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.
Getting started with Python and QGIS 3 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 pb_tool Working on the Command Line IDE Example Workflow Creating a New Plugin Working with Existing Plugin Code Troubleshooting
QGIS data providers are written in C++, however it is possible to simulate a data provider in Python using a memory layer and some code to interface with your data.
Why would you want to do this? Typically you should use the QGIS data providers, but here are some reasons why you may want to give it a go:
There is no QGIS data provider The generic access available through OGR doesn’t provide all the features you need You have no desire to write a provider in C++ No one will write a C++ provider for you, for any amount of money If you go this route you are essentially creating a bridge that connects QGIS and your data store, be it flat file, database, or some other binary format.
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.
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:
Here is a short list of resources available when writing Python code in QGIS. If you know of others, please leave a comment.
Blogs/Websites In alphabetical order:
GIS StackExchange Kartoza Linfiniti Lutra Consulting Nathan Woodrow Nyall Dawson Twitter #pyqgis Documentation Choose the version to match your QGIS install PyQGIS Cookbook QGIS API Example Code Existing plugins can be a great learning tool Code Snippets in the PyQGIS Cookbook Plugins/Tools Script Runner: Run scripts to automate QGIS tasks Plugin Builder: Create a starter plugin that you can customize to complete your own plugin Plugin Reloader: Allows you to reload a plugin from within QGIS pb_tool: Tool to compile and deploy your plugins Books PyQGIS Programmers Guide Geospatial Desktop: GIS Scripting (PDF)
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
The Plugin Builder is a great tool for generating a working plugin project that you can customize.
One of the main tasks in the development cycle is deploying the plugin to the QGIS plugin directory for testing. Plugin Builder comes with a Makefile that can be used on Linux and OS X to aid in development. Depending on your configuration, the Makefile may work on Windows.
To help in managing development of your projects, we’ve come up with another option—a Python tool called pb_tool, which works anywhere QGIS runs.
The PyQGIS Programmer’s Guide is now available in both paperback and PDF. A sample chapter is also available for download.
The book is fully compatible with the QGIS 2.x series of releases.
See locatepress.com for details.
The preview release of the PyQGIS Programmer’s Guide is now available for purchase from Locate Press.
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 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
Following up on my last post, Running Scripts in the Python Console, I created a plugin to simplify running scripts:
The Script Runner plugin allows you to add your scripts to a list so they are readily available. You can then run them to automate QGIS tasks and have full access to the PyQGIS API. In addition, you can view information about the classes, methods, and functions in your module as well as browse the source:
The QGIS Python console is great for doing one-off tasks or experimenting with the API. Sometimes you might want to automate a task using a script, and do it without writing a full blown plugin. Currently QGIS does not have a way to load an arbitrary Python script and run it.[1] Until it does, this post illustrates a way you can create a script and run it from the console.
This is a project I have had lingering around for a while. It is a geospatial data browser written in Python using the PyQt and QGIS bindings. It allows you to navigate a tree structure and preview raster and vector datasets. Metadata extracted from the data can be viewed as well. It supports drag and drop for any target that accepts filenames (e.g. QGIS). For screenshots and more, see http://geoapt.com/geoapt-data-browser.