DMS QGIS Forum

Speaker from Responsible Gambling Foundation (Victoria) on how QGIS is applied
for assessing the proximity of pokies (gambling areas) and gamble help centres

On 14th May 2015, in the beautiful Crown Towers site, Digital Mapping Solutions (DMS) hosted a well-attended QGIS Forum. They brought city councils, companies and freelance cartographers together to listen about the progress in QGIS and its application in real scenarios. DMS is the forefront in advocating QGIS to many of its clients, active participant in QGIS development and conduct many training of QGIS. For those who don't know, QGIS (formerly Quantum GIS) is an open source GIS and increasingly adopted globally.

Despite being hosted in expensive Crown Towers (next to the Casino), DMS surprisingly hosted the morning session about QGIS with sumptuous breakfast for FREE! They are generous indeed especially the heavy breakfast! For this discussion, I will point out specific things you need to know about QGIS (which was discussed in the forum).

1. How can I submit an issue or feature request for QGIS? Proceed to the website here
2. How can I retain the layer file in QGIS? The .qlr file is the equivalent of ArcGIS layer file . Refer here
3. Group layers in QGIS. Refer to this YouTube link
4. You can import a CSV file containing a particular font setting which allows QGIS to customize the labeling based on the imported CSV.
5. How can I produce a map where the main focus stands out as a figure? Use Mask and watch this YouTube link :                                   
6. In the print composer, you can add the raster image as background and use blending tool to adjust the visibility strength of raster image
7. How can I customize a legend that is only relevant to the map content? I would like to have the legend to show the layers visible on the map. Use the filter (in Legend). Refer here (Go to Legend Items)
8. Presets can control the number of map layers viewable and it is useful for the multimap concept in print composer. Refer here
9. QGIS is not just for desktop maps, it is also for publishing web based maps. Use qgis2leaf and read here for more details.
10. In the forum, we have seen the demonstration of city councils of utilizing custom forms in QGIS. Refer here on how to create QGIS custom forms

From the presentations, I have noted city council organizations have been slowly dropping off the commercial GIS software in favour of QGIS. This is because the councils would like to lower the software maintenance cost and cheaper GIS distribution within the organizations, However, before embarking such transitions, each organization must undergo fundamental training in QGIS. 

I hope you find the 10 tips above allow you to explore more in depth the power of QGIS in various aspects.

Map is Power

The map above converts complex statistical information to
chunks of  relevant knowledge pieces

This is part of my submission to International Map Industry Association (IMIA) blog

Like many cartographers, I am always fascinated with maps. I could be staring at any floating globe or spending quality time with my atlases. Maps has been one of the best graphical tools to convey knowledge. Knowledge is Power. Hence, Map is Power too!

Through my personal globe and many atlases, I came to know the vastness and complexities of the world. Maps simplify the complexity of world into chunks of knowledge relevant for the audience. For example, atlases have many thematic maps which shows the interrelationships of nature and mankind. A thematic map reduces multiple relationships to a simpler one where you and I can understand the world. Since the dawn of mankind, maps has served to further progress of humanity. From finding food to 3D modelling of disasters, maps have informed us what to do. Hence, Map is Power!

Like what other blog contributors mentioned, most of the map history is dictated by the professional surveyors and cartographers. Vast majority of the populace lives by and accept the standards and shapes determined by map-makers. Hence, the power of maps and the knowledge conveyed to the world is predetermined. With the advent of technologies and global geographical volunteers, the centre of power has shifted away from the map-makers. Today, non-cartographers(or surveyors/GISers) are the forefront in providing the new geographical information and most importantly, new maps.

I captured a lot of free geographic information for many years but there wasn’t a platform for me to make it publicly available. Then, I stumbled upon the OpenStreetMap and it was Power in action. As I am from Malaysia, freely available datasets (we take granted this in developed world) is very hard to be obtained. OpenStreetMap provided me and other geographic volunteers to break down the mammoth dataset barrier in front of us. Before Google Maps showed all the bus stops locations of my home state, I filled up the bus stops and route paths on Open Street Maps. Other users also chipped in by updating the attributes. It is clear example how new technologies are bringing power of maps to a bigger audience. Maps impact people and people impact maps.

