An Overview Of File Geodatabase Drivers For Qgis
Understanding File Geodatabases
A file geodatabase is a geographic database stored in a folder system format on disk. Key capabilities offered by file geodatabases include: (1) storing and managing spatial data in a relational database; (2) support for large file and dataset sizes up to 1 TB; (3) advanced spatial indexing for faster read and write performance; (4) topology rules to maintain data integrity; (5) versioning and archiving for historical tracking and analysis.
The file geodatabase format uses open standards and is platform-independent, allowing full read/write access across Windows and Linux systems. It offers advanced GIS data storage and management capabilities compared to shapefile-based data storage. File geodatabases require less disk space than personal geodatabases to store the same dataset while offering higher performance.
Accessing File Geodatabases in QGIS
Enabling OGR File Geodatabase Driver
To access file geodatabases in QGIS, the OGR File Geodatabase driver must be enabled. This native driver allows QGIS to interact with file geodatabases using OGR library bindings. The driver provides read and write access to file geodatabases along with handling advanced capabilities like feature class topology and networked datasets.
The OGR File Geodatabase driver is included but not enabled by default in QGIS installs. To enable it, go to Settings > Options > GDAL menu. Under “GDAL raster and OGR vector drivers” section, search for “FileGDB” and check the box to enable the driver. Restart QGIS after making this change.
Connecting to File Geodatabase using Data Source Manager
With the OGR File Geodatabase driver enabled, file geodatabases can be directly connected from the Data Source Manager in QGIS. Use the Browser panel and navigate to the folder containing the file geodatabase. Select the .gdb folder itself and click “Add”. This will display the file geodatabase in the QGIS Browser panel and allow adding individual feature classes as layers.
Alternatively, go to Layer > Data Source Manager. Click the Vector tab, select “FileGDB” as the data source type, browse to select the .gdb file to connect to, and click “Add”. This adds the file geodatabase connection to QGIS. Individual feature classes can then be loaded as layers into the project.
Example Code for Adding File Geodatabase Layer
The QgsDataSourceUri class can be used to construct a file geodatabase datasource programmatically and add a layer from it to the map. Here is example Python code:
gdb_path = "/path/to/data.gdb"
uri = QgsDataSourceUri()
uri.setDatabase(gdb_path)
uri.setDataSource("feature_class_name", "geometry_column_name")
layer = iface.addVectorLayer(uri.uri(), "layer name", "ogr")
if not layer.isValid():
print("Layer failed to load!")
This constructs a datasource URI for the file geodatabase path and given feature class within it. The iface.addVectorLayer() method adds this layer to the map. Validity of the layer can be checked before further usage in analysis or editing.
Working with Feature Classes
Viewing and Styling Feature Classes
With a file geodatabase connected in QGIS through the Data Source Manager, its feature classes can be viewed and styled for visualization. To load a feature class as a layer, double-click the desired feature class under the connected file geodatabase in the Browser panel. This adds it to the Layers panel.
Right-click the layer and select Properties to access the Layer Styling panel. Here various symbols, colors, labeling, and rendering can be configured to control how the feature class geometries are displayed on the map canvas. Geometry generator and rule-based styling also allow advanced visualization based on attributes.
Editing Attributes in a Feature Class Table
The attribute table associated with a file geodatabase feature class can be edited in QGIS to update, add, or delete records. With the feature class layer active in the Layers panel, select it and go to Layer > Open Attribute Table. This opens the table in editing mode.
To edit or add records, enable editing by clicking the Toggle Editing toolbar button. Edits can now be made to cell values in the attribute table. Additional records can also be digitized by capturing geometries in the map canvas. On completion, save edits and stop the editing session.
Using Select by Attributes and Select by Location
QGIS offers Select by Attribute and Select by Location tools to query and select subsets of features from a file geodatabase feature class based on SQL-like expressions and spatial relationships. This allows focusing analysis on specific data selections.
