Mergin Maps

# Opening Surveyed Data on Your Computer

In the last tutorial you learnt how to capture field data using Mergin Maps mobile app.

In this tutorial you'll learn how to transfer your project and data from mobile device to computer in seconds using the powerful QGIS and Mergin Maps combination. QGIS Documentation QGIS (opens new window) is a free and open source desktop GIS package. The mobile app is based on QGIS, which means it's able to visualise and edit data in the same way QGIS can. This offers us great flexibility which we'll start to see in a moment.

# Before we start

To open the project and field data on the computer, we will need to do some setup. Before going to the next steps, please:

# Putting your project in the cloud

  1. Open Mergin Maps mobile app and navigate to the Home tab. Tap the Upload button next to the project's name.

    If you are logged in, the project will be uploaded to Mergin Maps cloud and you can continue to the next step opening your project in QGIS.

    Mergin Maps mobile app upload project to cloud

  2. If you are not logged in, you will be asked to. Enter your Mergin Maps credentials and Sign In
    Mergin Maps mobile app Login page

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    If you don't have an account yet, create one! Tap Sign up for free and sign up to Mergin Maps.

  3. Once you are logged in, press the Upload button again to upload your project to the Mergin Maps cloud.

    Notice that the name of your workspace is displayed along with the project's name (here, the workspace is called sarah)

    Mergin Maps mobile app uploaded project

Now that your project is in the cloud, it can easily be shared with colleagues or downloaded to your computer.

# Locating and opening your project

Now that the project is stored in Mergin Maps cloud, we can open it in QGIS.

  1. Open QGIS on your computer

  2. Make sure you have already installed and configured Mergin Maps QGIS plugin

  3. Find the Mergin Maps entry in the QGIS Browser panel.
    QGIS Browser Mergin Maps projects

    Notice that the name of the current workspace (here: sarah) is displayed next to Mergin Maps and the projects in this workspace are listed below.

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    If you cannot see the Browser panel, ensure it's enabled under View (top-level menu) > Toolbars.

  4. Right-click on the project and select Download
    QGIS Browser download Mergin Maps project

  5. Select a folder where you want to store your project locally.

    For example, here we will create a folder for storing Mergin Maps projects called MerginMaps Projects. It is also possible to select an existing folder.

    Folder for saving Mergin Maps projects

    After selecting a folder, Mergin Maps QGIS plugin will automatically create a subfolder based on the project's name and download the project there.
    Downloading Mergin Maps project to the computer

  6. Open the project when prompted:
    QGIS prompt Do you want to open project?

Your survey project is now open in QGIS and you can see the data you captured in the field.
Mergin Maps project opened in QGIS

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If you're new to QGIS we really recommend getting some basic familiarity with the software. QGIS Documentation QGIS User Guide (opens new window) and QGIS Documentation QGIS Training Manual (opens new window) are great resources to get acquainted with QGIS and its functionality.

QGIS is a powerful tool with a great community that can help you achieve a lot!

# Extracting data from QGIS

Users who are not already familiar with GIS may be wondering how they can extract their data into familiar tools like MS Office and how to access their photographs.

There are many ways how you can extract the data. Here we'll just cover the basics.

  1. Locate the Survey layer in the Layers panel:
    Survey layer in Layers panel in QGIS

  2. Right-click on the Survey layer and find the Export option. Here, select Save Features As...:
    QGIS Export Save features as

  3. Save Vector Layers as... dialog opens. Here you can define the export parameters:

    • Set Format to Comma Separated Value [CSV]
    • Specify an output File name
    • Uncheck Add saved file to map

    Click OK to export the file. The resulting CSV file can be opened in various applications such as MS Excel or even in a common text editor.

    QGIS Export Save layer as CSV

# Locating captured photos

Photos that you took as a part of your field survey are located in the Mergin Maps project folder. In this case, we saved our project in Documents\MerginMaps Projects so the photos can be found here.

Photos located in Mergin Maps project folder

# Identify features tool

You can also use QGIS to explore the data you surveyed in the field.

  1. Select the Survey layer in the Layers panel. The layer should be highlighted.

  2. Select the Identify Features tool:
    QGIS Identify features in selected layer

  3. Click on a survey point. A form with feature's attribute should open:
    Attributes form in QGIS

# Summary

In this tutorial you learnt how to view a survey project you created on your mobile device with Mergin Maps mobile app on your desktop computer using QGIS. You also learnt how to export captured data for use in spreadsheets and how to access photos you captured in the field.

QGIS offers many options to create and set up more complex projects than the basic project we have created in the mobile app - as you can see in the next tutorial.

← Creating a Project in QGIS →