Esri formats:
- Esri Float Grid Format (*.FLT)
- Arc/Info ASCII Grid (*.ASC)
- Click Save. You can now import this file directly into your ArcGIS workspace as a fully functional raster layer.
Transferring Vector Features (Contours and Boundaries)
In Surfer, you can heavily customize and edit contour lines, range rings, or polygons, and then seamlessly display them as vector paths in ArcGIS. By utilizing Surfer’s vector export pipeline (such as exporting to SHP, DXF, or GeoJSON), all of your custom geometry and spatial attributes can transfer into your GIS environment.
Additional resources for Surfer customization
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Create fully-customizable contour maps
Contour maps can easily be created in Surfer directly from numerous grid (raster) file formats. Alternatively, grid files can be created in Surfer from data files or contour polylines in vector (SHP/DXF) files, and then contour maps can be created from those Surfer grid files.
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Edit contour lines
Contour lines and grid files can be edited in the powerful grid editor to create a fully-customized contour map.
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Perform geoprocessing functions
Users have found Surfer's numerous geoprocessing tools more intuitive and easier to use than the functionality in ArcGIS. Tools include:- polygon, polyline, and point editing/reshaping
- georeference images
- create range rings, buffers, Delaunay triangles, or Thiessen/Voroni polygons
- edit attributes
- combine, divide and intersect polygons
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perform queries
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Interpolate data with well-known and highly accurate interpolation methods
Surfer's interpolation methods are known for their speed and accuracy. Surfer offers twelve different interpolation methods and many options for those methods.
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Perform mathematical operations on grid files
Another set of powerful features that require an Esri extension are Surfer's grid operations. Perform mathematical operations on grid files such as subtracting one grid from another to create an isopach map, calculating the volume of an area between two surfaces, or calculating the directional derivative to better understand information about the slope of the grid. Other grid operations include:- Convert grids from one file format to another
- Assign NoData to specific regions
- Apply digital image analysis
- Smooth grids
- Assign coordinate systems
- Project grids to create a new grid in a different coordinate system
- Calculate derivatives, curvature, slope, aspects, differentials, integrals, and spectral analysis
- Calculate volumes
- Perform mathematical transformations on one or more grids
- Create cross sections
- Calculate residuals
- Merge grid files
- Extract a subset of a grid
- Modify the Z-values of a grid
- Display statistics on your specific grid file
- Interactively edit the grid file
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Generate reports on grid files statistics
Reports can be generated from grid files, both to inform about the accuracy of the grid, and to ensure repeatability of generating future grids with the same settings in the future.
- In Surfer's Contents window, ensure only the vector/contour layers you want to transfer are visible.
- Click File | Export.
- Set the Save as type to Esri Shapefile (*.SHP) or AutoCAD Drawing (*.DXF).
- In the Export Options dialog, ensure Spatial References are checked so your coordinate systems carry over cleanly.
- In ArcGIS, use Add Data to bring the .SHP file into your project as an active feature class.
Supported Cross-Platform File Formats
Surfer supports numerous file extensions, so importing from and exporting to other programs is easy.
| Data Type | Format Name | File Extension |
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| Raster / Grid | Arc/Binary Grid |
.ADF
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| Raster / Grid | Arc/Info ASCII Grid |
.ASC
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| Raster / Grid | Esri Float Grid Format |
.FLT
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| Raster / Grid | Tagged Image / GeoTIFF |
.TIF / .TIFF
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| Vector | ArcInfo Export Format |
.E00
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| Vector | AutoCAD Drawing |
.DXF
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| Vector | Esri Shapefile |
.SHP
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Contact Us
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