QGIS Natural History Collection Data Lesson: Setup

Dataset

iDigBio search parameters and resulting dataset.

{"core_type": "records", "record_fields": null, "rq": {"stateprovince": "california", "geopoint": {"type": "exists"}, "data": {"type": "fulltext", "value": "carabidae"}}, "form": "dwca-csv", "mq": null, "core_source": "indexterms", "mediarecord_fields": null}

Move your downloaded data (the iDigBio dataset and auxiliary layers) into a workspace (such as a folder on desktop). This will serve as your working directory where you will also store your project file. Unzip the iDigBio zipped file in your directory. You can leave the auxiliary data (shapefiles, rasters) as zipped.

Set a working folder

Move your downloaded data (the iDigBio dataset and auxiliary layers) into a workspace (such as a folder on desktop). This will serve as your working directory where you will also store your project file. Unzip the iDigBio zipped file in your directory. You can leave the auxiliary data (shapefiles, rasters) as zipped.

Launch QGIS

The community updates the version of QGIS every year. The version I am using is 2.4.0-Chugiak, but newer versions are available. There may be slight differences in versions. You can check your version using QGIS > About QGIS. The following plugins will have to be enabled in order to use them.

Check QGIS Plugins

Under Plugins in the dropdown menus, navigate to Manage and Install Plugins. Under Installed, ensure that the box next to each plugin is checked. You can install and update supported plugins via this panel: