Publish QGIS Project

Description

This section explains how to publish a QGIS project with Giswater in QWC2.

Configuration in QGIS

Once we have the QGIS project we want to publish ready, we must configure the project to be valid for QGIS Server. Next, a basic configuration is explained, although all possible configurations are listed later.

For this basic configuration, all information is located in the Properties and QGIS Server tabs in our QGIS project.

In the Service Capabilities tab, check the Enable Service Capabilities option.

In the WMS tab, we should add an Advertised Extent, which will be the initial visible extent of the theme in the viewer. We can calculate it from a layer or use the current extent. Then, add the project’s spatial reference system in CRS Restrictions.

It is recommended to check the Add geometry to the object response option.

This table indicates the configurations in the QGIS project that will influence how the Theme will be displayed in the viewer.

What	Where	Description
Map projection	Project properties → CRS	Map projection used in QWC.
Service metadata	Project properties → QGIS Server → Service Capabilities	They are shown in the theme information dialog, accessible from the title bar of the Layers Tree panel.
Title, keywords	Project properties → QGIS Server → Service Capabilities	Theme title shown in the Themes Selector, and useful keywords for filtering.
Map extent	Project properties → QGIS Server → WMS → Advertised Extent	Extent used as the initial map extent when loading the theme, unless it is overridden in `themesConfig.json`.
Queryable layers	Project properties → Data sources	Marks the layers as identifiable by the client.
Geometry in FeatureInfo	Project properties → QGIS Server → WMS Capabilities → Add geometry to the object response.	Returns geometries in the GetFeatureInfo request. Allows the client to highlight the selected entities.
Layer display field	Vector layer properties → Rendering	Field used in the identification results.
Popup information (Map Tip)	Vector layer properties → Rendering	Content of the Map Tip shown when hovering over the layers, if Map Tips display is enabled in the Layers Tree.
Layer metadata	Layer properties → QGIS Server	Shown in the Layer Information dialog in the client.
Scale range	Layer properties → Rendering → Scale-dependent visibility	Scale range within which the layer is visible; useful for improving performance.
Initial visibility	Layers panel	Initial visibility of layers and groups.
Rendering order	Layers Order Panel or Layers panel	Rendering order of the layers. If reordering is enabled in `config.json`, the order from the Layers Order Panel is ignored.
Print layouts	Layout administrator	Print layouts offered in the Print plugin.
Print layout labels	Layout administrator	Design labels with an ID will be shown in the Print plugin. Note: a label whose ID starts with `__` will not be exposed.
External layers	Layer properties → QGIS Server → Data URL	Marks the layer as external to avoid cascading requests.

Upload project to QWC2

Once we have the configured QGIS project, we must upload it to QWC2. To do so, go to the Themes section in the administration backoffice and upload the .qgs file from the Upload files section.

Create Theme in QWC2

Once the QGIS project has been published, to publish it you need to create a Theme that uses it in QWC2. You can do this from the Themes section and Theme settings.

The first step will be to indicate in Project the corresponding QGIS project name among all the available ones. Then, you need to add the following information:

Title: The title that will be shown in the viewer for this theme.
Thumbnail: The image (Mapthumb) that will be shown in the viewer for this theme.
CRS: The project’s projection. It must match the projection of the QGIS project
Search providers: Active providers for the search.
Default: Check this box so that the Theme is the default when loading the viewer for all users.

There are other interesting fields to configure within the Theme, such as the visualization or print scales, description, etc.

At the end of the form, the background layers that will be shown on the map are added, and you can select one to be active when opening the Theme.

Finally, click the Save button to create the theme.

Giswater Configuration

So that Giswater features work correctly in the viewer, we must configure the Theme in the Giswater configuration from the Giswater config section.

../../../../_images/giswaterconfig_1.png

This configuration is in JSON format; in this configuration the following are indicated:

db_url_read: The Giswater database connection for reading data, defined in pg_service.conf.
db_url_write: The Giswater database connection for writing data, defined in pg_service.conf.
themes: The theme configuration.

Within the configuration of each theme, the following are indicated:

The theme name (as indicated in the theme creation form) as the primary key.
schema: The Giswater database schema where the data is located.
tiled: Whether the theme is tiled or not.
layers: The layer relationship of the QGIS project (name) with the tables or views in the Giswater database.

../../../../_images/giswaterconfig_2.png

Generate service configuration

As the last step, we must generate the services configuration so that QWC2 can use it. To do this, press the Generate service configuration button in the Home section.