.WKT File Extension

Well-Known Text Geometry

Developer Open Geospatial Consortium
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What is a WKT file?

A WKT file describes a vector geometry object in the Well-Known Text (WKT) format. It contains one or more sets of plain text coordinates that describe points, lines, and/or polygons. WKT files can be overlaid on GIS maps to denote areas of interest.

More Information

Screenshot of a .wkt file in Wicket
WKT file open in Wicket

The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) created the WKT format as part of their Simple Features Access standards. These standards specify common storage and access models for geographic features, especially 2D geometric features. Many GIS programs can import and export files saved in Simple Features Access formats, such as WKT.

Most WKT files contain a series of points, lines, and/or polygons that map areas of interest on an accompanying geographic map. For example, a WKT file might contain polygons that describe the shape of a city's voting districts. These points and shapes are specified in plain text, using number-based coordinates. Geometries can consist of single points, lines, and polygons or multiple points, lines, and polygons linked together.

How to open a WKT file

WKT file open in Apple TextEdit
WKT file open in Apple TextEdit

You can open a WKT file with QGIS (multiplatform) or Wicket (Web) to view the geometry it describes. You can also open a WKT file with Microsoft Notepad (Windows), Apple TextEdit (Mac) or any other text editor to view the plain text data it contains.

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Programs that open WKT files

Windows
Free
Mac
Free
Linux
Free
Web
Free

Verified by FileInfo.com

The FileInfo.com team has independently researched the Well-Known Text Geometry file format and Mac, Windows, and Linux apps listed on this page. Our goal is 100% accuracy and we only publish information about file types that we have verified.

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