Tutorial Requirements

What you will need

In order to work on this assignment, you will need the free, open-source desktop software QGIS. This tutorial will teach you how to download it, and use some of its most useful features.

There are many software options for manipulating, analyzing, and visualizing geospatial data. QGIS is a favorite, as it is free, lightweight, and doesn’t require a login or license. If you learn QGIS now, you’ll be able to use it and all of its functionalities long after you graduate.

To download QGIS, visit the QGIS download page. Select the long-term release (most stable).

Install the program.

Size constraints

The QGIS application is about 3.2GB. If you don’t have enough space on your computer, the following places in the library have computers you can use:

• The Lamont Multimedia Lab in B-level of Lamont (drop in hours until 10pm daily)
• The Map Collection in Pusey Library (you can drop by between 10-4:30pm M-F, but to assure a time slot, you can email us at maps@harvard.edu)

Mac users

If you get an error message that Apple can’t check the app for malicious software, right-click the application and select Open.

help

If you have any trouble with this tutorial, please don’t hesitate to reach out to maps@harvard.edu.