4. Managing Data Attributes

Attributes for vector data are stored in a table. (In a Shapefile vector format, this is contained in a separate file with dbf extension). A table is like a spreadsheet. Each column in the table is called a field. Each row in the table is a record. Each of the records in the attribute table in a GIS corresponds to one feature. The application “links” the attribute records with the feature geometry so that you can find records in the table by selecting features on the map, and find features on the map by selecting features in the table. Each field in the attribute table contains contains a specific type of data such texts, numbers or date.

4.1. Viewing Data Attributes

In QGIS you can easily view data attributes by either selecting the feature within the layer of interest or opening the full table.

1. To display the attribute table , select the Administrative boundaries layer in Map Legend panel. In the Menu, select View ‣ mActionIdentify Identify Features. Or just click the mActionIdentify Identify Features in the toolbar.

2. Click on any polygon in the map to show the feature attributes.

_images/identify_features.png

3. To view the attribute table similar to a spreadsheet, select the Administrative boundaries layer in the Map Legend. Right-click the layer and select Open Attribute Table.

_images/open_table_annot.png

4. A new window will appear showing the full table of the data layer. You can browse and edit the attribute table within this window.

_images/table_attributes.png

A full explanation of the tools within the Attribute table window is presented below:

  • mActionUnselectAttributes Unselect All - Remove selection from previous selected records
  • mActionSelectedToTop Move Selection to Top - Move the selected records to the top of the table
  • mActionInvertSelection Invert Selection - Invert selection
  • mActionCopySelected Copy Selected Rows - Copy selected rows to clipboard
  • mActionZoomToSelected Zoom Map to Selected Rows - Zoom map to selected rows
  • mActionToggleEditing Toggle Editing Mode - Toggle editing mode to edit single values of attribute table and to enable functionalities described below.
  • mActionDeleteSelected Delete Selected Features - Delete selected features
  • mActionNewAttribute New Column - This adds a new column in the attribute table. You will be asked to provide attribute details in a new window (name, field type, etc.).
  • mActionDeleteAttribute Delete Column - Delete column (only for PostGIS layers yet)
  • mActionCalculateField Open Field Calculator - Open field calculator to update attribute data based on arithmetic, logical and other calculations

Explore the different tools to understand how each one works.

Tip

Shapefile store attribute data in a separate file with a dbf extension. This is a widely used GIS database format. You can edit the dbf file outside QGIS using a spreadsheet application such as MS Office Excel and OpenOffice Calc, however, caution should be taken in order not to corrupt the files. Make sure you create a backup before editing the data outside QGIS.

4.2. Creating and editing attributes

We will update the Administrative boundaries layer by adding population for each barangay for the census year 2010.

1. Open the attribute table by selecting the Administrative boundaries layer in the Map Legend. Right-click the layer and select Open Attribute Table.

_images/open_table_annot.png

2. Scroll to the right most end of the table. We will add the population data in the pop_2010 column. To enable editing in the attribute table, click the mActionToggleEditing Toggle editing mode. The barangay number are in the barangay column. Start adding the population of each barangay.

_images/open_table_for_editing.png

3. Click again the mActionToggleEditing Toggle editing mode to save your edits.

4.3. Subset displayed data using table queries

QGIS can also limit the display of features to a subset of your data using attribute queries. It follows the standard Structured Query Language (SQL) used by other applications for managing databases. We will subset our data to display only the barangays within a specific district.

1. Select Administrative boundaries. Right-click and select Filter...

_images/layer_query.png

A new window Query Builder will appear.

_images/query_window.png

2. In the Query Builder, double-click mun_distri in the Field section, then, click the = in the Operators section, then click the Sample in the Values section and finally, double-click Quiapo.

_images/query_window_sql.png

The result will be displayed in the SQL where clause text box as,

"mun_distri" = 'Quiapo'

This SQL simply means that within the mun_distri attribute column, we will select and display only the district polygons of Quiapo.

3. Click Test. If there are no errors in your SQL, click OK. The Administrative boundaries should show the subset of features in your Map View.

_images/query_window_sql_result.png

4. Style your queried layer showing different colors base on the population for the year 2010.

Note

Editing is disabled when the layer is in filter or query mode. In order to edit the layer, disable the query filter.