Create a BIL raster that supports signed integer values

Summary

Signed integer values for BIL rasters are supported in ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 through the addition of a tag named 'PIXELTYPE' in the BIL's HDR file. The HDR file is the header file for the BIL and can be edited through any text editor (e.g., Notepad).

Procedure

1. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the directory storing the BIL raster.
2. Use a text editor, like Notepad, to open the HDR file associated with the BIL raster.
3. Add the 'PIXELTYPE' parameter with the associated 'SIGNEDINT' tag as follows:
   
   

   BYTEORDER      I
   LAYOUT         BIL
   NROWS          1075
   NCOLS          1024
   NBANDS         1
   NBITS          16
   BANDROWBYTES   2048
   TOTALROWBYTES  2048
   PIXELTYPE      SIGNEDINT
   ULXMAP         2050500.58070808
   ULYMAP         -6137737.24828212
   XDIM           39.496319191183
   YDIM           39.496319191183