Vector geometry¶

Add geometry attributes
Aggregate
Boundary
Bounding boxes
Buffer
Centroids
Check validity
Collect geometries
Concave hull (alpha shapes)
Concave hull (k-nearest neighbor)
Convert geometry type
Convex hull
Create layer from extent
Create wedge buffers
Delaunay triangulation
Delete holes
Densify by count
Densify by interval
Dissolve
Drape (set Z value from raster)
Drop m/z values
Eliminate selected polygons
Explode lines
Extend lines
Extract specific vertices
Extract vertices
Filter vertices by M value
Filter vertices by Z value
Fix geometries
Geometry by expression
Interpolate point on line
Keep n biggest parts
Line substring
Lines to polygon
Merge lines
Minimum bounding geometry
Minimum enclosing circles
Multi-ring buffer (constant distance)
Multipart to singleparts
Offset lines
Oriented minimum bounding box
Orthogonalize
Point on surface
Points along geometry
Points displacement
Pole of inaccessibility
Polygonize
Polygons to lines
Project points (Cartesian)
Promote to multipart
Rectangles, ovals, diamonds (fixed)
Rectangles, ovals, diamonds (variable)
Remove duplicate vertices
Remove null geometries
Reverse line direction
Rotate
Segmentize by maximum angle
Segmentize by maximum distance
Set M value
Set M value from raster
Set Z value
Simplify
Single sided buffer
Smooth
Snap geometries to layer
Snap points to grid
Subdivide
Swap X and Y coordinates
Tapered buffers
Tessellate
Transect
Translate
Variable distance buffer (Processing Modeler only)
Variable width buffer (by M value)
Voronoi polygons

Add geometry attributes ¶

Computes geometric properties of the features in a vector layer and includes them in the output layer.

It generates a new vector layer with the same content as the input one, but with additional attributes, containing geometric measurements based on a selected CRS.

The attributes added to the table depend on the geometry type and dimension of the input layer:

for point layers: X (xcoord), Y (ycoord), Z (zcoord) coordinates and/or M value (mvalue)
for line layers: length and, for the LineString and CompoundCurve geometry types, the feature sinuosity and straight distance (straightdis)
for polygon layers: perimeter and area

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Label Name Type Description

Input layer INPUT [vector: any] Input vector layer

Calculate using

CALC_METHOD

[enumeration]

Default: 0

Calculation parameters to use for the geometric properties. One of:

0 — Layer CRS
1 — Project CRS
2 — Ellipsoidal

Added geom info

OUTPUT

[same as input]

Default: [Create temporary layer]

Specify the output (input copy with geometry) layer One of:

Create Temporary Layer (TEMPORARY_OUTPUT)
Save to File…
Save to Geopackage…
Save to PostGIS Table

The file encoding can also be changed here.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Added geom info	`OUTPUT`	[same as input]	Copy of the input vector layer with the addition of the geometry fields

Aggregate ¶

Takes a vector or table layer and creates a new layer by aggregating features based on a group by expression.

Features for which group by expression returns the same value are grouped together.

It is possible to group all source features together using constant value in group by parameter, example: NULL.

It is also possible to group features by multiple fields using Array function, example: Array(“Field1”, “Field2”).

Geometries (if present) are combined into one multipart geometry for each group. Output attributes are computed depending on each given aggregate definition.

This algorithm allows to use the default aggregates functions of the QGIS Expression engine.

See also

Collect geometries, Dissolve

Parameters¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Input layer	`INPUT`	[vector: any]	Input vector layer
Group by expression	`GROUP_BY`	[tablefield: any] Default: ‘NULL’	Choose the grouping field. If NULL all features will be grouped
Aggregates	`AGGREGATES`	[list]	List of output layer field definitions. Example of a field definition: {‘aggregate’: ‘sum’, ‘delimiter’: ‘,’, ‘input’: ‘ $area’, ‘length’: 10, ‘name’: ‘totarea’, ‘precision’: 0, ‘type’: 6} By default, the list contains all the fields of the input layer. In the GUI, you can edit these fields and their definitions, and you can also: Click the button to add a new field. Click to delete the selected field. Use and to change order of the fields. Click to reset to the default (the fields of the input layer). For each of the fields you’d like to retrieve information from, you need to define the following: `Input expression` [expression] (`input`) Field or expression from the input layer. `Aggregate function` [enumeration] (`aggregate`) Function to use on the input expression to return the aggregated value. Default: concatenate (for string data type), sum (for numeric data type) `Delimiter` [string] (`delimiter`) Text string to separate aggregated values, for example in case of concatenation. Default: , `Output field name` [string] (`name`) Name of the aggregated field in the output layer. By default input field name is kept. `Type` [enumeration] (`type`) Data type of the output field. One of: 1 — Boolean 2 — Integer 4 — Integer64 6 — Double 10 — String 14 — Date 16 — DateTime `Length` [number] (`length`) Length of the output field. `Precision` [number] (`precision`) Precision of the output field.
Load fields from layer	GUI only	[vector: any]	You can load fields from another layer and use them for the aggregation
Aggregated	`OUTPUT`	[same as input] Default: `[Create temporary layer]`	Specify the output (aggregate) layer One of: Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Aggregated	`OUTPUT`	[same as input]	Multigeometry vector layer with the aggregated values

Boundary ¶

Returns the closure of the combinatorial boundary of the input geometries (i.e. the topological boundary of the geometry).