With the advent open source datasets and open source technologies, maps are empowering more people than ever. Civil society and individuals are creating maps more than ever in history of mankind and interpreting the world in their unique ways. Barriers are coming down and map mashups are everywhere. Geographical analysis is advancing further and giving new insights to businesses and governments. We know exactly where to put our store or next school. We can visualize predictions using time-lapse features of various GIS software. Don’t you feel map is so empowering? Map is Power.

In conclusion, in our current lifetime, we have seen how maps have empowered us. More importantly, we, both the consumers and producers, have been empowered to shape the maps. Maps will continue to evolve (from drawings on ground to virtual reality) but always to stick to its main purpose. Conveying knowledge in a simplified manner and giving us the power to act. Map is Power!

Danesh Prakash Chacko, volunteer/pro-bono GIS consultant in Melbourne (Australia)

Creating an 'Atlas' using ArcGIS and QGIS

Usually when I produce maps, I produce a single map based on single theme. However, back in my uni days and work training, I have learnt an important cartographic component in ArcGIS and QGIS.

A sample Local Government Area map of New South
Wales built on ArcGIS

It was about building an 'Atlas' in GIS. Multiple maps stored in one PDF and ready for print. This knowledge was put to the test when one of my Account Manager said he wants a map of all his clients (October 2014). His clients are spread over one state and he had a list of them in Excel. Good thing was they were Local Governments only.

In April 2015, another Account Manager approached me and asked me to produce a map of local governments and water authorities in New South Wales. You may think why do we need an Atlas style product for these two instances?

In this discussion, I will be discussing the challenges behind making these two 'atlases' and some comparisons between QGIS and ArcGIS.

Challenges/Issues to Consider 

• Data - In Australia, they have free data for Local Government Areas. However, the free data they had for the road network and localities are nearly 10 years old (Sourced from Geoscience Australia).
• Intended Audience - Account Managers use these maps as rough guides where their clients and prospective ones are found. Sometimes they may use for rough planning when they traveling around to see multiple clients. Hence, just showing the local government areas (LGAs) is not enough. I cannot expect my audience to know every LGA by name and location. Due to that, I incorporated roads and localities to give good geographical insight
• Level of Information Displayed - This becomes an issue on how many towns and cities the map should contain. If you refer to the first figure above, I classified the localities strictly to towns and cities. My Account Managers doesn't need to know every town or populated area in LGA. They need to know LGA name, the main town (s) and some roads connecting between towns.
• Scale - The most difficult issue I faced. New South Wales has over hundred LGAs of varying size and it is impossible to have clean map with all names of LGA. That is why the concept of mapbook was used in these two instances. ArcGIS and QGIS uses one shapefile to break down the mapbook into regions. I used Tourist Regions to divide the various states in Australia to produce multiple maps. However, in the context of New South Wales, I felt Tourist Region is very general division. I chose Statistical regional divisions to show more zoomed-in views of Sydney area. Sydney has many smaller size (only area we talking about) LGAs. 
• Text Layout - Text is necessary evil. I have ZERO intention of using any other graphic software to beautify the map. I am producing the map on the go and would like to deliver fast to my Account Managers. I fully capitalized Maplex Label Engine (in ArcGIS) to position text at best. 
• Software - I have used mapbook approach twice (in real life situation) so far in my cartographic career. The first instance, I was motivated to use QGIS to produce mapbooks for many states. The second instance, I used ArcGIS as I have not used Data-Driven pages before.Both instances they were learning curves for me.

