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Learning QGIS, Third Edition
Learning QGIS, Third Edition

Learning QGIS, Third Edition: Create great maps and perform geoprocessing tasks with ease , Third Edition

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Learning QGIS, Third Edition

Chapter 2. Viewing Spatial Data

In this chapter, we will cover how to view spatial data from different data sources. QGIS supports many file and database formats as well as standardized Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Services. We will first cover how we can load layers from these different data sources. We will then look into the basics of styling both vector and raster layers and will create our first map, which you can see in the following screenshot:

Viewing Spatial Data

We will finish this chapter with an example of loading background maps from online services.

Note

For the examples in this chapter, we will use the sample data provided by the QGIS project, which is available for download from http://qgis.org/downloads/data/qgis_sample_data.zip (21 MB). Download and unzip it.

Loading vector data from files

In this section, we will talk about loading vector data from GIS file formats, such as shapefiles, as well as from text files.

We can load vector files by going to Layer | Add Layer | Add Vector Layer and also using the Add Vector Layer toolbar button. If you like shortcuts, use Ctrl + Shift + V. In the Add vector layer dialog, which is shown in the following screenshot, we find a drop-down list that allows us to specify the encoding of the input file. This option is important if we are dealing with files that contain special characters, such as German umlauts or letters from alphabets different from the default Latin ones.

Loading vector data from files

What we are most interested in now is the Browse button, which opens the file-opening dialog. Note the file type filter drop-down list in the bottom-right corner of the dialog. We can open it to see a list of supported vector file types. This filter is useful to find specific files faster by hiding all the files of a different type, but...

Dealing with coordinate reference systems

Whenever we load a data source, QGIS looks for usable CRS information, for example, in the shapefile's .prj file. If QGIS cannot find any usable information, by default, it will ask you to specify the CRS manually. This behavior can be changed by going to Settings | Options | CRS to always use either the project CRS or a default CRS.

The QGIS Coordinate Reference System Selector offers a filter that makes finding a CRS easier. It can filter by name or ID (for example, the EPSG code). Just start typing and watch how the list of potential CRS gets shorter. There are actually two separate lists; the upper one contains the CRS that we recently used, while the lower list is much longer and contains all the available CRS. For the elevp.csv file, we select NAD27 / Alaska Albers. With the correct CRS, the elevp layer will be displayed as shown in this screenshot:

Dealing with coordinate reference systems

If we want to check a layer's CRS, we can find this information in the layer properties...

Loading raster files

Loading raster files is not much different from loading vector files. Going to Layer | Add Layer | Add Raster Layer, clicking on the Add Raster Layer button, or pressing the Ctrl + Shift + R shortcut will take you directly to the file-opening dialog. Again, you can check the file type filter to see a list of supported file types.

Let's give it a try and load landcover.img from the raster sample data folder. Similarly to vector files, you can load rasters by dragging them into QGIS from the operating system or the built-in file browser. The following screenshot shows the loaded raster layer:

Loading raster files

Note

Support for all of these different vector and raster file types in QGIS is handled by the powerful GDAL/OGR package. You can check out the full list of supported formats at www.gdal.org/formats_list.html (for rasters) and http://www.gdal.org/ogr_formats.html (for vectors).

Georeferencing raster maps

Some raster data sources, such as simple scanned maps, lack proper spatial referencing...

Loading data from databases

QGIS supports PostGIS, SpatiaLite, MSSQL, and Oracle Spatial databases. We will cover two open source options: SpatiaLite and PostGIS. Both are available cross-platform, just like QGIS.

SpatiaLite is the spatial extension for SQLite databases. SQLite is a self-contained, server-less, zero-configuration, and transactional SQL database engine (www.sqlite.org). This basically means that a SQLite database, and therefore also a SpatiaLite database, doesn't need a server installation and can be copied and exchanged just like any ordinary file.

You can download an example database from www.gaia-gis.it/spatialite-2.3.1/test-2.3.zip (4 MB). Unzip the file; you will be able to connect to it by going to Layer | Add Layer | Add SpatiaLite Layer, using the Add SpatiaLite Layer toolbar button, or by pressing Ctrl + Shift + L. Click on New to select the test-2.3.sqlite database file. QGIS will save all the connections and add them to the drop-down list at the top. After...