Only for polygon and line layers.

For polygon geometries , the boundary consists of all the lines making up the rings of the polygon.

../../../../_images/boundary_polygon.png

Boundaries (black dashed line) of the source polygon layer

For lines geometries, the boundaries are the vertices between each features.

Boundary layer (red points) for lines. In yellow a selected feature.

Parameters¶

Label Name Type Description

Input layer INPUT [vector: line, polygon] Input line or polygon vector layer

Label	Name	Type	Description
Input layer	`INPUT`	[vector: line, polygon]	Input line or polygon vector layer
Boundary	`OUTPUT`	[vector: point, line]	Specify the output (boundary) layer. One of: Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.

Boundary

OUTPUT

[vector: point, line]

Specify the output (boundary) layer. One of:

Create Temporary Layer (TEMPORARY_OUTPUT)
Save to File…
Save to Geopackage…
Save to PostGIS Table

The file encoding can also be changed here.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Boundary	`OUTPUT`	[vector: point, line]	Boundaries from the input layer (point for line, and line for polygon)

Bounding boxes ¶

Calculates the bounding box (envelope) of each feature in an input layer. Polygon and line geometries are supported.

Black lines represent the bounding boxes of each polygon feature

Allows features in-place modification

See also

Minimum bounding geometry

Parameters¶

Label Name Type Description

Input layer INPUT [vector: line, polygon] Input line or polygon vector layer

Label	Name	Type	Description
Input layer	`INPUT`	[vector: line, polygon]	Input line or polygon vector layer
Bounds	`OUTPUT`	[vector: polygon]	Specify the output (bounding box) layer. One of: Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.

Bounds

OUTPUT

[vector: polygon]

Specify the output (bounding box) layer. One of:

Create Temporary Layer (TEMPORARY_OUTPUT)
Save to File…
Save to Geopackage…
Save to PostGIS Table

The file encoding can also be changed here.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Bounds	`OUTPUT`	[vector: polygon]	Bounding boxes of input layer

Buffer ¶

Computes a buffer area for all the features in an input layer, using a fixed distance.

It is possible to define also a negative distance for polygon input layers: in this case the buffer will result in a smaller polygon.

In yellow the buffer of point, line and polygon layer

Allows features in-place modification

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geoprocessing Tools

Parameters¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Input layer	`INPUT`	[vector: any]	Input vector layer
Distance	`DISTANCE`	[number ] Default: 10.0	Buffer distance (from the boundary of each feature). You can use the Data Defined button on the right to choose a field from which the radius will be calculated. This way you can have different radius for each feature (see Variable distance buffer (Processing Modeler only)).
Segments	`SEGMENTS`	[number] Default: 5	Controls the number of line segments to use to approximate a quarter circle when creating rounded offsets.
End cap style	`END_CAP_STYLE`	[enumeration] Default: 0	Controls how line endings are handled in the buffer. One of: 0 — Round 1 — Flat 2 — Square Round, flat and square cap styles
Join style	`JOIN_STYLE`	[enumeration] Default: 0	Specifies whether round, miter or beveled joins should be used when offsetting corners in a line. Options are: 0 — Round 1 — Miter 2 — Bevel
Miter limit	`MITER_LIMIT`	[number] Default: 2.0	Controls the maximum distance from the offset curve to use when creating a mitered join (only applicable for miter join styles). Minimum: 1.
Dissolve result	`DISSOLVE`	[boolean] Default: False	Dissolve the final buffer. If `True` (checked), overlapping buffers will be dissolved (combined) into a new feature. Standard and dissolved buffer
Buffered	`OUTPUT`	[vector: polygon]	Specify the output (buffer) layer. One of: Skip output Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Buffered	`OUTPUT`	[vector: polygon]	Output (buffer) polygon layer

Centroids ¶

Creates a new point layer, with points representing the centroids of the geometries of the input layer.

The centroid can be a single point representing the barycenter (of all parts) of the feature, so it can be outside the feature borders. It can also be a point on each part of the feature.

The attributes associated to each point in the output layer are the same ones associated to the original features.

The red stars represent the centroids of each feature of the input layer.

Allows features in-place modification

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

See also

Point on surface

Parameters¶

Label Name Type Description

Input layer INPUT [vector: any] Input vector layer

Create centroid for each part

ALL_PARTS

[boolean ]

Default: False

If True (checked), a centroid will be created for each part of the geometry

Centroids

OUTPUT

[vector: point]

Specify the output (centroid) layer. One of:

Create Temporary Layer (TEMPORARY_OUTPUT)
Save to File…
Save to Geopackage…
Save to PostGIS Table

The file encoding can also be changed here.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Centroids	`OUTPUT`	[vector: point]	Output point vector layer (centroids)

Check validity ¶

Performs a validity check on the geometries of a vector layer.

