Hi Jel,
one common misunderstanding is that GIS is about maps. IMHO it is not.
GIS is about (spatial) data and _one_ thing you can do with them is
output them as a map. When you load data into QGIS they are, well, data.
You have to color them, label them etc. to make a map. I recommend the
QGIS user guide, especially chapters 2 (Introduction to GIS) and 4
(Working with vector data).
All the best
Bernhard
Am 24.08.2011 07:11, schrieb Jel Coward:
Hi all
Briefly - I am new to GIS and to QGIS. Running on ubuntu 10.04 LTS.
Motivation - to be able to generate and manipulate maps (I work with
Search and Rescue in BC (by work, I mean, I do it for free :) - and a
desire to understand mapping better.
I thought I would start with trying to get QGIS to open/display a map of
our local area.
I went here
http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/geogratis/en/option/select.do?id=5460AA9D-54CD-8349-C95E-1A4D03172FDF&datasets=092j07
<http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/geogratis/en/option/select.do?id=5460AA9D-54CD-8349-C95E-1A4D03172FDF&datasets=092j07>
and downloaded the ESRI shape file - which turns out to be a zip file of
a bunch of files.
I opened QGIS to a blank project and tried opening all the files via
'add vector layer'
I got a list of layers, all checked, on the left and something that
might be a map on the right :-) Indeed I think I recognise some
shapes/patterns, but there are no labels for places, and nothing really
resembling a usable map.
........now I know that this is my lack of understanding and not a qgis
failing. Can anyone help get me kick-started a little here please? (or
just get me kicked if that fees better :)
Many thanks all - and many thanks to the devels and community for
producing this great open-source product.
Cheers
Jel Coward
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