ArcGIS/QGIS

I was very much grounded to ArcGIS (the only GIS software I knew at university). I came to know QGIS through my current work and learned further through QGIS training. Some opinions:

• In both GIS software, the final layout and content to be displayed are nearly the same. You can change the paper size, adjust the legends and placing inset maps in ArcGIS and QGIS
• From my experience, time consumed from the collecting data to final output are nearly the same for both software.
• However, the KEY difference between ArcGIS and QGIS I have noticed is the cartographic presentation. In ArcGIS, they have more in-built colour schemes than QGIS. Hence, I spend less time in determining on one of the fundamentals of maps. In text labeling, I was pleased both in performance by ArcGIS and QGIS

If you ask my stance, I tilt to ArcGIS due to my longer exposure comparatively to QGIS. However, the essence of this blog post is not about which software is better than other. In these two instances which used two different software, it is principles of mapping that played a big factor:

• Who is my Audience?
• How much information my Audience needs to see?
• Is the datasets needed for the map readily available?
• What scale level should I utilize? Should it be fixed or dynamic
• What is the best position for the labels
• Is the overall map layout conveys the right information the Audience needs to know?

Resources I used for building the map books using QGIS and ArcGIS

Atlas Generation in QGIS  and map book in ArcGIS: 

This Week in GIS

Presenter on Dominican Republic GIS (GeoRabble #6 Melbourne)

This week we will examine some key discussions of GIS or applications of GIS which I encountered this week

GeoRabble #6

Cramped in a dungeon style room in a bar, GeoRabble #6 is a hub of discussion, networking and exchange of GIS knowledge. Whether you are user, developer or owner of geospatial business, GeoRabble is a place to rabble about our love - GIS ! We had multiple presentations (no Sales Pitch!) in two hours - crisis leadership, Bushfire management, open data in Victoria, evolving Melbourne, UAVs and Application of GIS in  Dominican Republic. All speakers covered a great deal of material, the challenges and success of the GIS applications. For this blog post, we focus on two:

Dominican Republic

After listening to many presentations, 100% of the presentation were purely focusing on Melbourne and Victoria (nothing wrong but we need to expand our minds). I wanted to hear something international and we had one! The speaker is senior consultant and signed up for Australian Aid Volunteers program (a Australian federal program of sending professional and technical volunteers to developing program.

When she saw the opportunity, she met the language and technical requirements needed for the volunteer. She was posted to one year in Dominican Republic for GIS implementation in Emergency Management. Dominican Republic is subjected to multiple hurricanes, tropical storms and earthquakes (let's remind ourselves of Haitian earthquake in 2010).

Her assignment was to coordinate and establish a multi-agency geospatial team for disaster management (EIGEO). It was built under the recommendation from United Nations. The purpose of EIGEO is to gather, store and produce information for Emergency Commission (Dominican Republic)

First challenges she faced:

• Difficulty in obtaining GIS data or outdated GIS data
• No trained GIS staff
• Uncoordinated GIS activities and lack of sharing of data among government agencies
• Politicized environment which acts as an impediment for data sharing
• Work culture which is very different to Australia

Process of setting up EIGEO:

• Creation of National Information Systems for Disaster Management
• Built on Open GIS tools
• Identify and follow-up on dataset gathering
• Building a system
• Activation and response during Emergency
• Create a GIS crisis team
• Developing protocols in emergency response
• Training in QGIS, radar interpretation and other geospatial aspects
• Collection and organizing the data
• Identifying gaps in the datasets
• Spatial analysis such as hydrological analysis (since hurricanes and tropical storms do affect the Republic)
• Seeking support from international organization

The biggest challenge identified:

• Sustainability of the project. The concern is whether EIGEO and the project itself will continue in light of cutbacks of Australian aid budget

Changing Melbourne

The final presenter is a GIS analyst within urban planning company. His presentation was pulling publicly available 1945 imagery of Melbourne and overlaying with current imagery using Mapbox (his personal initiative). Basically, we got the chance to see the huge changes between post-war and current Mellbourne. The link is here.