The geometries are classified in three groups (valid, invalid and error) and for each group, a vector layer with its features is generated:

The Valid output layer contains only the valid features (without topological errors).
The Invalid output layer contains all the invalid features found by the algorithm.
The Error output layer is a point layer that points to where the invalid features were found.

The attribute tables of the generated layers will contain some additional information (“message” for the error layer, “FID” and “_errors” for the invalid layer and only “FID” for the valid layer):

The attribute table of each generated vector layer will contain some additional information (number of errors found and types of error):

Left: the input layer. Right: the valid layer (green), the invalid layer (orange)

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

See also

Fix geometries

Parameters¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Input layer	`INPUT_LAYER`	[vector: any]	Input vector layer
Method	`METHOD`	[enumeration] Default: 2	Method to use to check validity. Options: 0: The one selected in digitizing settings 1: QGIS 2: GEOS
Ignore ring self intersection	`IGNORE_RING_SELF_INTERSECTION`	[boolean] Default: False	Ignore self intersecting rings when checking for validity.
Valid output	`VALID_OUTPUT`	[same as input] Default: `[Create temporary layer]`	Specify the vector layer to contain a copy of the valid features of the source layer. One of: Skip output Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.
Invalid output	`INVALID_OUTPUT`	[same as input] Default: `[Create temporary layer]`	Vector layer containing copy of the invalid features of the source layer with the field `_errors` listing the summary of the error(s) found. One of: Skip output Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.
Error output	`ERROR_OUTPUT`	[vector: point] Default: `[Create temporary layer]`	Point layer of the exact position of the validity problems detected with the `message` field describing the error(s) found. One of: Skip output Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Count of errors	`ERROR_COUNT`	[number]	The number of geometries that caused errors.
Error output	`ERROR_OUTPUT`	[vector: point]	Point layer of the exact position of the validity problems detected with the `message` field describing the error(s) found.
Count of invalid features	`INVALID_COUNT`	[number]	The number of invalid geometries.
Invalid output	`INVALID_OUTPUT`	[same as input]	Vector layer containing copy of the invalid features of the source layer with the field `_errors` listing the summary of the error(s) found.
Count of valid features	`VALID_COUNT`	[number]	The number of valid geometries.
Valid output	`VALID_OUTPUT`	[same as input]	Vector layer containing a copy of the valid features of the source layer.

Type of error messages and their meanings¶

If the GEOS method is used the following error messages can occur:¶
Message error	Explanation	Example
Repeated point	This error happens when a given vertex is repeated.
Ring self-intersection	This error happens when a geometry touches itself and generates a ring.
Self-intersection	This error happens when a geometry touches itself.
Topology validation error
Hole lies outside shell
Holes are nested
Interior is disconnected
Nested shells	This error happens when a polygon geometry is on top of another polygon geometry.
Duplicate rings
Too few points in geometry component
Invalid coordinate
Ring is not closed

If the QGIS method is used the following error messages can occur:¶
Message error	Explanation	Example
Segment %1 of ring %2 of polygon %3 intersects segment %4 of ring %5 of polygon %6 at %7
Ring %1 with less than four points
Ring %1 not closed
Line %1 with less than two points
Line %1 contains %n duplicate node(s) at %2
Segments %1 and %2 of line %3 intersect at %4
Ring self-intersection
Ring %1 of polygon %2 not in exterior ring
Polygon %1 lies inside polygon %2	This error happens when a part of MultiPolygon geometry is inside a hole of a MultiPolygon geometry.

Collect geometries ¶

Takes a vector layer and collects its geometries into new multipart geometries.

One or more attributes can be specified to collect only geometries belonging to the same class (having the same value for the specified attributes), alternatively all geometries can be collected.

All output geometries will be converted to multi geometries, even those with just a single part. This algorithm does not dissolve overlapping geometries - they will be collected together without modifying the shape of each geometry part.

See the ‘Promote to multipart’ or ‘Aggregate’ algorithms for alternative options.

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Input layer	`INPUT`	[vector: any]	Input vector layer
Unique ID fields	`FIELD`	[tablefield: any] [list]	Choose one or more attributes to collect the geometries
Collected	`OUTPUT`	[same as input]	Vector layer with collected geometries

Outputs¶

Label Name Type Description

Label	Name	Type	Description
Collected	`OUTPUT`	[same as input] Default: `[Create temporary layer]`	Specify the output vector layer for the collected geometries. One of: Create Temporary Layer (`TEMPORARY_OUTPUT`) Save to File… Save to Geopackage… Save to PostGIS Table The file encoding can also be changed here.

Collected

OUTPUT

[same as input]

Default: [Create temporary layer]

Specify the output vector layer for the collected geometries. One of:

Create Temporary Layer (TEMPORARY_OUTPUT)
Save to File…
Save to Geopackage…
Save to PostGIS Table

The file encoding can also be changed here.

Concave hull (alpha shapes)¶

Computes the concave hull of the features in an input point layer.

