CARIS Easy View uses the CSAR (CARIS Spatial Archive) framework as data structures for gridded and point data. The CSAR framework was designed to efficiently read, write and process the large volumes of data produced by modern survey sensors and methods.
The CSAR framework works by partitioning data into pieces, called "chunks". The division of data into chunks allows the efficient storage and visualization of high volumes of multi-dimensional data.
CSAR files display differently than other file types, in that their data structures are stored at multiple levels of resolution to facilitate rapid access. With the multi-resolution structure, the data in a dataset is always available, although it is not always displayed. For example, if viewing a gridded surface that is zoomed out, this is a coarse resolution representation of the surface, appearing smooth and lacking in detail. As you zoom in, the appearance of the surface will change as higher resolution data is brought into view. At any point, if you were to make a selection of points on the surface, you would get the same results whether zoomed in or out.
CSAR data structures are created with a coverage polygon representing the boundaries of the data. This polygon is accessible through the Bounding Polygon layer created when a CSAR surface is opened.