Here’s a summary of recent additions and updates to plugins in the QGIS repository. FlowMapper (0.1.1) - Generates flow lines between discreet nodes for depicting spatial interaction data (e.g. migration). Query By Example (0.2) - Select features by location. Item Browser (1.6.0) - Browse a multiple selection with auto-zooming to feature and an option to open feature form. Custom Launcher (1.1.0) - Customize your own actions to launch your preferred apps or commands within QGIS.

Writing a QGIS plugin is not overly complicated but represents a bit of work. Using git in conjunction with your development efforts can make sure your investment in coding time is preserved. Development Tools The QGIS project team has set up a central location for plugin development which includes pretty much everything you need to develop and support your plugins, including: Issue tracking Wiki Documents Repository

An interesting visualization of QGIS development over the last eight years: http://woostuff.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/generating-a-gource-source-commit-history-visualization-for-qgis-quantum-gis/

The forum (http://forum.qgis.org) has been closed for new registrations and marked read-only. Users have been encouraged to use http://gis.stackexchange.com instead. If you have an thoughts on the closure, good, bad, or otherwise, please comment.

I added a simple feature that allows you to search the IRC logs from #qgis back to May 10, 2006. The search is case sensitive and will return a list of all matches. Not too smart but it will get you close to what you want. See the link at http://irclogs.geoapt.com/qgis

Plugin Builder 2.8 is now available. This is a minor update that adds: Suggestion for setting up an issue tracker and creating a code repository Suggestion for a home page Tag selection from a list of current tags Documentation update, including information about using pb_tool to compile, deploy, and package your plugin New URLs for Plugin Builder’s home page and bug tracking Optional is now Recommended In previous versions the following items were “Optional” when creating a new plugin:

This week we look at a newly arrived plugin named qNote. This plugin allows you to create a note and store it in a QGIS project file. When the project is loaded, the note is restored and can be viewed in the qNote panel. This little plugin provides a way to attach metadata to a project. Things you might want to include in a note are: Content of the project Purpose Area of interest Where the data came from Who created the project This information can be helpful when sharing a project or when you forget what you did six months after the fact.

Suppose you have a DBF (.dbf) file containing X and Y values that you want to import and save as a spatial layer. QGIS doesn’t support direct import of a DBF file as a map layer, however, we can use some command line magic to convert it to a CSV file and then use the Delimited Text plugin to get the job done. Your DBF file should have an id for each record and fields containing X and Y values.

Do you remember this? If so, you’ve been using QGIS a long time… OGR and PostGIS support No raster support Three widgets on the Symbology tab No symbology in the legend But you could use it handily on a 640x480 display.

If you’re a developer, or have looked at the QGIS source code, you’ve likely noticed that most C++ classes in the project start with Qgs. Back before the dark ages of QGIS, Trolltech (now Digia) allowed you to reserve name prefixes for classes that used the Qt framework. Shortly afterwards, I reserved the gs prefix for my use, resulting in class names that start with Qgs. You might think this is based on some mangling of words like QGIS or perhaps GIS, but it was purely egocentric:

We’ve released version 3.1 of the Plugin Builder for QGIS 3.x. This version contains a number of bug fixes and performance enhancements. Here are some of the changes included since version 3.0.3: Fix issue with reload on generated plugins Move dialog creation to run method to improve startup performance Move help file generation files to proper method Include missing tags file Attempt to compile resources.qrc when plugin is generated (requires pyrcc5 in path) Set deployment directory in Makefile based on user OS (pb_tool is recommended over make) Check for valid URL format for tracker and repository Compiling Resource File If you have the resource compiler pyrcc5 in your path, the resource file will be compiled automatically when you generate your new plugin.

This minor update to the Plugin Builder allows you to choose where your plugin menu will be located. Previously your menu was placed under the Plugins menu. At version 2.8.1 you can choose from the following main menu locations: Plugins Database Raster Vector Web Plugins is the default choice when you open Plugin Builder. The value you choose is also written to the category field in your metadata.txt file.

This site aims to bring out some of the latest and sometimes not-so-greatest happenings in the GIS world. We’ll focus to large extent on Open Source software but hopefully mix it up to keep things interesting. We’ll explore things from the new and exciting to the dull and mundane. There are a lot of GIS/Spatial sites out there. Hopefully we can provide some content of interest and you will add this one to those you visit frequently.

The Script Runner plugin allows you to manage and execute a collection of scripts in QGIS to automate tasks and perform custom processing. Version 0.6 of Script Runner has been released and includes these changes: Arguments can be passed to a script using keyword arguments Script output is logged to the Script Runner window Script output can be logged to disk Preferences dialog allows control of output and logging options Exceptions in scripts are displayed without interfering with console/logging output Context menu (right-click) to access script functions Edit script function uses system default editor or one you specify in preferences For a basic introduction to Script Runner see this post: Script Runner: A Plugin to Run Python Scripts in QGIS

The QGIS project has a number of support channels. Like many open source projects, these are loosely coupled. Recently the forum was made read-only and this has prompted a number of questions and concerns about how to receive support. This post outlines the ways in which you can get your questions answered. Home Page The QGIS home page has links to all the documentation and community resources. The navigation panel on the left has links to both the Community resources and the manual.

When writing plugins or scripts it is often necessary to get information about the paths QGIS is using. For example, if we are writing a plugin that uses Python templates to create output based on user actions, we need to know the path to our installed plugin so we can find the templates. Fortunately the API provides an easy way to get at the information; here are a few examples:

The QGIS Project Steering Committee (PSC) has announced a call for nominations to fill three vacant positions: Design Advisor Infrastructure Manager Release Manager Nominations are open until August 24, 2013. For details on the PSC, vacancies, and how to nominate someone, see the Call for Nominations August 2013.

Getting started with Python and QGIS can be a bit overwhelming. In this post we give you a quick start to get you up and running and maybe make your PyQGIS life a little easier. There are likely many ways to setup a working PyQGIS development environment—this one works pretty well. Contents Requirements Installing OSGeo4W Setting the Environment Python Packages Working on the Command Line IDE Example Workflow Creating a New Plugin Working with Existing Plugin Code Troubleshooting

This site aims to bring out some of the latest and sometimes not-so-greatest happenings in the GIS world. We’ll focus to large extent on Open Source software but hopefully mix it up to keep things interesting. We’ll explore things from the new and exciting to the dull and mundane. There are a lot of GIS/Spatial sites out there. Hopefully we can provide some content of interest and you will add this one to those you visit frequently.

The application deadline for the Google Summer of Code is nearing (April 9). If you are interested in working on QGIS as part of GSOC and need ideas, please see Quantum GIS Wiki. We are waiting for your proposal!