Parameters¶

Input point layer [vector: point]

Point vector layer to calculate the concave hull.

Threshold [number]

Number from 0 (maximum concave hull) to 1 (convex hull).

Default: 0.3

../../../../_images/concave_hull_threshold.png

Different thresholds used (0.3, 0.6, 0.9)

Allow holes [boolean]

Choose whether to allow holes in the final concave hull.

Default: True

Split multipart geometry into singlepart geometries [boolean]

Check if you want to have singlepart geometries instead of multipart ones.

Default: False

Outputs¶

Concave hull [vector: polygon]: Output concave hull.

Concave hull (k-nearest neighbor)¶

This algorithm generates a concave hull polygon from a set of points. If the input layer is a line or polygon layer, it will use the vertices.

The number of neighbors to consider determines the concaveness of the output polygon. A lower number will result in a concave hull that follows the points very closely, while a higher number will have a smoother shape. The minimum number of neighbor points to consider is 3. A value equal to or greater than the number of points will result in a convex hull.

If a field is selected, the algorithm will group the features in the input layer using unique values in that field and generate individual polygons in the output layer for each group.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Vector layer to calculate the concave hull.

Number of neighboring points to consider [number]

Determines the concaveness of the output polygon. A small number will result in a concave hull that follows the points very closely, while a high number will make the polygon look more like the convex hull (if the number is equal to or larger than the number of features, the result will be the convex hull).

Default (and minimum): 3

Field [tablefield: any]

Optional

If specified, one concave hull polygon is generated for each unique value of the field (by selecting features using this value).

Default: None

Outputs¶

Concave hull [vector: polygon]: Output concave hull.

Convert geometry type ¶

Generates a new layer based on an existing one, with a different type of geometry.

Not all conversions are possible. For instance, a line layer can be converted to a point layer, but a point layer cannot be converted to a line layer.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer to transform.

New geometry type [enumeration]

Geometry type to apply to the output features. Options are:

0 — Centroids
1 — Nodes
2 — Linestrings
3 — Multilinestrings
4 — Polygons

Note

Conversion types availability depends on the input layer and the conversion chosen: e.g. it is not possible to convert a point to a line.

Outputs¶

Converted [vector: any]: Converted vector layer depending on the parameters chosen.

Convex hull ¶

Calculates the convex hull for each feature in an input layer.

See the ‘Minimum bounding geometry’ algorithm for a convex hull calculation which covers the whole layer or grouped subsets of features.

Black lines identify the convex hull for each layer feature

Allows features in-place modification

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geoprocessing Tools

Parameters¶

Input point layer [vector: any]: Point vector layer to calculate the convex hull.

Outputs¶

Convex hull [vector: polygon]: Output convex hull.

Create layer from extent ¶

Creates a new vector layer that contains a single feature with geometry matching the extent of the input layer.

It can be used in models to convert a literal extent (xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax format) into a layer which can be used for other algorithms which require a layer based input.

Parameters¶

Extent (xmin, xmax, ymin, ymax) [extent]: Extent to represent.

Outputs¶

Extent: Layer with a polygon feature representing the input extent.

Create wedge buffers ¶

Creates wedge shaped buffers from input points.

Wedge buffers

The native output from this algorithm are CurvePolygon geometries, but these may be automatically segmentized to Polygons depending on the output format.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: point]

Input point vector layer.

Azimuth (degrees from North) [number ]

Angle (in degrees) as the middle value of the wedge.

Wedge width (in degrees) [number ]

Width (in degrees) of the buffer. The wedge will extend to half of the angular width either side of the azimuth direction.

../../../../_images/wedge_buffers_azimuth_width.png

Azimuth and width values of the wedge buffer

Outer radius [number ]

The outer size (length) of the wedge: the size is meant from the source point to the edge of the wedge shape.

Inner radius [number ]

Optional

Inner radius value. If 0 the wedge will begin from the source point.

Default: 0.0

Outputs¶

Buffers [vector: polygon]: Wedge buffer polygon vector layer.

Delaunay triangulation ¶

Creates a polygon layer with the delaunay triangulation corresponding to a point layer.

Delaunay triangulation on points

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: point]: Point vector layer to compute the triangulation on.

Outputs¶

Delaunay triangulation [vector: polygon]: Resulting polygon layer of delaunay triangulation.

Delete holes ¶

Takes a polygon layer and removes holes in polygons. It creates a new vector layer in which polygons with holes have been replaced by polygons with only their external ring. Attributes are not modified.

An optional minimum area parameter allows removing only holes which are smaller than a specified area threshold. Leaving this parameter at 0.0 results in all holes being removed.

Before and after the cleaning

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: polygon]

Polygon layer with holes.

Remove holes with area less than [number ]

Optional

Only holes with an area less than this threshold will be deleted. If 0.0 is added, all the holes will be deleted.

Default: 0.0

Outputs¶

Cleaned [vector: polygon]: Vector layer without holes or holes larger than specified area.

Densify by count ¶

Takes a polygon or line layer and generates a new one in which the geometries have a larger number of vertices than the original one.

