Quick manuals
Installing plugins
A plugin can be installed via: Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins… > All > Search
Can't find a plugin? > check whether experimental plugins have been allowed in the plugin settings. For more information, see this useful QGIS tutorial.
Useful plugins include:
- PDOK services plugin
- QuickMapServices
- QuickOSM
- OpenLayers Plugin [experimental]
- OSM place search [experimental]
Cannot find plugin tabs: Sometimes it can be quite difficult to find your plugin after installation because they are hidden. To show them simply go to View > Toolbars and check the plugins you want to show (see figure 3).
Updating plugins after installing newer version: After updating to a newer version of QGIS make sure to go to Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins > installed and click on Upgrade All, as shown in figure 4.
Adding WFS connections
WFS (Web Feature Service) connections allow geo-spatial data to be downloaded directly into GIS software from an online server.
Data can be added to QGIS via a WFS connection as follows:
- Set the coordinate reference system (in the Netherlands: EPSG:28992).
- Navigate to your area of interest (e.g. using OpenStreetMap as a base map).
- Go to: Layer > Add Layer > Add WFS Layer…
- Add a new server connection, assign it a name and paste the WFS URL. For public datasets in the Netherlands, WFS URLs are available on PDOK (https://www.pdok.nl/datasets). Simply search for the name of the dataset you are looking for, navigate to that dataset's "Geo Services" and copy the URL corresponding to the WFS connection. Some links to relevant datasets are provided below. Note: these are not the WFS URLs, but links to the pages where the correct URL can be obtained.
- Connect to the server and select the required layer(s).
- Select "only request features overlapping the view extent" so that only the required data will be downloaded.
- Add the layer(s) to the map.
Keep in mind that any layer(s) added will be actively connected to the internet. This means that whenever the map view is changed, the data will be downloaded again. To avoid this and allow the data to be edited without QGIS crashing, the layer(s) should be exported (as a GeoPackage or Shapefile) and stored locally on your computer.
Useful WFS connections for the Netherlands include:
- Basisregistratie Adressen en Gebouwen (BAG) (building footprints and addresses) - https://www.pdok.nl/geo-services/-/article/basisregistratie-adressen-en-gebouwen-ba-1
- 3D BAG (BAG dataset with added height information) - http://3dbag.bk.tudelft.nl/downloads
- Nationaal Wegen Bestand (NWB) (road network) - https://www.pdok.nl/geo-services/-/article/nationaal-wegen-bestand-nwb-
Adding ArcGIS Feature Server connections
ArcGIS Feature Server connections are similar to WFS connections, but are provided by ESRI (a GIS company).
Data can be added to QGIS via an ArcGIS Feature Server connection as follows:
- Set the coordinate reference system (in the Netherlands: EPSG:28992)
- Navigate to your area of interest (e.g. using OpenStreetMap as a base map).
- Go to: Layer > Add Layer > Add ArcGIS Feature Server Layer...
- Add a new server connection, assign it a name and paste the ArcGIS Feature Server URL.
- Connect to the server and select the required layer(s).
- Select "only request features overlapping the view extent" so that only the required data will be downloaded.
- Add the layer(s) to the map.
Keep in mind that any layer(s) added will be actively connected to the internet. This means that whenever the map view is changed, the data will be downloaded again. To avoid this and allow the data to be edited, the layer(s) should be exported (as a GeoPackage or Shapefile) and stored locally on your computer.
Useful ArcGIS Feature Server connections for the Netherlands include:
- Basisregistratie Grootschalige Topografie (BGT) (topological dataset) -https://basisregistraties.arcgisonline.nl/arcgis/rest/services/BGT/BGT_objecttypen/FeatureServer
- (Note: the URL above can be copied directly into QGIS to obtain data from the ArcGIS feature service)
Changing the coordinate reference system (CRS)
When working with geospatial data it is important to set the coordinate reference system (CRS) correctly, so that data is correctly projected onto the map. QGIS supports approximately 7000 known CRSs and each CRS is associated with a unique EPSG code. By default the CRS of a new QGIS project is set to WGS 84 (corresponding to EPSG:4326). This is a global reference system and is the CRS used by GPS.
Generally, the CRS of the project will automatically be changed to match the CRS of the first data layer added. However, sometimes it is still necessary to change the project CRS. The CRS of a QGIS project is shown in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen (where the EPSG code is displayed, see screenshot to right). In order to change the CRS, simply click on the EPSG code and a new window will pop up. Within this window it is possible to search for the CRS you want to change to based on its name or EPSG code. For example, to change the CRS to the national reference system of the Netherlands (called "Amersfoort / RD New" or EPSG:28992), simply search for either of these terms and select the correct item from the list. After clicking OK, you can check whether the CRS is now set correctly by looking at the bottom right-hand corner of the window, where the EPSG code of the project CRS is displayed.
