TUTORIAL
THE USE OF GEOGRAPHICAL DATA BY ONLINE SERVICES ON "GIS DESKTOP" PROGRAMS
ASIG (The State Authority of Geospatial Information) ASIG, which is responsible for the organization and operation of the national geospatial information infrastructure in the Republic of Albania and which defines the general conditions related to the collection, creation, processing, updating, interoperability, access, storage, use and archiving of geospatial information, has enabled the principle of informing the public with official information, access through some online services, some geospatial data. During our work, we often seek geo-spatial information as a reference to display them or to use them in different work materials. Many agencies publish online data, which can be used by GIS programs that we apply during our work practices. The most widespread standards for publishing this online data are WMS (Web Map Service) and WMTS (Web Map Tile Service). These online services are the optimal solution to this because they allow access to geospatial data without having to process them into the GIS programs we use.
The purpose of this material is to explain the way of importing geospatial data through online services to the most popular GIS desktop programs such as ESRI ArcGis and QGIS.
Tutorial on usage of 'Quantum Gis' from Asig
IMPORTING GEOGRAPHICAL DATA THROUGH WMS / WMTS IN QGIS
QGIS, known as Quantum GIS, is a GIS "FREE" and "Open Source" platform that enables viewing, editing, and analyzing geospatial data. This software can be downloaded free at http://www.qgis.org
STEP 1
Open QGIS and go Project - > Project Properties... - > CRS and click on the option Enable 'on the fly' CRS transformation where you can specify the coordinate reference system you will work on. In our case the projection will be ETRS89 / ALBANIA TM 2010 EPSG: 6870, but you can designate for your project and other coordinating systems.
STEP 2: Go to Layer - > Add WMS/WMTS Layer ...
STEP 3: In the window Add Layer(s) from a Server click on the tab New ...
STEP 4: In the new window you opened Create a New wms connection and give a name to your 'connection' . This is not the name of the geospatial information layer, but the name by which QGIS will recognize this service for example ORTOFOTO 2015. Usually a WMS or WMTS service contains several levels of information that can be loaded into your project. While in the URL you must enter the address, or the server that provides this service, where in our case it will be:: https://geoportal.asig.gov.al/service/wmts?request=getCapabilities
In the case of WMTS services, you must click the option "Ignore axis orientation (WMS 1.3 / WMTS)"
Click Ok
STEP 5: At the moment on the tab of the layers you have added the ORTOFOTO service and have to click on the Connect tab
STEP 6: The group with the geospatial data provided by this WMS / WMTS service will be shown
This WMS / WMTS service is under construction, therefore, over the course of time, you may have additions or renaming layers of information. At the moment, the layers you can use are:
- Orthophoto of year 2007 (orthophoto and urban)
- Orthophoto of year 2015 (orthophoto and urban)
- Topographic map 1:10000
- Topographic map 1:25000
- Topographic map 1:50000
- Topographic map 1:100000
- Topographic map 1:200000
We inquire that the official geodetic reference in the Albanian Republic is EPSG: 6870.
If you want to upload, for example, the Ortofoto layer, select the appropriate Layer and click Add
It will be presented to you in the 'MAP VIEW' Orthophoto of the Republic of Albania
STEP 7: To add additional layers of information you should follow the same procedure that is:
Layer - > Add WMS/WMTS Layer...; choose Ortofoto 2015 and click Connect, in this way you can add other layouts according to your requirements
Thank you !