If the geometries have Z or M values present then these will be linearly interpolated at the added vertices.

The number of new vertices to add to each segment is specified as an input parameter.

../../../../_images/densify_geometry.png

Red points show the vertices before and after the densify

Allows features in-place modification

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Polygon or line vector layer to densify.

Vertices to add [number]

Number of vertices to add to each segment.

Default: 1

Outputs¶

Densified [vector: line, polygon]: Densified layer with vertices added.

Densify by interval ¶

Takes a polygon or line layer and generates a new one in which the geometries have a larger number of vertices than the original one.

The geometries are densified by adding regularly placed extra vertices inside each segment so that the maximum distance between any two vertices does not exceed the specified distance.

If the geometries have Z or M values present then these will be linearly interpolated at the added vertices.

Example

Specifying a distance 3 would cause the segment [0 0] -> [10 0] to be converted to [0 0] -> [2.5 0] -> [5 0] -> [7.5 0] -> [10 0], since 3 extra vertices are required on the segment and spacing these at 2.5 increments allows them to be evenly spaced over the segment.

../../../../_images/densify_geometry_interval.png

Densify geometry at a given interval

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Polygon or line vector layer to densify.

Interval between vertices to add [number]

Maximum distance between two consecutive vertices.

Default: 1.0

Outputs¶

Densified [vector: line, polygon]: Densified layer with vertices added using the specified interval.

Dissolve ¶

Takes a vector layer and combines its features into new features. One or more attributes can be specified to dissolve features belonging to the same class (having the same value for the specified attributes), alternatively all features can be dissolved into a single one.

All output geometries will be converted to multi geometries. In case the input is a polygon layer, common boundaries of adjacent polygons being dissolved will get erased.

The resulting attribute table will have the same fields as the input layer. The values in the output layer’s fields are the ones of the first input feature that happens to be processed.

Dissolve the polygon layer on a common attribute

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geoprocessing Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Vector layer to dissolve.

Dissolve field(s) [tablefield: any] [list]

Optional

Features having the same value for the selected field(s) will be replaced with a single one and their geometries are merged.

If no field is provided then all the features are dissolved in a single feature.

Outputs¶

Dissolved [vector: any]: Multi geometry type layer with merged geometries but non aggregated values in fields.

Drape (set Z value from raster)¶

Uses values sampled from a band within a raster layer to set the Z value for every overlapping vertex in the feature geometry. The raster values can optionally be scaled by a preset amount.

If Z values already exist in the layer, they will be overwritten with the new value. If no Z values exist, the geometry will be upgraded to include the Z dimension.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer to set the Z values to.

Raster layer [raster]

Raster layer to take the Z values from.

Band number [raster band]

The raster band to take the Z values from if the raster is multiband.

Value for nodata or non-intersecting vertices [number ]

Value to use in case the vertex does not intersect (a valid pixel of) the raster.

Default: 0

Scale [number ]

Scaling value: the band values are multiplied by this value.

Default: 1.0

Outputs¶

Updated [vector: any]: A vector layer with geometries that have Z values extracted from the provided raster layer.

Drop m/z values ¶

Removes any M (measure) or Z (altitude) values from input geometries.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer from which M and/or Z values will be dropped.

Drop M Values [boolean]

Removes the M values from the geometries.

Default: False

Drop Z Values [boolean]

Removes the Z values from the geometries.

Default: False

Outputs¶

Z/M Dropped [vector: any]: A vector layer that is identical to the input layer, except that M and/or Z values have been removed from its geometries.

Eliminate selected polygons ¶

Combines selected polygons of the input layer with certain adjacent polygons by erasing their common boundary. The adjacent polygon can be either the one with the largest or smallest area or the one sharing the largest common boundary with the polygon to be eliminated.

Eliminate is normally used to get rid of sliver polygons, i.e. tiny polygons that are a result of polygon intersection processes where boundaries of the inputs are similar but not identical.

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geoprocessing Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: polygon]

Input polygon vector layer to clean.

Merge selection with the neighboring polygon with the [enumeration]

Choose the parameter to use in order to get rid of the selected polygons:

Largest Area
Smallest Area
Largest Common Boundary

Outputs¶

Eliminated [vector: polygon]: Cleaned vector layer as result of the parameters chosen.

Explode lines ¶

Takes a lines layer and creates a new one in which each line layer is replaced by a set of lines representing the segments in the original line.

Each line in the resulting layer contains only a start and an end point, with no intermediate vertices between them.

The original line layer and the exploded one

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]: Line vector layer in input to explode.

Outputs¶

Exploded [vector: line]: Output vector line with features representing each segment of the input layer.

Extend lines ¶

Extends line geometry by a specified amount at the start and end of the line.

Lines are extended using the bearing of the first and last segment in the line.

The red dashes represent the initial and final extension of the original layer

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]: Line vector layer to extend.
Start distance [number ]: Distance by which to extend the first segment of the line (starting point).
End distance [number ]: Distance by which to extend the last segment of the line (ending point).

