.. index:: Vector Tiles, vector tiles properties .. _`label_vector_tiles`: ************************* Working with Vector Tiles ************************* .. only:: html .. contents:: :local: What are Vector Tiles? ====================== Vector tiles are packets of geographic data, packaged into pre-defined roughly-square shaped "tiles" for transfer over the web. They combine pre-rendered raster map tiles and vector map tiles. The vector tile server returns vector map data, which has been clipped to the boundaries of each tile, instead of a pre-rendered map image. The clipped tiles represent the zoom-levels of the vector tile service, derived from a pyramid approach. Using this structure, the data-transfer is reduced in comparison to un-tiled vector maps. Only data within the current map view, and at the current zoom level need to be transferred. Also, compared to a tiled raster map, data transfer is also greatly reduced, as vector data is typically much smaller than a rendered bitmap. Vector tiles do not have any styling information assigned so QGIS needs to apply a cartographic style in order to display the data. .. _figure_vector_tiles_pyramidstructure: .. figure:: img/vector_tiles_pyramid_structure.png :align: center Pyramid structure of vector tiles with zoom-levels Supported Formats ================= There is support for vector tiles through: * remote sources (HTTP/S) - with XYZ template - ``type=xyz&url=http://example.com/{z}/{x}/{y}.pbf`` * local files - with XYZ template - e.g. ``type=xyz&url=file:///path/to/tiles/{z}/{x}/{y}.pbf`` * local MBTiles database - e.g. ``type=mbtiles&url=file:///path/to/file.mbtiles``