Summary

GPS data is commonly downloaded in tabular format. In this tutorial, you will learn how to display and save tabular point data as a shapefile in QGIS.

What You’ll Learn in this Tutorial

• Load and display a text-delimited table as a spatial layer in QGIS
• Import GPS point data from a CSV file
• Export spatial data to shapefile format
• Work with GPS data collected in Windsor, Ontario

Prerequisites

• Install the latest QGIS LTR here.
• Download and unzip the tutorial data here.

1. Create a New QGIS Project

1. Open QGIS 3.x and make sure the Browser Panel is open.
2. Load OSM basemap from the Browser Panel.
3. Set the project CRS to EPSG:26917.
4. Add the Manage Layers Toolbar – this is a handy toolbar to have. It loads on the left side of the screen by default.
5. Expand the tutorial folder and add the gps_points.csv file to QGIS.
6. Open the attribute table to examine the data.
7. If you had to guess, are the points in UTM or Lat/Long?
8. Indeed, the points are in UTM, EPSG:26917 (UTM Zone 17N to be exact). In the best circumstances, when importing GPS data, we will know the CRS.
9. Note that the CSV file loads as a table – no points are displayed on the map. Lets fix that.
10. Remove the CSV file from the project (right-click layer > remove).

2. Convert the CSV file into a Spatial Layer

1. On the Manage Layers Toolbar, click on the Add Delimited Text Layer, and do the following:
   • Select the CSV file in the tutorial folder.
   • Make sure file format is set to CSV.
   • Make sure the checkbox “First record has field names” is selected.
   • Under Geometry Definition, Point Coordinates should be selected and the X and Y columns should be automatically selected. If not, select the proper columns.
   • For Geometry CRS, select EPSG:26917
   • Click Add and click Close.
   • The GPS points should now appear on the map (right click on the gps_points layer and click Zoom to Layer).
2. Export the new layer to a shapefile:
   • Right-click on the layer > Export > Save Features As
   • Change Format to Shapefile.
   • Select the shapefile name and save location.
   • Click OK.
   • The new shapefile should load on the map.