This might sound annoying, but it’s actually incredibly powerful. You must assemble and create your own map from the relevant geographic and social data you’re interested in.
The first thing to recognize is that GIS software doesn’t display maps, it displays data (most of which will have strong geographic ties). After all, we haven’t given the tool any data to display. If you are disappointed there is no map, you should ask yourself why you expected to see a map. If you’re constantly comparing what the tool actually does to what you are assuming it should do, you’ll often feel like the tool isn’t right for you because of erroneous expectations. Using these tools successfully often means adjusting your expectations of what they should do automatically. QGIS is a powerful but general mapping tool broad tools of this nature tend not to do much without explicit instructions from you. Many people expect to see a map, and are frustrated when they don’t. The exhilaration and terror of a blank ‘map’ Be sure to keep the “Layers” panel visible. On the left pane of the application window, if you see a “Browser” panel (which for connecting to data sources) you can click the ‘X’ to close it, since we won’t be using it.
It’s intimidating, but we can fix that by jumping right into making a map. When you first start QGIS you’ll get a whole lot of blank space, a bunch of cryptic icons, and pangs of regret and/or fear. If you don’t already know which one you have, you can figure it out. Windows users: You will need to choose between the 32-bit or 64-bit versions based on your particular operating system. You’ll notice that QGIS installs several components (like GRASS) that are separate from QGIS itself but required for it to run (a standard feature of open source software)
The most up to date versions of the necessary components can be found, organized by operating system, at the QGIS download page. For most users, it really doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t for these tutorials.
The “long term release” will be a bit older (sometimes significantly) and therefore without the latest features, but with greater stability. The “latest release” of QGIS with give you the most functionality and absolutely most recent version, but with the potential for bugs that haven’t been fixed or discovered yet.
Other than installation instructions, there should be no noticeable difference between Mac and PC versions. This tutorial has been updated for 3.8 (Zanzibar) for Mac, though some images are from previous versions if they are not significantly different from the current release.
This kind of searching also helps you better understand the tool and build your vocabulary for how to search and solve problems on your own. Others have written tutorials or blog posts that can shed light on your issue. You’re not the first one to haul yourself up the learning curve of QGIS many people have likely posted similar questions on forums where someone eventually provided a useful explanation. Be aware that many tutorials are for older versions of QGIS, so the screen shots and menu labels may not match exactly what you see in your version-but the concepts are generally the same.Īlso, remember that Google searches are your friend. You may not at first find exactly what you’re looking for, but it’s worth browsing through these sites to help sort out conceptual misunderstandings. If (= when), during your QGIS adventures, you get stuck or have questions, consult the QGIS Training Manual, the QGIS wiki, and an array of tutorials. The tutorials build on each other, so saving your work as you proceed through the tutorials will help you pick up wherever you need to leave off. This is the first of three tutorials on getting started with QGIS, covering the basic skills of loading data to create maps, styling the data to make the maps more readable, and visualizing data on historic maps.