Some quick overview changes we saw:

• Significant American military presence in Melbourne in 1945. Today, most areas has been converted to industrial or residential areas
• Former farm and orchard areas in Melbourne fringes have been converted to massive housing estates and Melbourne International Airport (Tullamarine)

Read more here.

Assetic User Conference

Assetic Board during the Conference

 Saroo Brierly

My company organize biennial conferences to bring our clients and partners to discuss and learn where our software is heading too. Although the focus is heavily on asset management and how the software are capable of solving your needs, GIS is not ignored in anyway. Part of the conference itinerary was an inspirational speech by Saroo Brierley.

Some of us has watched the brief story of Saroo. He was invited to our conference to present his story - the quest to see his long-lost family back in India. More importantly, the way he found his family was through memory maps and Google Earth. Hence, mapping(!) is so critical in removing the burden in his shoulder- where is his family.

Saroo and how Google Earth helped in his family search

He got lost in a train to Calcutta (Kolkata) and he was adopted temporarily in orphanage. He was subsequently adopted by Tasmanian family and offering him the love and the family he lost. As he grew older, he had a burning desire to find his family. Using his photographic memory of landmarks of his suburb and his train journey, he began to search in atlases where his family resides. As time proceeded, Google Earth began to help him though internet (up to 2011) was very slow. With advent of broadband internet, he began to ramp up his efforts in tracing exactly where the village was.

Finally, one morning, he received a big surprise. He has nailed his area in Google Earth and found the name of the town. He contacted the FB administrator of town to verify the name of his birth area. After receiving correction, he organized flight to India. He arrived in his town, struggled a bit to find his old home and he wasn't sure whether he was in the right town. Finally, after talking to locals, he found his old home and met his mother for the first time in 20+ years! It was an emotional story for the audience who were listening

Location Analytics

A senior ESRI Business Manager spoke at the conference the importance on leveraging location in areas of asset management. ESRI has a vision of enterprise collaboration and encouraging data sharing within the clients.

She stressed that location is very important aspect in our lives. More so, the next 5 billion internet users may no longer use desktop PC to access internet. Hence, the organizations like councils and ESRI need to build scaleable apps to accommodate the new need and approach to internet.

She mentioned in Australia up to 67% of the population use smartphone, nearly 15 million internet users and each Australian (those who access internet) use up to 3 devices to access internet. Plus, commercialisation of IT meant our home internet experience will brought across to our work places. Hence, we need scaleable apps

ESRI presenter on ArcGIS online and integration with predictive conditions of roads

She stressed once more than spatial data is critical for organizations and government functions. Maps are vital for our progress and no longer under pure GIS/geography domain. She also demonstrated how ArcGIS Online helped the local government to visualize the road conditions in the next 10 years.

This concludes my report today

Surveying Question? I forgot....

This post is not about learning or understanding something new. However, this short post is warning to my friends (or readers) who are studying architecture, civil engineers, urban planners and environmental engineer. All of you would undertake one or two short courses on GIS and surveying.

Sample survey plan from New Zealand (not related to client site)

Recently a friend of mine asked me two separate questions on surveying. First, he was asking about backsight and foresight (leveling). I have distanced away from surveying for past three years. Basically, he was asking to clarify Rise and Fall Method. I did quick internet search and mentioned to my friend there are some important principles.

Rise and Fall Method is one of the ways to transfer heights from one fixed point to multiple points. This process is called leveling. A surveyor start out at fixed permanent datum (height) and carrying the heights along a distance (of selected points). It is important procedure in construction works.

To learn more about Rise and Fall method, read here

If you read the article above, the important principles in this method are:

• the difference between the sum of the rises and the sum of the falls, and
• the difference between the first and the final R.L. or vice versa.

The second matter of surveying got bit complicated. My friend had to compile a survey request and scout out a suitable quotation. A feature survey for a future development site. First question I got asked is what is feature survey? Personally I was unsure what is it all about and I thought it included cadastral boundaries. I quickly checked with my professional surveyor contact what exactly is feature survey. There were three types of feature surveys (from purely locating things to complete boundary determination). He recommended to me that it is best my friend to discuss directly with a surveying firm,

I assisted my friend in writing a simple survey request for quotation which included dimensions and other engineering features to be identified. Now, my friend got some quotes and we leave it here which surveying firm will be chosen.

