Quick Chart File Format

The Quick Chart file format (.QCT file extension) is a raster image format designed for storing high resolution maps. Its key design goal is to allow the images to be viewed with very little processing overhead, while having an appreciable level of lossless compression. Geographical data embedded within the header allows the image to be mapped in terms of latitude and longitude. This makes the Quick Chart file format ideally suited for displaying maps on portable devices such as PDAs and hand held GPS units.

History

The Quick Chart file format is officially a closed specification file format. However due to a large number of freely available files in .QCT format, I have decided to release an unofficial specification based on the content of the freely available .QCT files. Specification revision 1.00 is known to be incomplete, and although my best attempts have been made to ensure that it is accurate, it is impossible to guarantee this. This specification has been released "in good faith" and with the intention that developers can use it to create conversion tools, input/output plugins or even add QCT file format support on GPS devices.

This information was NOT obtained by means of reverse engineering software applications.

Licence

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation Licence, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

Quick Chart (QCT) File Format Specification

The Quick Chart specification can be downloaded in Portable Document Format format by following the links below;

• The Quick Chart File Format Specification 1.00.pdf
• The Quick Chart File Format Specification 1.01.pdf (latest)

Contacts

Author: Craig Shelley craig@microtron.org.uk