For example, to select only residential land use polygons with area over 5000 square meters, build an attribute query expression like “landuse” = ‘Residential’ AND “shape_area” > 5000. The selected subset can then be saved to a separate layer for further specialized analysis.
Spatial selections can also be made, like selecting all pipelines within 100 meters of a river feature class to assess proximity-based risk using the Select by Location tool.
Analyzing Data in File Geodatabase
Performing Basic Analysis on Feature Classes
The native analysis tools in QGIS like distance and area calculations can be directly used on file geodatabase feature classes. Geometry related analysis using $length, $perimeter, $area are supported in the field calculator.
The vector analysis tools also work on file geodatabase layers, allowing operations like centroids calculation, summing lengths and areas of selected features, basic statistics of attributes, heatmaps and spatial joins.
Geoprocessing Tools Compatible with File Geodatabase
The Processing toolbox in QGIS provides advanced geoprocessing tools and algorithms like clip, intersection, dissolve that can be used with file geodatabase layers to gain insights.
Key capabilities like multi-part geometries, topology rules, subtypes, and domains are fully compatible. This allows complex analysis by leveraging the enhanced structure offered by the file geodatabase model while using native QGIS processing algorithms.
Example Code for Intersection Analysis Using Geoprocessing
# Load input feature classes
roads_layer = iface.addVectorLayer("/data.gdb|layername=roads", "", "ogr")
contours_layer = iface.addVectorLayer("/data.gdb|layername=contours", "", "ogr")
# Prepare output file geodatabase
output_gdb = QgsVectorFileWriter.writeAsVectorFormat(contours_layer, "/output.gdb",
driverName="FileGDB", onlySelected=False)
# Run intersection analysis
processing.run("native:intersection",
{'INPUT': roads_layer,
'OVERLAY': contours_layer,
'OUTPUT': output_gdb})
# Add and verify output layer
intersection_layer = iface.addVectorLayer("/output.gdb|layername=intersection", "", "ogr")
if not intersection_layer.isValid():
print ("Intersection failed")
else:
print("Intersection performed on file geodatabase layers")
This performs an intersection analysis between roads and contours feature classes from a file geodatabase. The output intersection layer is written to a separate file geodatabase showing compatibility with geoprocessing workflows.
Sharing and Distributing File Geodatabases
Exporting File Geodatabases
To share file geodatabases with other users or export them to other formats, the Export Tool plugin can be used in QGIS. It is available under Plugins > Manage/Install Plugins.
To export a file geodatabase layer, select the layer > Right Click > Export > Save Features As. Choose desired output format like Geopackage or Shapefile, select output location, and click Ok. This converts the file geodatabase feature classes while retaining data fidelity.
Sharing File Geodatabases in the Cloud
For sharing access to file geodatabases over the internet, cloud drives like Google Drive or Dropbox can be utilized as they fully support the file geodatabase format. Multiple users can directly access the published .gdb folder in the cloud drive.
The QGIS Cloud plugin connects cloud storage to the QGIS Browser panel allowing seamless usage like a local drive. Cloud sync plugins also automatically sync edits across users. This enables convenient cloud-based collaboration workflows around file geodatabases.
Example Code for Exporting File Geodatabase to Shapefile
input_gdb = "/bigdata.gdb"
output_folder = "/shared/shapefiles"
for layer in QgsVectorLayer(input_gdb, "", "ogr").dataProvider().subLayers():
name = layer.split('|')[1].split('=')[1]
output_path = os.path.join(output_folder, f"{name}.shp")
print(f"Exporting {name} layer to shapefile")
result = QgsVectorFileWriter.writeAsVectorFormat(layer, output_path, "utf-8",
driverName="ESRI Shapefile")
if result[0] == QgsVectorFileWriter.NoError:
print (f"Successfully exported {name} layer")
print("File geodatabase export complete")
This iterates through all feature classes in the input file geodatabase and exports each one to a shapefile using QgsVectorFileWriter in a batch process. The output shapefiles are written to a shared folder for distribution.