The points here:

1. If you are town planner, architecture, civil engineer or environmental scientists, never, never forget what you learnt in surveying and GIS. It will haunt in your career
2. Especially when it comes to surveying, if you are unsure about definitions, it is best to direct your client/affected friend to the surveying firm. Surveying covers legal matter and hence, as a GIS professional, you just need to exercise caution when advising.

Mapping Tale in South America : Ecuador

After visiting Venezuela for 14 days, I visited Andean country of Ecuador. The name of the country is the living memory of French geodesic expedition of 1700s. While the purpose of my travels wasn't about mapping, I manage to integrate some mapping elements into the trip.

Instituto Geografico Militar (IGM)

IGM is the official state mapping agency of Ecuador and by reading the name, you have an idea that is under Ministry of Defence. It is perched on a southern hill in Quito (the capital) and many locals may associate IGM with the planetarium which is next door to the IGM building. As this is military area, you are required to carry your identification card and park the car according to military standards (you face car front to the road).

I visited IGM on two purposes: To obtain maps and Ecuadorian atlas and secondly, to get a proper contact within IGM. The previous day, I visited Cotopaxi which is the most famous volcano in the country. I was looking for topographic maps of Cotopaxi. It was Thursday morning and the counters were severely understaff. Most of the people walking around happens to come from the Ecuadorean military. I waited for my number and IGM was a paradise for map lovers. There was a huge (I mean huge) topographic map of Ecuador (1:500 000) - click on the link here (choose Mapa Fisico del Ecuador). Me and my friends spent our short time observing we have traveled for the past two days and where would we be going after IGM. My friends were attracted by aerial photography of key geographical sites in Ecuador which were found on the walls.

The time came for me to ask the staff what was the index number of maps of Cotopaxi. I have to purchase two maps (1:50 000) to get complete outlook of Cotopaxi - each costed around 3.60 USD (which is very cheap). This is where things got bit frustrating for me and my friends. The buyer of the map pays in one counter and get a receipt. Then, we need to queue and present the receipt to the plotter. It is UNFORTUNATE to see that they do not have existing printed maps of Cotopaxi. This costed our time at the office. Since the map produced is around A2 size, I have requested the plotter staff to fold it. He pointed to me to go to another counter where we present the receipt and get the staff to fold the maps. Finally, we sign off at the receipts that IGM has completed the works we need.

So next time you visit IGM and to purchase the product, please allocate some time for the printing and folding of the product.

I was told that IGM do not publish the national Atlas of Ecuador in print. However, you can view the digital version here : http://www.geoportaligm.gob.ec/portal/ . Got to GeoEduca, then Nivel Basico, you see the links to National Atlas of Ecuador 2013. Everything you need to know the Ecuador is in the atlas.

Back to the topographic maps of Ecuador (only basing 1:50 000), I noticed some interesting things:

i) The maps they sold to me were outdated (currency was ranging 14 -25 years ago).

ii) These two maps were produced at two different timings. You notice a difference that can't escape from your eyes.

2000 1:50 000 Topographic Map of Cotopaxi

The above map was produced with the collaboration with National Imagery and Mapping Agency (now NGIA) from America. Due to this, it is rarity to see the English legend and glossary presented hand-in hand with the Spanish Equivalent on Ecuadorian topographic map

English-Spanish legend and glossary for 2000 Topographic Map of Cotopaxi

The below map was purely prepared in Spanish and complete in its compilation in 1989. It covered northern part of Cotopaxi.

