See the highs and lows on your field — before you book a survey.
Draw a boundary and the Viewer pulls government LiDAR and color-maps the elevation — see the highs and lows, the fall of the ground, and spot the low corners where water is likely sitting — then spin the field in 3D to read the fall for yourself. Right in your browser, in a couple of minutes. It's the first read every surface, tile and land forming (Beta) job starts from. No account, no install.
- No account
- Public elevation built in
- Opens designs shared by your contractor
Sent a design by your contractor or agronomist? Open it right here. They export the project as a backup file; you load it in the Viewer and get the whole thing — the field elevation, their drain runs and grades, and the ponding, wetness and flow maps behind the plan. No account, no licence, no cost.
Plan and design from LiDAR. Survey and grade with RTK when the job goes ahead. The Viewer is the first look, with no account; the design suite is a membership. Public LiDAR is built in for the US, Canada, the UK, much of Europe, New Zealand and Australia.
Read the terrain before you design on it
No account and no install. Draw a boundary on your field and the Viewer turns public LiDAR into a clear first look at the highs, the lows, and which way the ground falls — then spin it in 3D to read the fall for yourself. Lay contours over the top at the interval you choose. Plus any plan someone shares with you. No account needed.
Pull public elevation for your field
Draw a boundary and the Viewer fetches the elevation automatically from the national LiDAR in the US, Canada, the UK, much of Europe, New Zealand and Australia. No files to hunt down, download, or convert.
See the highs and lows
Color-mapped elevation shows the grade breaks and the fall of the ground — so you can spot the low corners where water is likely sitting. It's the read behind all three jobs — surface drainage, tile and land forming (Beta) alike.
Open a plan someone shared
Handed a Geo-Surface project file by a contractor or consultant? Load it here and you get the whole job — their drain runs with grades and pipe sizes, the field elevation they designed on, and the ponding, wetness and flow-path maps behind it. Nothing to install, no account, no cost to you.
It works on a phone or tablet too: a hotspot, the Viewer, the ZIP, and the crew has the runs with depths and pipe sizes, the overburden cuts, and their own GPS position on the map. Give the crew a tablet →
Also open to anyone, no login: the Tile Spacing & Cost Calculator, Drainage ROI Calculator, Tile Flow Capacity Calculator, and Tile Grade Calculator.
A “flat” field, in the relief that actually matters
A field that looks level can still hide important relief. Color-mapped elevation makes the highs, lows, and flow direction easier to see before you start designing or asking for a price.
- Automatic public-elevation fetch for any boundary you draw
- Adjustable color scale that brings out inches of relief
- Contours at the interval you choose, on your field
- Spin the field in 3D with adjustable vertical exaggeration
- Pan, zoom and measure distance and area right in the browser
- Open interactive plans others share with you
A LiDAR terrain viewer for your fields — no account.
Quick answers before you draw a boundary.
Is there a quick way to see my field's elevation?
Yes — the Geo-Surface Viewer. Draw a boundary and it pulls public LiDAR and color-maps the elevation right in your browser, so you can see the highs, the lows, and the fall of the ground. There's no account to make and nothing to install.
What it doesn't do: the Viewer doesn't build the ponding, wetness or flow-path maps itself (a project shared with you already carries them), and it doesn't include the design tools. Those live in Geo-Surface Pro.
Do I need an account to view LiDAR?
No. Open the Viewer, draw a boundary, and the elevation loads — no login, no signup form, nothing to install. An account only comes into play if you upgrade to Geo-Surface Pro to design.
What LiDAR does the Viewer use?
Each region pulls its own national LiDAR: USGS 3DEP in the US, NRCan HRDEM in Canada, and the national elevation survey in the UK, much of Europe, New Zealand and Australia. It loads automatically from the boundary you draw — no files to hunt down, download, or convert. See every region and its coverage.
My contractor sent me a project file — do I need to buy anything to open it?
No. Anyone can open a shared Geo-Surface project in the Viewer — no account and no licence. Your contractor or agronomist hits Backup Project in Geo-Surface Pro, sends you the file however they like, and you load it with Restore Design Project here. You'll see their design, the elevation, and the water analysis as they saved it.
Can I open a plan someone shared with me?
Yes. If a contractor or consultant hands you a Geo-Surface project file, open it in the Viewer and you get the whole job — their drain runs with grades and pipe sizes, the field elevation they designed on, and the ponding, wetness and flow-path maps behind the plan. Pan, zoom, spin it in 3D, and measure distance and area right in the browser. You don't need a membership just to look at someone else's design.
The plan goes to the field
Give the crew a tablet. The Viewer carries the whole design.
One paid seat designs the job. Everyone else opens it with no licence: a phone hotspot, any tablet or phone browser, no account, no install. The Viewer shows the runs with their depths, pipe sizes and connections, the field elevation the design was built on, the water maps behind it, and the crew's own GPS position on top.
- Backup Project in Geo-Surface Pro writes one ZIP. Send it however you like: email, text, a shared drive, a USB stick.
- On the tablet, open the Viewer and choose Restore Design Project. Pick the ZIP.
- Tap the GPS button. The blue dot is you; walk the runs.
It is a file you send, not a cloud link: the Viewer opens the ZIP you give it, and the design lives on your machine. The crew reads it; they don't need a licence to do so.
The Viewer gives you the look. Geo-Surface Pro turns it into a plan and a cost estimate.
The Viewer shows the terrain. Geo-Surface Pro designs on it — surface drainage, tile drainage, and land forming (Beta), all in your browser — for a flat US$799/yr. Every membership covers unlimited fields and acres, with no per-acre fees.
Move surface water
Draw surface drains, swales, and grassed waterways on the terrain and follow how water moves across the field.
Lay out & size tile
Lay out mains and laterals, then use auto pipe sizing, stepped mains by contributing area, depth checks, and grade profiles.
Land-form the field (Beta)
Pick the edges water may leave by, set a max cut, hit Solve — it designs a surface that drains to the edges you choose, using as little dirt as it can find. Land forming is in Beta.
Export & share
Create a client-ready PDF report with quantities, plus shapefile, KML, DXF — and for land forming (Beta), machine control files including the AGD design file, supported by Ditch Assist and other popular machine control systems — for handoff and discussion.
- Unlimited fields & acres
- No per-acre fees, ever
- One flat annual membership
- Surface, tile & land forming (Beta) — all included
Geo-Surface Pro
The full design suite — surface, tile, and land forming (Beta) — in your browser
- Everything in the Viewer
- Surface drainage, tile drainage & land forming (Beta) design — all included
- PDF reports, quantities & exports — shapefile, KML, DXF, plus machine files (AGD design file, AGS, CSV, Trimble WM-Form .gps in Beta)
- Unlimited fields & acres — no per-acre fees, ever
30-day money-back guarantee
Design 640 acres in a year and US$799 works out to about US$1.25 an acre. Your membership covers every field you touch, all year — the next one adds nothing. See full pricing
Read your field's terrain in the next two minutes
Open the Viewer, draw a boundary, and watch the elevation come up in color. When you want to turn that read into a plan and a cost estimate, a flat membership — unlimited fields, no per-acre fees — is one click away.
- No login, no install
- Public LiDAR in the US, Canada, the UK, much of Europe, New Zealand and Australia
- Sign up anytime · 30-day money-back guarantee