Free online PLT to GPX converter

GPS apps, navigation devices, and mapping software commonly require GPX, while route data may arrive as an OziExplorer PLT file. Converting it makes the track available for import, editing, sharing, or archiving in applications that do not support PLT.

What the PLT format is

PLT is an ambiguous filename extension. The GPS-related version is the OziExplorer track format, which stores track points as latitude, longitude, and sometimes altitude, date, and time. OziExplorer creates PLT files for recorded tracks and planned routes.

Other PLT files are HP-GL plotter files generated by CAD, drawing, sign-making, and plotting software. HP-GL files contain pen commands such as PU and PD, not geographic coordinates. A plotter PLT cannot be converted into a meaningful GPX track unless its geometry is georeferenced and separately processed.

What the GPX format is

GPX is an XML-based GPS exchange format supported by most mapping, navigation, and outdoor applications. It can contain tracks made of recorded points, routes made of planned waypoints, and individual waypoints such as campsites or landmarks.

GPX is preferable when the destination application supports GPS exchange but not OziExplorer files. It also provides a more interoperable format for transferring coordinates between desktop mapping software, mobile apps, GPS receivers, and web-based map tools.

How to actually convert PLT to GPX

Using GPSBabel

GPSBabel is the most practical desktop and command-line option for an OziExplorer PLT file.

1. Install GPSBabel for your operating system.
2. Confirm that the file is an OziExplorer track. A typical Ozi PLT begins with version and track-description lines, followed by comma-separated coordinate records. A file beginning with HP-GL commands such as IN, PU, or PD is not an OziExplorer track.
3. Convert the file with:

gpsbabel -i ozi -f input.plt -o gpx -F output.gpx

Replace input.plt with the source filename and output.gpx with the required destination filename. Open the resulting GPX in a map application and verify that the track appears in the expected area.

Using the online converter

You can convert the file free on 101convert.com without installing software: select the PLT-to-GPX conversion, upload the OziExplorer PLT file, start the conversion, and download the generated GPX file. Use this only for files that do not contain sensitive location information.

Quality and compatibility limitations

The conversion cannot recover information that is absent from the PLT. A file containing only coordinates will produce a GPX track without reliable timestamps, speed, or elevation. Some converters also omit OziExplorer-specific track styling, colors, descriptions, or waypoint associations.

Check the coordinate order and map datum before exporting. OziExplorer PLT coordinates are normally latitude and longitude in WGS 84-compatible geographic coordinates, but a damaged or incorrectly exported source can place the GPX track in the wrong location. GPX files use XML and may be rejected by older devices if they contain unsupported extensions or excessive point counts; simplifying the track in a mapping application can resolve those device limits.