FAQ

Why does downloading and importing take so long?

The download takes a lot of time. Please ask the maintainers of the BGT download site why.

If you don’t use predefined import rules, each gml file in your download has to be scanned to see if there are geometries hidden in unexpected places. This requires a time consuming complete scan of the entire file.

Furthermore, a lot of data is involved. This always takes some time.

Why did you make this plugin?

In my professional life I almost exclusively use Free an Open Source Software. I am very gratefull that all those very nice products made by nice people are available to me free of charge and license hassles.

As Open Source is not about “taking”, but much more about “giving” I like to do my share in giving. I try to spread knowledge by climbing the stage at almost all conferences I attend, by writing on eg. QGIS.nl, and by teaching at Geo Academie.

My frustrations using the BGT in QGIS during teaching one of my courses led to this plugin. It is a completely volunteered effort, and I do not make any money out of it. Unfortunately the last incarnation of this plugin took a lot of time to create.

Why all those funnels next to the layer names in the table of contents?

Those funnels indicate that there is a filter active on the layer. In this case all objects (features) which are expired (have a non-empty eindRegistratie ) are filtered out.

Why does the progress indicator move in such a weird way?

The BGT download website does not give any information on the size of the downloads. So in the best MS tradition the progress indicator jumps from ‘almost half way’ to ‘just started’ as often as needed to get the download in.

Why is the second tab (“Individual Files”) still in the plugin?

Actually, the stuff used to make the first tab work is made with the second tab. I might have missed something. So, there you have a way to check the import doen form the first tab. If you find a mistake or something I missed, please report the issue.

Of course it is also handy if you need only one or two gml files from the BGT.

Why is the BGT-zip containing all those bloated gml files smaller than the geopackage containing the same data?

The gml files contain objects, optionally having points, lines and polygons. To use them in QGIS these object needs to be split in up to 3 layers containing only lines, only points or only polygons. Of course all information shown in the attribute table is then duplicated or triplicated. And of course, zip is a very powerfull way of making text (much) smaller.

Furthermore spatial indexes are added which gives you the nice performance compared to using the gml files directly.

Your styling sucks! Can I apply my own default styling?

The styling mimics the ‘official’ styling of the BGT for a large part. It is rather complex, and I have made mistakes (please correct me where possible). But … if I had done the styling myself, it would have looked much worse!

Anyhow, you can add your own default styling for a layer in the user_qml folder in the plugin folder. Naming convention will be obvious once you look at the files in the qml folder in the plugin folder.

In the plugin folder you will find several folders with useful symbols to use in your styling.

If you have created a nice styling, please share it!

I like to run a BGT download and import automagically on a reguler basis. Can your plugin help?

The utils.py script in the bgt_utils folder in the plugin folder contains some functions which will help you.

I like this plugin. Can I buy you a beer?

How nice of you to ask! I know a lot of people are using this plugin and as the Dutch geo-information scene is rather small I must bump into them quit a lot. It would be so nice to hear a kind word every now and again.

So yes, please, thank you! But do remember, I don’t like the sweet beers that much (I already am a very sweet person ;-)).