Set Time Series

Overview

This tool sets a time index for a raster. For a multiband raster with a band dimension, the tool renames the band dimension to time and writes the date-time values you provide as time coordinates.

After processing, the raster cell values, spatial extent, resolution, and coordinate system usually remain unchanged. The main change is that the raster is organized by time instead of by band. This makes it easier to slice, filter, and analyze the raster by time in later tools or scripts.

Use Cases

• Convert multiband rasters, such as multi-date remote sensing imagery, meteorological rasters, or index rasters, into time series rasters.
• Assign a clear observation date to each band so later analysis does not need to rely only on band numbers such as Band 1 and Band 2.
• Prepare data before time series analysis, date-based extraction, change detection, or batch statistics.

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Notes
Input raster file	The source raster for which the time index will be set. It is usually a multiband raster, with each band representing one time point.	Required. The input raster should contain a band dimension that can be converted to a time dimension.
Set time index	The date-time list assigned to the bands. The tool writes these time values to the time coordinate of the output raster in input order.	Required. The number of time values must match the number of bands in the input raster. Date-time values can be entered in the table in the interface. Internally, they are parsed as comma-separated date-time strings, for example 2024-01-01, 2024-02-01, 2024-03-01.
Output raster file	The output location and file name for the raster after the time index is set.	Required. The output raster keeps the original spatial information and writes the new time coordinate.

Steps

1. Start the tool: Open the Geoprocessing Toolbox, go to Raster Tools > Raster Processing, and open the Set Time Series tool pane.
2. Select the input raster: For Input raster file, select the multiband raster that needs a time index.
3. Enter the time index: For Set time index, enter date-time values in band order. The first time value corresponds to the first band, the second time value corresponds to the second band, and so on.
4. Set the output: Specify the Output raster file, and confirm that the output path, format, and naming convention meet later use requirements.
5. Run and inspect the result: Click Run to execute the task. After completion, check whether the output raster has a time dimension and whether the number and order of time values match the original bands.

Notes

• The number of time index values must match the number of raster bands. Otherwise, a one-to-one time coordinate cannot be created for each band.
• Time strings should use a recognizable date or date-time format, such as 2024-01-01 or 2024-01-01 08:00:00.
• This tool mainly modifies the dimension name and time coordinates. It does not resample, reproject, clip, or modify cell values.
• If the input raster already has a time coordinate, confirm whether the time index still needs to be reset to avoid overwriting or confusing existing time information.