Mitad del Mundo

Mitad del Mundo from the monument in Quito

What is the reason why Ecuador named as it is? For those who are versed in Geodesy knowledge, Ecuador played an important role in shaping our understanding of Earth's shape. We all know the Earth bulges on the equator. However, many centuries, there was huge controversy and debate on shape of the Earth. Newton stated that Earth bulges on the equator and flattens on the pole (oblate spheroid) while Cassini theory state otherwise. To put an end to the debate, French government organized expeditions to Finland and Spanish colonized Ecuador in late 1700s. The main aim to find any difference between one degree latitude at the higher latitudes and the equator.

If you visit Mitad del Mundo, they have a building dedicated to explore the geodesic history and expedition to Ecuador. I traveled a significant length from Quito to Banos along the Andes. What I was surprised the expedition for geodesic measurement covered far greater lengths than my journey (going to Cuenca).Triangulation involved for the measurement went from one summit to another. One can imagine the difficulty of doing triangulation on steep slopes and clouds obscuring the sightings.

The outcome of the expedition proved the theory of Newton and most importantly, giving the name of the territory to become Ecuador (if not, it may the country could have been named as Quito?). The geodesic expedition brought the Enlightenment values to Ecuador, which was locked in Spanish world. This paved the independence movement in Ecuador and subsequently, kicking out Spanish rulers.

Mitad del Mundo, in theory, situated the equator. There is some discrepancy on the width and exact position of Ecuador. It was surprising to hear that indigenous people came to very close conclusion where the equator is situated.

Today it is a tourist site where geospatial and non-geospatial people visit regularly to experience the two hemispheres (like Greenwich)

Data Solution

As mentioned on the first subheading, I got the chance to visit IGM. As I was traveling with my friends, one of them happened to be an architect. He mentioned to me that when he produce plan for architecture, he digitize the roads manually. He wanted to ask at IGM (since the opportunity) where he can purchase the vector dataset of roads in Quito. Unfortunately, our time was very limited and we didn't get the chance to ask.

Hence, from my years of experience, the solution is open data. That means my friend does not need to fork out money or travel to buy the data. He can do from at home. He just need to know where he can get it. But the challenge, he needs .dwg format (AUTOCAD format). I was thinking to do a conversion from shapefile to .dwg but for his interest, I sought a website that offer ready made .dwg format.

After much search (after return back to Australia), I found a website which offer the data he needs (focusing just on Quito). The wesbite is https://cadmapper.com/ (For Architects, important!)

All in all, all the mapping elements were covered in one day of my trip in Ecuador. I hope all readers are enlightened by some sites to be visited in Ecuador and some solutions for Architects. 

Looking Back!

It is time of the year (hopefully not too late) to examine what the blog has achieved and how you helped the blog in these achievements

Early in the year, I have made the point to shift the focus from Malaysian centric topics to mapping centric topics. Yes, I achieved this as the posts are reflecting a balance level of topics on Malaysia and the world.

Let's examine some of the consultancy works I did in 2014:

•  Producing a simple map of Mauritian region for architectural project
•  Developing a fast way to identify a new centre line for a new road in an Australian City
•  Listing out the principles of geographical naming in Malaysia (in English) for external  consultant
•  Advising and working with my Election NGO on cartographic matters for electoral  delimitation
•  Strategic advice on how to improve cartographic design in ArcGIS
•  Advice my Ecuadorian architect friend where to get free vector data of his country

Some of my major works I completed in 2014:

• Completion of my biggest ever digitally published map (Map of Venezuela)
• Publishing a simple map where free WIFI spots in Penang
• Collaborated with team of professional and student cartographers to produce a linguistic map of Melbourne for IMIA conference using CartoDB
• Launching official twitter page for the blog @daneshatlas 

Some of the key mapping events I have attended in 2014:

• Visualizing Data by Geoplex (February 2014)
• Attending the International Map Industry Association (IMIA) Conference for third time

How did you help the blog in these achievements?

• Sharing, retweeting and Google+ my blog posts
• Commenting on my works on my blog and social media
• Seeking advice from me on cartographic matters!

The question how did my works helped you?

Let's see how the blog evolve to in 2015

Thank you all!