QGIS

QGIS is a free and open-source geographic information system (GIS), licensed under the GNU General Public License. QGIS enables users to create, edit, visualise, analyse and publish geospatial information in raster, vector and mesh formats. The software can also interface with spatial databases like PostGIS and has a plugin framework which enables the open-source community to provide additional functionality and software integrations. QGIS runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and the Android mobile operating system.

Personal Experience

QGIS provides a powerful, free and open-source alternative to ESRI's ArcGIS. As a result of adopting QGIS I haven't had to use ArcGIS for years as it provides for all my standard GIS software requirements. Typically I use QGIS for quickly reviewing spatial data, digitising geographic features as points and polygons or geolocating scanned maps.

Tools & Software Integrations

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Recommended Plugins

QuickOSM - The plugin enables users to download data from the OpenStreetMap Overpass API. Queries are made by specifying the desired keys and values for different map layers as outlined in the QuickOSM Documentation.

Resources

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Notes and Troubleshooting

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