Outputs¶

Extended [vector: line]: Extended vector line layer.

Extract specific vertices ¶

Takes a line or polygon layer and generates a point layer with points representing specific vertices in the input lines or polygons.

For instance, this algorithm can be used to extract the first or last vertices in the geometry. The attributes associated to each point are the same ones associated to the line or polygon that the point belongs to.

The vertex indices parameter accepts a comma separated string specifying the indices of the vertices to extract. The first vertex corresponds to an index of 0, the second vertex has an index of 1, etc. Negative indices can be used to find vertices at the end of the geometry, e.g., an index of -1 corresponds to the last vertex, -2 corresponds to the second last vertex, etc.

Additional fields are added to the vertices indicating the specific vertex position (e.g., 0, -1, etc), the original vertex index, the vertex’s part and its index within the part (as well as its ring for polygons), distance along the original geometry and bisector angle of vertex for the original geometry.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Vector layer in input to extract the vertices from.

Vertex indices [number]

Type the indices of the vertices to extract. The algorithm accepts comma separated values for many vertices to extract (e.g. -2, 3, 5, 7).

Default: 0

Outputs¶

Vertices [vector: point]: Point layer with features representing the specific vertices in the input layer.

Extract vertices ¶

Takes a line or polygon layer and generates a point layer with points representing the vertices in the input lines or polygons.

The attributes associated to each point are the same ones associated to the line or polygon that the point belongs to.

Additional fields are added to the vertices indicating the vertex index (beginning at 0), the feature’s part and its index within the part (as well as its ring for polygons), distance along original geometry and bisector angle of vertex for original geometry.

Vertices extracted for line and polygon layer

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]: Vector layer in input to extract the vertices from.

Outputs¶

Vertices [vector: point]: Point layer with features representing all the vertices in the input layer.

Filter vertices by M value ¶

Filters away vertices based on their M value, returning geometries with only vertex points that have a M value greater than or equal to the specified minimum value and/or less than or equal to the maximum value.

If the minimum value is not specified then only the maximum value is tested, and similarly if the maximum value is not specified then only the minimum value is tested.

The red line represents the black line with only vertices whose M value is <=10.

Note

Depending on the input geometry attributes and the filters used, the resultant geometries created by this algorithm may no longer be valid.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Vector layer to remove vertices from.

Minimum [number ]

Optional

Minimum M value allowed to keep a vertex.

Default: Not set

Maximum [number ]

Optional

Maximum M value allowed to keep a vertex.

Default: Not set

Outputs¶

Filtered [vector: line, polygon]: Vector layer of the features with only the filtered vertices.

Filter vertices by Z value ¶

Filters away vertices based on their Z value, returning geometries with only vertex points that have a Z value greater than or equal to the specified minimum value and/or less than or equal to the maximum value.

If the minimum value is not specified then only the maximum value is tested, and similarly if the maximum value is not specified then only the minimum value is tested.

The red line represents the black line with only vertices whose Z value is <=10.

Note

Depending on the input geometry attributes and the filters used, the resultant geometries created by this algorithm may no longer be valid. You may need to run the Fix geometries algorithm to ensure their validity.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Vector layer to remove vertices from.

Minimum [number ]

Optional

Minimum Z value allowed to keep a vertex.

Default: Not set

Maximum [number ]

Optional

Maximum Z value allowed to keep a vertex.

Default: Not set

Outputs¶

Filtered [vector: line, polygon]: Vector layer of the features with only the filtered vertices.

Fix geometries ¶

Attempts to create a valid representation of a given invalid geometry without losing any of the input vertices. Already valid geometries are returned without further intervention. Always outputs multi-geometry layer.

Note

M values will be dropped from the output.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]: Polygon or vector layer in input.

Outputs¶

Fixed geometries [vector: line, polygon]: Layer with fixed geometries.

Geometry by expression ¶

Updates existing geometries (or creates new geometries) for input features by use of a QGIS expression.

This allows complex geometry modifications which can utilize all the flexibility of the QGIS expression engine to manipulate and create geometries for output features.

For help with QGIS expression functions, see the inbuilt help for specific functions which is available in the expression builder.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Vector input layer.

Output geometry type [enumeration]

The output geometry strongly depends on the expression you will choose: for instance, if you want to create a buffer then the geometry type has to be a polygon.

Available options are:

0 — Polygon
1 — Line
2 — Point

Default: 0

Output geometry has z dimension [boolean]

Choose if the output geometry should have the Z dimension.

Default: False

Output geometry has m values [boolean]

Choose if the output geometry should have the M dimension.

Default: False

Geometry expression [expression]

Add the geometry expression you want to use. You can use the button to open the Expression Dialog: the dialog has a list of all the usable expression together with their help and guide.

Default: $geometry

Outputs¶

Modified geometry [vector: any]: Vector layer resulting from the expression added.

Interpolate point on line ¶

Creates a point geometry interpolated at a set distance along line or curve geometries.

Z and M values are linearly interpolated from existing values.

If a multipart geometry is encountered, only the first part is considered when calculating the substring.

