NVG Import — NATO Vector Graphics in map.army

NVG (NATO Vector Graphics) is an XML-based exchange format defined by NATO for tactical situation overlays in command-and-control environments. map.army supports importing NVG layers in the latest hosted version — see below for the supported NVG versions and the workflow.

Supported NVG versions

map.army imports the following NVG versions:

NVG versionImportExport
2.0.0✓— (use MilX)
2.0.2✓— (use MilX)
Other versionsConvert externally first, or contact gs-soft— (use MilX)

For exchange in the other direction — handing a situation back to an NVG consumer — the recommended path today is to export as MilX (.milxlyz) and have a downstream conversion step produce NVG. NVG export from the hosted app is not currently a built-in action; project deployments can include it (Free vs Pro).

How to import an NVG file

  1. In map.army , open Map Overlays → Load Layer.
  2. Pick the .nvg file (NVG version 2.0.0 or 2.0.2).
  3. The NVG content appears as a layer in the Layer Manager. Verify the geometry and symbology — pan and zoom to confirm the placement.
  4. Continue editing as for any MilX layer: add, move, or reshape symbols; combine with other layers; save as .milxlyz or share via a MilX share link.

See How to create a share for the MilX-share workflow and Layers → Export Overlays for .milxlyz export.

NVG and MilX — when each is the right format

Both formats carry MIL-STD-2525 / APP-6 military symbology and tactical graphics; the on-the-wire shape differs, the semantics overlap heavily. A short decision filter:

  • Source data is NVG (2.0.0 or 2.0.2) — import directly into map.army as described above. Once loaded, work in MilX for everything downstream.
  • Destination is NVG-only (some NATO federated planning systems) — export as .milxlyz and arrange the MilX → NVG conversion as a project step. Contact gs-soft via the contact form for the conversion path.
  • Within a MIL-STD-2525 / MSS environment — MilX end-to-end is simpler and is the format gs-soft maintains alongside MSS. See About → MilX File Format.
  • Exchanging with ATAK / CivTAK — neither NVG nor MilX is the right answer; see the FAQ entry Can map.army exchange data with ATAK / CivTAK / WinTAK?.

Newer NVG versions and round-trip export

NVG versions beyond 2.0.2, and a built-in NVG export from the hosted app, are not part of the free version today. Project-based deployments via map.army pro can include extended NVG version coverage and on-system NVG export inside a customer environment — see Free vs Pro.

To discuss an NVG interoperability scenario: