Field surveys with QGIS, Mergin and Input

This video demonstrates how to design field forms and make XYZ tiles (mbtiles) in QGIS, synchronize your project with the Mergin cloud service and use the Input app in the field. Great tools developed by Lutra Consulting (www.lutraconsulting.co.uk/).
A complete free tutorial with all the steps can be found here: ocw.un-ihe.org/course/view.ph...
This video is part of IHE Delft OpenCourseWare. More free resources can be found at www.gisopencourseware.org
For an overview of our GIS courses and info on tailor made trainings and advise see our folder: www.un-ihe.org/sites/default/...
More information about the book "QGIS for Hydrological Applications - Recipes for Catchment Hydrology and Water Management" by Kurt Menke and Hans van der Kwast can be found at the website of Locate Press: www.locatepress.com/hyd
IHE Delft and Nieuwland Geoinformatie offer an online course. It includes support from experienced trainers and you'll get the official QGIS certificate after completion. More info at: www.learning-gis.com
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Credits for OpenStreetMap data: © OpenStreetMap contributors
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[@thuynguyen-vc8os]

It's great to see this video published online in Vietnamese subtitles. Hope my translation is not so far from the origin.

[@lagocardiel]

The plugin, in QGis 3.10, is found in the Process Toolbox, under Raster Tools, Generate XYZ Tiles (MBTiles). I carry out a survey in oil fields, and seeing this tutorial I find the tool more than interesting. Regards from Argentine Patagonia.👌👍

[@LMoneL]

You're such a lifesaver! I've been frustrated for two hours, as I couldn't figure out how to log in to Mergin from QGIS. My teachers video didn't help, but yours did! thank you!

[@vitalikass]

This is absolutely amazing! A must have/know tool for everyone!

[@rdgomt]

Great tutorial. Thanks!

[@Palaeogeobicho]

great tutorial, thanks!

[@ekolenelsonbetobe4711]

Thanks it's been helpful

[@cliffterpher]

Hi Hans! I really enjoy your videos and especially the ones which utilise QGIS, the Mergin plugin and the Input app. However, it would be fantastic if you were able to make a video which shows the details of exactly how you use these in combination with advice of file/folder set-up, how to ensure smooth synchronisation, multiple user practice. It's the practical guidance which I sadly need. Thanks in advance. Cliff

[@saberrazmjooei7141]

Hi Cliff, I second that. We should really put something together for collaborative editing. But meanwhile, you can have a look at this blog post: www.lutraconsulting.co.uk/blog/2019/11/23/input-geodiff/

[@omerviso]

Hello Hans. Thank you for the informative videos. GIS Field apps are definitely a need for every company. I am using QField sometimes. But QField I think only acquires field data offline. I was wondering if Input can also collect field data offline and if Mergin Cloud service is free until a certain number of records. Thank you.

[@HansvanderKwast]

Input can be used for offline data collection and having background layers offline as explained in the video. The Mergin cloud service is open source, so you can install it on your own server. You can also choose for the plans offered by Lutra Consulting: public.cloudmergin.com/pricing

[@sethyyypooooo]

Hi Hans, very informative video. I’ve been using your tutorials (this video in particular) for my university project. I have a question in regards to the photo attribute. Using your tutorial, I noticed that I can only attach a single photo to the feature class. Is there a way to enable you to take multiple pictures for a single feature class? Seems like the only workaround is to make multiple fields in the feature class table titled photo1, photo2 etc.

[@HansvanderKwast]

Here's the solution from Lutra Consulting: merginmaps.com/docs/layer/settingup_forms/#link-multiple-photos-to-a-single-feature

[@sethyyypooooo]

@@HansvanderKwast thank you!

[@terrytucker9339]

Hans, I created the widgets exactly as you showed in your video, however, when I open the attribute table the form does not generate. The field name aliases are correct but it appears as a standard attribute table. Can you give me an idea what the issue may be related to? I am using the 3.10 LTR. Great tutorials! Thank you.

[@HansvanderKwast]

At the bottom of the atribute table you can toggle between table and form view. Maybe that's the solution?

[@terrytucker9339]

@@HansvanderKwast Thank you. That was the issue. I'll blame my carelessness on a year of pandemic. Stay safe.

[@terrytucker9339]

Hans, When accessing this tutorial project in Input, which I created following along with your instructions, the Sentinel base map does not load for either the true of false colour. The OSM map does for both online and offline. What could have caused this issue? I checked the themes that were created for both and they are as you instructed. Thank you, Terry

[@terrytucker9339]

Hans, I also attempted this type of project following the tutorial from your open courseware (Groundwater Mapping). The same issue is happening. The sat. and OSM online layers work perfectly, however the sat. and OSM offline layers do not appear at all. Please advise of potential reasons for this issue. Thank you, Terry

[@HansvanderKwast]

Sorry, I was very busy in the past days. Maybe something changed in QGIS or Input. Which version are you using?

[@terrytucker9339]

@@HansvanderKwast I am using the LTR 3.10 A Coruña.

[@skh8377]

Hi Hans Thanks for sharing video. there is a problem in your tutorial now. Tiles XYZ is incompatible with newer version of QGIS. It is designed for QGIS 3.0 - 3.6.99

[@HansvanderKwast]

I make all my tutorials for the QGIS Long Term Releases (LTR). If you use older or newer versions, please contact the company who makes the product.

[@SteamsMcKenzie]

As of QGIS 3.8, this is a standard tool in the processing toolbox, so there's no plugin to install. (qgis.org/en/site/forusers/visualchangelog38/index.html?highlight=mbtiles#id45)

[@geomatiquepro7494]

Thank you for this amazing tutorial, i have a question how can i synchronize my project !! i mean the ground-truth application and Qgis!!

[@HansvanderKwast]

Thanks. The Input app project data can be synchronized with the Mergin cloud service. And with the Mergin plugin in QGIS you can sync the project between Mergin and QGIS. Full tutorial can be found here: ocw.un-ihe.org/course/view.php?id=11&section=7

[@geomatiquepro7494]

Thank you for your answer.the problem was solved, now i try to adapt this application to my area (Morocco). i prepare my project in Qgis,but the borders that are created do not appear on the map, in your opinion where is the imbalance? Knowing that I tried to change the coordination system but without a result!

[@HansvanderKwast]

If it's not showing up in QGIS the projection is wrong or the layer is hidden below other layers. If the projection is wrong there are several options. Do you know the projection, then assign it. Even if it's different from the project it should show up well due to the on-the-fly reprojection (see my video on projections). Also note there's a difference between assigning the projection in the layer properties and reprojection. The first one should be used only of the wrong projection has been previously assigned. The first check to do now if you can see the layer if you zoom to the layer extent. If it's somewhere outer space you need to assign the correct projection.

[@geomatiquepro7494]

Everything going well in Qgis , the problem it's that, the boundary and other shapefile (Ground Truth) don't appear in the application !! i try to use Google map like a background and sentinel image download from earthexplorer but it's still not working !

[@HansvanderKwast]

That should work if you strictly follow the steps in the tutorial. Are you sure you have (1) added the boundary in all map themes and (2) all vector layers except the survey layers should be set to read only in qgis. Finally check in QGIS if the boundary is not any more in editing mode.

[@naveenkumarshakya4736]

dear sir how can we split parallel multi polylines by other line layer ?

[@HansvanderKwast]

Search for "split lines" in the processing toolbox.

[@erwinpauang3692]

Dear Hans, i'm trying to add a photo that taken from mobile phone I'm a bit unlucky, it doesn't work well when a try to take a picture The error message on my mobile phone is: cannot copy a photo working directory. Each step of my widget setting is just like yours. can you give me a clue? regards, Erwin

[@HansvanderKwast]

I'm not sure, but maybe it has to do with the recent update? Check this blog: www.lutraconsulting.co.uk/blog/2021/10/26/input-scoped-storage-update/ If that's not the solution, please contact Lutra Consulting for support.

[@gregamos7987]

Thanks for the great tutorial. As of June 2021, the Slider widget works in Input! However the Checkbox doesn't seem to work.

[@gregamos7987]

Cancel that: the checkbox does work! My issue now is that the constraint expression for 'Water source' field doesn't actually stop the user (me) from entering any of the values in the value list. OK, solved it: you need to hit the 'Enforce expression constraint' button below the Expression dialog in order to make it stick. (You don't do that in this video). Still, an amazing resource - thanks! I'm using QGIS v3.16, input v0.9.7

[@shaileshshrestha9725]

if i share my project with multiple user, how do i keep track of digitize features by users?

[@saberrazmjooei7141]

Have a look at this: www.lutraconsulting.co.uk/blog/2019/11/23/input-geodiff/ You can see who has added what feature in the track changes

[@kalyan2126]

Hello Sir, how to add latitude and longitude automatically in input app?

[@HansvanderKwast]

You can use the $x and $y expression as default value.

[@MrHaseebzafar1]

please share a tutorial for polygon input type. I am trying by keeping polygon as geometry of my survey gpkg. but it gives "No editable layers" notification. Layer styling shows polygon though.

[@HansvanderKwast]

Have you switched off "Read only" in Project | Properties | Data Sources ?

[@MrHaseebzafar1]

@@HansvanderKwast yes I did that

[@HansvanderKwast]

@@MrHaseebzafar1 Then I don't know. Please contact Lutra Consulting, the developers of the app.

[@MrHaseebzafar1]

@@HansvanderKwast okay, thankyou But can you please make a small tutorial using polygon input type?

[@HansvanderKwast]

@@MrHaseebzafar1 I'm sorry. I can't dedicate time to individual requests for free. If there's a need from my paid projects/courses to make a video on that I'll post it here.