If the specified distance is greater than the input feature’s length, the resultant feature will have a null geometry.

../../../../_images/interpolated_point.png

Interpolated point at 500m of the beginning of the line

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]: Line or polygon vector layer from which to interpolate point placement.
Distance [number ]: Distance from the beginning of the line.

Outputs¶

Interpolated points [vector: point]: Point vector layer with features at a set distance along the line or polygon boundary.

Keep n biggest parts ¶

Takes a layer with polygons or multipolygons and returns a new layer in which only the n largest polygons of each multipolygon feature are kept. If a feature has n or fewer parts, the feature will just be copied.

Clockwise from left-up: original multipart feature, one, two and three biggest parts kept

Parameters¶

Polygons [vector: polygon]

Input polygon layer.

To keep [number]

Choose how many parts to keep. If 1 is selected, only the biggest part of the feature will be kept.

Default: 1

Outputs¶

Biggest parts [vector: polygon]: Resulting polygon layer with the n biggest parts of each feature.

Line substring ¶

Returns the portion of a line (or curve) which falls between the specified start and end distances (measured from the beginning of the line).

Z and M values are linearly interpolated from existing values.

If a multipart geometry is encountered, only the first part is considered when calculating the substring.

Substring line with starting distance set at 0 meters and the ending distance at 250 meters.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]: Line vector layer to extract the substring from.
Start distance [number ]: Distance along the input line, representing the start point of the output feature.
End distance [number ]: Distance along the input line, representing the end point of the output feature.

Outputs¶

Substring [vector: line]: Vector line layer of the substring

Lines to polygon ¶

Generates a polygon layer using as polygon rings the lines from an input line layer.

The attribute table of the output layer is the same as the one from of the input line layer.

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]: Line vector layer to convert.

Outputs¶

Polygons [vector: polygon]: Polygon vector layer from the line input vector layer.

Merge lines ¶

Joins all connected parts of MultiLineString geometries into single LineString geometries.

If any parts of the input MultiLineString geometries are not connected, the resultant geometry will be a MultiLineString containing any lines which could be merged and any non-connected line parts.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]: MultiLineString vector layer.

Outputs¶

Merged [vector: lines]: Single LineString vector layer.

Minimum bounding geometry ¶

Creates geometries which enclose the features from an input layer.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer.

Field [tablefield: any]

Optional

Features can be grouped by a field. If set, this causes the output layer to contain one feature per grouped value with a minimal geometry covering only the features with matching values.

Geometry type [enumeration]

Numerous enclosing geometry types are supported:

0 — Envelope (Bounding Box)
1 — Minimum Oriented Rectangle
2 — Minimum Enclosing Circle
3 — Convex Hull

Default: 0

../../../../_images/minimum_bounding.png

Clockwise from left-up: envelopes, oriented rectangle, circle, convex hull

Outputs¶

Bounding geometry [vector: polygon]: Bounding polygon layer.

Minimum enclosing circles ¶

Calculates the minimum enclosing circle which covers each feature in an input layer.

Enclosing circles for each feature

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer.

Number of segment in circles [number]

Choose the number of segment for each circle.

Default: 72

Outputs¶

Minimum enclosing circles [vector: polygon]: Enclosing circles for each polygon feature.

Multi-ring buffer (constant distance)¶

Computes multi-ring (donuts) buffer for all the features in an input layer, using a fixed or dynamic distance and ring numbers.

Multi-ring buffer for line, point and polygon layer

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]: Input vector layer.
Number of rings [number ]: Total number of rings that the buffer must have. It can be a unique value (same ring number for all the features) or it can be taken from features data (different ring number depending on the feature values).
Distance between rings [number ]: Distance between the single rings. It can be a unique value (same distance for all the features) or it can be taken from features data (different distance depending on the feature values).

Outputs¶

Multi-ring buffer (constant distance): Multi ring buffer polygon vector layer.

Multipart to singleparts ¶

Splits the multipart input layers into single features.

The attributes of the output layers are the same of the original ones but divided into single features.

Left the multipart source layer and right the single part output result

Allows features in-place modification

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]: Multipart input layer.

Outputs¶

Single parts [vector: any]: Singlepart layer in output with updated attribute table.

Offset lines ¶

Offsets lines by a specified distance. Positive distances will offset lines to the left, and negative distances will offset them to the right.

In blue the source layer, in red the offset one

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]

Line vector layer in input to elaborate the offset on.

Distance [number ]

Distance of the offset.

Default: 10.0

Segment [number]

Number of line segments to use to approximate a quarter circle when creating rounded offsets.

Default: 8

Join style [enumeration]

Specify whether round, miter or beveled joins should be used when offsetting corners in a line. Options are:

0 — Round
1 — Miter
2 — Bevel

Default: 0

Miter limit [number]

Only applicable for mitered join styles, and controls the maximum distance from the offset curve to use when creating a mitered join.

Default: 2.0

Outputs¶

Offset [vector: line]: Offset line layer.

Oriented minimum bounding box ¶

Calculates the minimum area rotated rectangle which covers each feature in an input layer.

