On 11/16/2013 03:43 PM, Dan Dittmann wrote:
On Nov 15, 2013, at 7:09 PM, Sasa Sullivan wrote:
I am learning QGIS and know the general instructions on how to color
code areas through the Style feature but am not able to get a
distinct color per state for a map of the USA, maybe it is my source
as I don't see one listed that encompasses the state shape only.
Also I only need the state, city and county boundaries, if someone
has a scaled down Open Source shape files for the USA it would be
helpful as I don't have unlimited hard drive space for the ones I
have found
Sasa
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Hello Sasa,
Without knowing where your data was obtained, I cannot speculate on
the trouble encountered. The instructions below assume QGIS 2.01 is
used and should be usable with adjustments on older versions as well.
First lets get some data. The National Atlas website has numerous
shape files available for download. Most of what you are looking for
should be available
fromhttp://nationalatlas.gov/atlasftp.html?openChapters=%2Cchpbound#chpbound.
In this demo, I will be using the State Boundaries, One Million-Scale
layer available for download at
http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/pub/data/nationalatlas/statep010_nt00798.tar.gz.
- Extract the archive and import the file statep010.shp into QGIS.
- Open the Properties dialog for the imported layer.
- Click Style from the column on the left.
- Locate the menu "Single Symbol" and change that to "Categorized".
- Change the Column menu to "State" Click the Classify button.
- Click OK.
You now have a basic US Map with each state colored with a unique color.
Dan
Sasa,
The Census provides generalized shapes at
http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/tiger-cart-boundary.html, in
addition to the high-precision TIGER/Line files.
I would also look at Natural Earth which is a dataset designed for
cartography at different scales. Their "Admin 1 - States Provinces"
dataset will include the US and other countries' subnational units.
Their data also includes various "mapcolorX" columns so that you can use
a categorical theme as described by Dan to style your map with X colors,
with no states touching another state styled with the same color.
Best,
--Lee
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