1. Installation
First, you need to install
"QGIS". Please use the standalone version, and don't worry: it is available for Windows, Linux and macOS. The installer file will
guide you through the installation. If you encounter problems, please start crying so someone will come an help you.
2. Basic menus and layout
Once installed, open QGIS from the desktop icon. It should look like the top image in the table.
- Highlighted in red are the main menu entries (saving the project, opening different files, accessing toolboxes, etc.)
- Highlighted in yellow are several toolboxes. This section is customizable to your needs.
- In blue is the browser. Here you can navigate through your file system, but also access, for example, online services.
- In green are you map layers. Everything that you load into the GIS is visible here. It is hierarchical, so what appears on top of the list, is shown on top of the map. Sometimes you
will wonder why an item doesn't appear, check this section first.
- In orange is shown a section that gives you information about your current map (Coordinate System, scale, coordinate position, etc.)
- The area that says "Recent Projects" and "News" relates to your canvas, this is where you draw your map.

For basic navigation on the map, use the "Map navigation toolbar". To obtain basic information, use the "Attribute toolbar." You can find them in the yellow section above, but as these sections are
customizable, they might be elsewhere on your GIS-UI. Using the little hand, you can pan the map, with the magnification glass you can zoom in and out, and the magnification glass with the arrows shows you the
extend of your map. The i-icon with the cursor give you layer information, and with the ruler you can measure distance.
As we have no data loaded, we don't see much when using the tools. Let's use web-based data servers to provide us with basic maps. Then you can play around with the navigation tools to get a feeling of how it works.
3. Web-based data services
We will add 3 services to our project. In the browser window of QGIS, find the entry XYZ-tiles. We will start with Open Street Map and Google Maps. Both make worldwide maps available.
3.1 Open Street Map and Google maps
The Open Street Map connection might be already available. If so, please read through this step anyway as it is the same for the Google Maps server.
1) Right-click on "XYZ Tiles" and choose "New connection." |
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2)
- Name it "Open Street Map"
- Use "https://tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png" in the URL entry (don't copy the quotation marks).
- Click "Ok"
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3) You should have an entry now for Open Street Map. Double-click on it. You should see a map now. |
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Now you can start zooming in and out and play around with the toolbar. If something is not working, you can right-click on the connection and choose "Edit..." to check the setting. Or "Delete" to get rid of
it. To use the Google Map server, the principle is the same. Find the different services in the following table.
Service |
URL |
Google Hybrid |
http://mt0.google.com/vt/lyrs=y&hl=en&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} |
Google Maps |
https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=r&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} |
Google Roads |
https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=h&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} |
Google Satellite |
http://mt0.google.com/vt/lyrs=s&hl=en&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} |
Google Terrain |
https://mt1.google.com/vt/lyrs=p&x={x}&y={y}&z={z} |
3.2 Data server Norsk Polarinstitutt
Instead of the "XYZ Tile," find the "WMS/WMTS" entry. The principle is the same as before and the following table contains the necessary links.
Service |
URL |
Svalbard Orthophotos |
https://geodata.npolar.no/arcgis/rest/services/Basisdata/NP_Ortofoto_Svalbard_WMTS_25833/MapServer/WMTS/1.0.0/WMTSCapabilities.xml |
Svalbard Satellite |
https://geodata.npolar.no/arcgis/rest/services/Basisdata/NP_Satellitt_Svalbard_WMTS_25833/MapServer/WMTS/1.0.0/WMTSCapabilities.xml |
Svalbard Topography |
https://geodata.npolar.no/arcgis/rest/services/Basisdata/NP_Basiskart_Svalbard_WMTS_25833/MapServer/WMTS/1.0.0/WMTSCapabilities.xml |
Via this type of connection, you can also add sources from other services. For example, you might be interested in the steepness of the mountains in Svalbard.
We will calculate this later ourselves but we can also obtain the information through an existing service.
Use the following URL:
"https://nve.geodataonline.no/arcgis/services/Bratthet/MapServer/WmsServer".
God job! Save your project. A hint: Give your projects and files a meaningful name.
It may save you a lot of time (and a headache) later on if you are looking for a specific step. Let's go to session 3.