Loading data from OGC web services

More and more data providers offer access to their datasets via OGC-compliant web services such as Web Map Services (WMS), Web Coverage Services (WCS), or Web Feature Services (WFS). QGIS supports these services out of the box.

Note

If you want to learn more about the different OGC web services available, visit http://live.osgeo.org/en/standards/standards.html for an overview.

You can load WMS layers by going to Layer | Add WMS/WMTS Layer, clicking on the Add WMS/WMTS Layer button, or pressing Ctrl + Shift + W. If you know a WMS server, you can connect to it by clicking on New and filling in a name and the URL. All other fields are optional. Don't worry if you don't know of any WMS servers, because you can simply click on the Add default servers button to get access information about servers whose administrators collaborate with the QGIS project. One of these servers is called Lizardtech server. Select Lizardtech server or any of the other servers...

Loading vector data from files


In this section, we will talk about loading vector data from GIS file formats, such as shapefiles, as well as from text files.

We can load vector files by going to Layer | Add Layer | Add Vector Layer and also using the Add Vector Layer toolbar button. If you like shortcuts, use Ctrl + Shift + V. In the Add vector layer dialog, which is shown in the following screenshot, we find a drop-down list that allows us to specify the encoding of the input file. This option is important if we are dealing with files that contain special characters, such as German umlauts or letters from alphabets different from the default Latin ones.

What we are most interested in now is the Browse button, which opens the file-opening dialog. Note the file type filter drop-down list in the bottom-right corner of the dialog. We can open it to see a list of supported vector file types. This filter is useful to find specific files faster by hiding all the files of a different type, but be...

Dealing with coordinate reference systems


Whenever we load a data source, QGIS looks for usable CRS information, for example, in the shapefile's .prj file. If QGIS cannot find any usable information, by default, it will ask you to specify the CRS manually. This behavior can be changed by going to Settings | Options | CRS to always use either the project CRS or a default CRS.

The QGIS Coordinate Reference System Selector offers a filter that makes finding a CRS easier. It can filter by name or ID (for example, the EPSG code). Just start typing and watch how the list of potential CRS gets shorter. There are actually two separate lists; the upper one contains the CRS that we recently used, while the lower list is much longer and contains all the available CRS. For the elevp.csv file, we select NAD27 / Alaska Albers. With the correct CRS, the elevp layer will be displayed as shown in this screenshot:

If we want to check a layer's CRS, we can find this information in the layer properties' General...

Loading raster files


Loading raster files is not much different from loading vector files. Going to Layer | Add Layer | Add Raster Layer, clicking on the Add Raster Layer button, or pressing the Ctrl + Shift + R shortcut will take you directly to the file-opening dialog. Again, you can check the file type filter to see a list of supported file types.

Let's give it a try and load landcover.img from the raster sample data folder. Similarly to vector files, you can load rasters by dragging them into QGIS from the operating system or the built-in file browser. The following screenshot shows the loaded raster layer:

Note

Support for all of these different vector and raster file types in QGIS is handled by the powerful GDAL/OGR package. You can check out the full list of supported formats at www.gdal.org/formats_list.html (for rasters) and http://www.gdal.org/ogr_formats.html (for vectors).

Georeferencing raster maps

Some raster data sources, such as simple scanned maps, lack proper spatial referencing...

Loading data from databases


QGIS supports PostGIS, SpatiaLite, MSSQL, and Oracle Spatial databases. We will cover two open source options: SpatiaLite and PostGIS. Both are available cross-platform, just like QGIS.

SpatiaLite is the spatial extension for SQLite databases. SQLite is a self-contained, server-less, zero-configuration, and transactional SQL database engine (www.sqlite.org). This basically means that a SQLite database, and therefore also a SpatiaLite database, doesn't need a server installation and can be copied and exchanged just like any ordinary file.

You can download an example database from www.gaia-gis.it/spatialite-2.3.1/test-2.3.zip (4 MB). Unzip the file; you will be able to connect to it by going to Layer | Add Layer | Add SpatiaLite Layer, using the Add SpatiaLite Layer toolbar button, or by pressing Ctrl + Shift + L. Click on New to select the test-2.3.sqlite database file. QGIS will save all the connections and add them to the drop-down list at the top. After clicking...

Loading data from OGC web services


More and more data providers offer access to their datasets via OGC-compliant web services such as Web Map Services (WMS), Web Coverage Services (WCS), or Web Feature Services (WFS). QGIS supports these services out of the box.

Note

If you want to learn more about the different OGC web services available, visit http://live.osgeo.org/en/standards/standards.html for an overview.

You can load WMS layers by going to Layer | Add WMS/WMTS Layer, clicking on the Add WMS/WMTS Layer button, or pressing Ctrl + Shift + W. If you know a WMS server, you can connect to it by clicking on New and filling in a name and the URL. All other fields are optional. Don't worry if you don't know of any WMS servers, because you can simply click on the Add default servers button to get access information about servers whose administrators collaborate with the QGIS project. One of these servers is called Lizardtech server. Select Lizardtech server or any of the other servers from the...

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Key benefits

  • Learn how to work with various data and create beautiful maps using this easy-to-follow guide.
  • Give a touch of professionalism to your maps both for functionality and look and feel with the help of this practical guide.
  • A progressive hands-on guide that builds on a geo-spatial data and adds more reactive maps by using geometry tools.

Description

QGIS is a user-friendly open source geographic information system (GIS) that runs on Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, and Windows. The popularity of open source geographic information systems and QGIS in particular has been growing rapidly over the last few years. Learning QGIS Third Edition is a practical, hands-on guide updated for QGIS 2.14 that provides you with clear, step-by-step exercises to help you apply your GIS knowledge to QGIS. Through clear, practical exercises, this book will introduce you to working with QGIS quickly and painlessly. This book takes you from installing and configuring QGIS to handling spatial data to creating great maps. You will learn how to load and visualize existing spatial data and create data from scratch. You will get to know important plugins, perform common geoprocessing and spatial analysis tasks and automate them with Processing. We will cover how to achieve great cartographic output and print maps. Finally, you will learn how to extend QGIS using Python and even create your own plugin.

Who is this book for?

This book is great for users, developers, and consultants who know the basic functions and processes of GIS and want to learn to use QGIS to analyze geospatial data and create rich mapping applications. If you want to take advantage of the wide range of functionalities that QGIS offers, then this is the book for you.

What you will learn

  • Install QGIS and get familiar with the user interface
  • Load vector and raster data from files, databases, and web services
  • Create, visualize, and edit spatial data
  • Perform geoprocessing tasks and automate them
  • Create advanced cartographic outputs
  • Design great print maps
  • Expand QGIS using Python
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Table of Contents

7 Chapters
1. Getting Started with QGIS Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Viewing Spatial Data Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Data Creation and Editing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Spatial Analysis Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Creating Great Maps Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Extending QGIS with Python Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

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1 star 12.5%
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Carlo Jul 30, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Ho trovato il libro ben strutturato con una varietà di argomenti interessanti che offrono informazionie spunti di approfondimento.Inoltre ho apprezzato il fatto che il libro benché tratti un argomento tecnico è scritto in un ingleseleggibile anche da chi, come me, ha una conoscenza dell'inglese a livello scolastico.
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Art Apr 18, 2018
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QGIS is very complex mapping software. The author has 2 books.. this starter guide and a publication specifically for map designs..this book is a good starter guide. GQIS has some training guides for download that would complement this book. This is a good , basic starter book. Still working on my project. Any publications as these are helpful..
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Alan Weller Nov 14, 2019
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Informative book
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Michael Jabot Jun 08, 2016
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Great resource!
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Luiza Feb 06, 2017
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O livro abrange todas as etapas que o usuário, seja básico ou avançado, precisa entender para realizar as mais diferentes atividades de geoprocessamento. Os assuntos são tratados com linguagem de fácil entendimento sem deixar nada a desejar nos aspectos técnicos, como um bom livro técnico-científico deve ser.
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