.. Purpose: This chapter aims to describe the general interaction one can have with a project file that does not belong to another particular section. .. index:: Projects .. _`project_files`: *************************** Working with Project Files *************************** .. only:: html .. contents:: :local: .. index:: Projects .. _sec_projects: Introducing QGIS projects ========================= The state of your QGIS session is called a project. QGIS works on one project at a time. A settings can be project-specific or an application-wide default for new projects (see section :ref:`gui_options`). QGIS can save the state of your workspace into a :ref:`QGIS project file ` using the menu options :menuselection:`Project -->` |fileSave| :menuselection:`Save` or :menuselection:`Project -->` |fileSaveAs| :menuselection:`Save As...`. .. note:: If the project has been modified the ``*`` symbol will appear in the title bar and QGIS will, by default, ask you if you would like to save the changes. This behavior is controlled by the |checkbox| :guilabel:`Prompt to save project and data source changes when required` setting under :menuselection:`Settings --> Options --> General`. You can load existing projects into QGIS from the Browser panel or by through :menuselection:`Project -->` |fileOpen| :menuselection:`Open...`, :menuselection:`Project --> New from template` or :menuselection:`Project --> Open Recent -->`. At startup, a list of :guilabel:`Project Templates` and :guilabel:`Recent Projects` are displayed, including screenshots, names and file paths (for up to ten projects). The :guilabel:`Recent Projects` list is handy to access recently used projects. Double-click an entry to open the project or project template. Right-click an entry to :guilabel:`Pin to List`, :guilabel:`Open Directory...` or :guilabel:`Remove from List`. You can also add a layer to create a new project automatically. The lists will then disappear, giving way to the map canvas. If you want to clear your session and start fresh, go to :menuselection:`Project -->` |fileNew| :menuselection:`New`. This will prompt you to save the existing project if changes have been made since it was opened or last saved. When you open a fresh project, the title bar will show ``Untitled Project`` until you save it. .. _figure_new_project: .. figure:: img/new_project.png :align: center Starting a new project in QGIS The information saved in a project file includes: * Layers added * Which layers can be queried * Layer properties, including symbolization and styles * Layer notes * Projection for the map view * Last viewed extent * Print layouts * Print layout elements with settings * Print layout atlas settings * Digitizing settings * Table Relations * Project Macros * Project default styles * Plugins settings * QGIS Server settings from the OWS settings tab in the Project properties * Queries stored in the DB Manager The project file is saved in XML format (see :ref:`qgisprojectfile`). This means that it is possible to edit the file outside of QGIS if you know what you are doing. The project file format has been updated several times. Project files from older QGIS versions may not work properly any more. .. note:: By default, QGIS will warn you of version differences. This behavior is controlled in the :guilabel:`General` tab of :menuselection:`Settings --> Options` (|checkbox| :guilabel:`Warn when opening a project file saved with an older version of QGIS`). Whenever you save a ``.qgs`` project file in QGIS, a backup of the file is created in the same directory as the project file, with the extension ``.qgs~``. The extension for QGIS projects is ``.qgs`` but when saving from QGIS, the default is to save using a compressed format with the ``.qgz`` extension. The ``.qgs`` file is embedded in the ``.qgz`` file (a zip archive), together with its associated sqlite database (``.qgd``) for :ref:`auxiliary data `. You can get to these files by unzipping the ``.qgz`` file. .. note:: The :ref:`vector_auxiliary_storage` mechanism makes a zipped project particularly useful, since it embeds auxiliary data. .. _`saveprojecttodb`: Projects can also be saved/loaded to/from a PostgreSQL database using the following Project menu items: * :menuselection:`Project --> Open from` * :menuselection:`Project --> Save to` Both menu items have a sub-menu with a list of extra project storage implementations (PostgreSQL and GeoPackage). Clicking the action will open a dialog to pick a GeoPackage connection and project or a PostgreSQL connection, schema and project. Projects stored in Geopackage or PostgreSQL can also be loaded through the QGIS browser panel, either by double-clicking them or by dragging them to the map canvas. .. _handle_broken_paths: Handling broken file paths ========================== When opening a project, QGIS may fail to reach some data sources due to unavailable service/database, or to a renamed or moved file. QGIS then opens the :guilabel:`Handle Unavailable Layers` dialog, referencing the unfound layers. You can: * Double-click in the :guilabel:`Datasource` field, adjust the path of each layer and click :guilabel:`Apply changes`; * Select a row, press :guilabel:`Browse` to indicate the correct location and click :guilabel:`Apply changes`; * Press :guilabel:`Auto-Find` to browse the folders and try to automatically fix all or selected broken path(s). Be aware that the browsing may take some time. * Ignore the message and open your project with the broken path(s) by clicking :guilabel:`Keep Unavailable Layers`. Your layer is then displayed in the :guilabel:`Layers` panel, but without any data until you fix the path using the |indicatorBadLayer| :sup:`Unavailable layer!` icon next to it in the :guilabel:`Layers` panel, or :guilabel:`Repair Data Source...` in the layer contextual menu. With the :guilabel:`Repair Data Source...` tool, once a layer path has been fixed, QGIS scans through all other broken paths and tries to auto-fix those that have the same broken file path. * |deleteSelected| :guilabel:`Remove Unavailable Layers` from the project. .. _`sec_output`: Generating output ================= .. index:: Print layout, Quick print, World file single: Output; Save as image There are several ways to generate output from your QGIS session. We have already discussed saving as a project file in :ref:`sec_projects`. Other ways to produce output files are: * Creating images: :menuselection:`Project --> Import/Export -->` |saveMapAsImage| :menuselection:`Export Map to Image...` outputs the map canvas rendering to an image format (PNG, JPG, TIFF...) at custom scale, resolution, size, ... Georeferencing the image is possible. See :ref:`exportingmapcanvas` for more details. * Exporting to PDF files: :menuselection:`Project --> Import/Export --> Export Map to PDF...` outputs the map canvas rendering to PDF at custom scale, resolution, and with some advanced settings (simplification, georeferencing, ...). See :ref:`exportingmapcanvas` for more details. * Exporting to DXF files: :menuselection:`Project --> Import/Export --> Export Project to DXF...` opens a dialog where you can define the 'Symbology mode', the 'Symbology scale' and vector layers you want to export to DXF. Through the 'Symbology mode', symbols from the original QGIS Symbology can be exported with high fidelity (see section :ref:`create_dxf_files`). * Designing maps: :menuselection:`Project -->` |newLayout| :menuselection:`New Print Layout...` opens a dialog where you can layout and print the current map canvas (see section :ref:`label_printlayout`). .. Substitutions definitions - AVOID EDITING PAST THIS LINE This will be automatically updated by the find_set_subst.py script. If you need to create a new substitution manually, please add it also to the substitutions.txt file in the source folder. .. |checkbox| image:: /static/common/checkbox.png :width: 1.3em .. |deleteSelected| image:: /static/common/mActionDeleteSelected.png :width: 1.5em .. |fileNew| image:: /static/common/mActionFileNew.png :width: 1.5em .. |fileOpen| image:: /static/common/mActionFileOpen.png :width: 1.5em .. |fileSave| image:: /static/common/mActionFileSave.png :width: 1.5em .. |fileSaveAs| image:: /static/common/mActionFileSaveAs.png :width: 1.5em .. |indicatorBadLayer| image:: /static/common/mIndicatorBadLayer.png :width: 1.5em .. |newLayout| image:: /static/common/mActionNewLayout.png :width: 1.5em .. |saveMapAsImage| image:: /static/common/mActionSaveMapAsImage.png :width: 1.5em