[@TheGameDuke]

I would like to ask smth, I am digitising some trigonometric points and I am editing theirs shape and colour. But when I open the shp, later, they have a default shape and colour, but when I open it as a project they are as I edit them. Pls help me. You videos are awesome

[@HansvanderKwast]

Styles are not automatically saved with the layer, because other users might want to style the data differently. If you want to save the style you have several options (1) save the project, that's what you did, (2) save the style from the styling dialogue to a file. You can choose the QGIS format (.qml) or OGC standard (.sld). You can later load these styles from the styling dialogue. The best solution is to save everything in a GeoPackage. You can save default styles of layers. When you share the GeoPackage with others, these styles will be used.

[@HansvanderKwast]

More about GeoPackage in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGiwn2OXpp2Yb6M

[@HansvanderKwast]

I made a video for you on this topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWGtkIGaob2ZsMk

[@TheGameDuke]

@@HansvanderKwast Awesome!!!

[@Chriscam2you]

Thx for this Hans, it's really great. I've been waiting quite awhile for an option to use Q with iOS devises. For the most part it all functioned very well for me, the survey layer with the field form for data and attribute collection spun out perfectly, worked like a charm. One problem I ran into though, my offline maps were not visible in the 'Input' app for some reason. They generated just fine in 'Q' and displayed there properly. The map theme options are available in 'Input' app, but when I choose either of the offline themes, the background is blank. Any clues what might be going on here? I'm using v3.6 and thinking its time to jump up a few versions, could this have anything to do with my offline maps? I suspect upgrading may drastically change the way all of this works now yes?

[@Chriscam2you]

Update: I upgraded to 'Q'v3.10 (LTR), and then regenerated the offline map layers with builtin xyz tiles (MBTiles) raster tool. I reloaded these to Mergin & Input, but the offline maps are still not visible in 'Input'. I've worked through the whole tutorial 3x now, (twice with my own location and maps), and evrything works perfectly throughout the process with no errors or problems other than the end result of invisble offline maps within 'Input'.

[@HansvanderKwast]

@@Chriscam2you Good that you updated to LTR. Pity the problem was not solved. Are you experiencing this problem only with the MBTiles? If not, than it could be something with the path? I'm not familiar with the perfomance on IOS. Maybe you can check with the developers from Lutra Consulting.

[@Chriscam2you]

@ Hans van der Kwast Yes problem is only with MBTiles. It is a pity because otherwise the entire workflow functions well, is pretty slick, and I’m nearly an expert at it now with multiple repeated run throughs. I will have to contact Lutra, thx again Hans!

[@HansvanderKwast]

@@Chriscam2you Good luck. They're normally fast in solving issues.

[@SimoneDiPrima]

Dear @@Chriscam2you, I have the same problem. Did you received a feedback from Lutra. Did you solved the problem? Many thanks.

[@RK-kv3yo]

Dear Hans van der kwast, I installed Mergin but it is not shown in Browser. could you please help me on how to find it?

[@HansvanderKwast]

Did you restart QGIS and checked if it was there?

[@RK-kv3yo]

@@HansvanderKwast I restarted QGIS and found it in browser but an error is shown '' plugin not configured or QGIS password not set up ''

[@HansvanderKwast]

@@RK-kv3yo That's okay. Now click right on Mergin and configure the user name and password.

[@HansvanderKwast]

Try the Input beta version now on IPhone: www.lutraconsulting.co.uk/blog/2019/09/10/input-on-ios/

[@chachu_puchu]

How to show field photos in qgis

[@HansvanderKwast]

This is explained in Exercise 4 of the book "Discover QGIS 3.x" by Kurt Menke (locatepress.com/dq3). You can also check this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gZXVk2iDhNZ_hpY

[@markbrown6623]

Use the eVis event id tool.

[@deepthishetty9779]

How we can recover deleted data's

[@HansvanderKwast]

It depends where you have synchronized. In the best case you have a copy on several devices. If the project still exists in the Mergin cloud you can track back to the version before the data was deleted.

[@shaileshshrestha9725]

Does value relation widget supported by INPUT ?

[@HansvanderKwast]

I haven't tried that yet. Maybe ask Lutra Consulting who has developed the app or just try it.

[@shaileshshrestha9725]

@@HansvanderKwast thanks for reply. I will try myself. I just downloaded crop mapping project and tried. But crop type constraint is not working. According to the video crop type input must only appear if the land type is cropland choosen. I can choose landtype as wetland and crop as cotton.

[@HansvanderKwast]

In the app the restricted fields show up in red, but it doesn't prevent you from filling this in. I'll check if that can be solved.

[@shaileshshrestha9725]

@@HansvanderKwast If restricted fields can be preventing from filling that will be very nice. I just created my first project and can now confirm that value relation widget doesnot work in APP. Works perfectly within QGIS but sadly not in APP

[@HansvanderKwast]

Can you do a feature request for both issues at github.com/lutraconsulting/input ?

[@chachu_puchu]

next How to open survey file in qgis

[@HansvanderKwast]

You can synchronize back with the Mergin plugin in QGIS or copy the project from the Mergin Cloud website to a local folder.

[@chachu_puchu]

@@HansvanderKwast thanks