Oriented minimum bounding box

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]: Input vector layer.

Outputs¶

Bounding boxes [vector: polygon]: Oriented minimum bounding boxes for each polygon feature.

Orthogonalize ¶

Takes a line or polygon layer and attempts to orthogonalize all the geometries in the layer. This process shifts the vertices in the geometries to try to make every angle in the geometry either a right angle or a straight line.

In blue the source layer while the red line is the orthogonalized result

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]: Input vector layer.
Maximum angle tolerance (degrees) [number]: Specify the maximum deviation from a right angle or straight line a vertex can have for it to be adjusted. Smaller tolerances mean that only vertices which are already closer to right angles will be adjusted, and larger tolerances mean that vertices which deviate further from right angles will also be adjusted.
Maximum algorithm iterations [number]: Setting a larger number for the maximum iterations will result in a more orthogonal geometry at the cost of extra processing time.

Outputs¶

Orthogonalized [vector: line, polygon]: Final layer with angles adjusted depending on the parameters chosen.

Point on surface ¶

Returns a point guaranteed to lie on the surface of a geometry.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer.

Create point on surface for each part [boolean ]

If checked a point for each different part of the geometry will be created.

Default: False

Outputs¶

Point [vector: point]: Point vector layer.

Points along geometry ¶

Creates points at regular intervals along line or polygon geometries. Created points will have new attributes added for the distance along the geometry and the angle of the line at the point.

An optional start and end offset can be specified, which controls how far from the start and end of the geometry the points should be created.

../../../../_images/points_along_line.png

Points created along the source line layer

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Input vector layer.

Distance [number]

Distance between two consecutive points along a geometry.

Default: 100

Start offset [number]

Distance from the beginning of the input line, representing the position of the first point.

Default: 0

End offset [number]

Distance from the end of the input line, representing the position beyond which no point feature shoud be created.

Default: 0

Outputs¶

Points [vector: point]: Point vector layer with features placed along the line or polygon boundary.

Points displacement ¶

Given a distance of proximity, identifies nearby point features and radially distributes them over a circle whose center represents their barycenter. A convenient tool to scatter overlaid features.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: point]

Input point vector layer.

Minimum distance to other points [number]

Distance below which point features are considered close. Close features are distributed altogether.

Default: 1.0

Displacement distance [number]

Radius of the circle on which close features are placed.

Default: 1.0

Horizontal distribution for two point case [boolean]

When only two points are identified as close, aligns them horizontally on the circle instead of vertically.

Default: False

Outputs¶

Displaced [vector: point]: Point vector layer with displaced features.

Pole of inaccessibility ¶

Calculates the pole of inaccessibility for a polygon layer, which is the most distant internal point from the boundary of the surface.

This algorithm uses the ‘polylabel’ algorithm (Vladimir Agafonkin, 2016), which is an iterative approach guaranteed to find the true pole of inaccessibility within a specified tolerance. A more precise tolerance (lower value) requires more iterations and will take longer to calculate.

The distance from the calculated pole to the polygon boundary will be stored as a new attribute in the output layer.

../../../../_images/pole_inaccessibility.png

Pole of inaccessibility

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: polygon]

Input polygon vector layer.

Tolerance [number]

Set the tolerance for the calculation.

Default: 1.0

Outputs¶

Point [vector: point]: Point as pole of inaccessibility for the source polygon vector layer.

Polygonize ¶

Creates a polygon layer whose features boundaries are generated from a closed line layer features.

The yellow polygons generated from the closed lines

Note

The line layer must have closed shapes in order to be transformed into a polygon.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]

Input line vector layer.

Keep table structure of line layer [boolean]

Optional

Check to copy the original attribute of the line layer.

Default: False

Outputs¶

Polygons from lines [vector: polygon]: Vector layer with polygonized features.

Polygons to lines ¶

Takes a polygon layer and creates a line layer, with lines representing the boundaries of the polygons in the input layer.

../../../../_images/polygon_to_lines.png

Black lines as the result of the algorithm

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: polygon]: Input polygon vector layer.

Outputs¶

Lines [vector: line]: Lines from the polygon layer.

Project points (Cartesian)¶

Projects point geometries by a specified distance and bearing (azimuth), creating a new point layer with the projected points.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: point]

Point vector layer to project.

Bearing (degrees from North) [number ]

Clockwise angle starting from North, in degree (°) unit.

Default: 0.0

Distance [number ]

Distance to offset geometries, in layer units.

Default: 1.0

Outputs¶

Projected [vector: point]: Projected layer at given degrees and distance.

Promote to multipart ¶

Takes a vector layer with singlepart geometries and generates a new one in which all geometries are multipart.

Input features which are already multipart features will remain unchanged.

This algorithm can be used to force geometries to multipart types in order to be compatible with data providers that require multipart features.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]: Input vector layer.

Outputs¶

Multiparts [vector: any]: Multiparts vector layer.

Rectangles, ovals, diamonds (fixed)¶

Creates a buffer area for all the features in an input layer with different shape choice.

Parameters can vary depending on the shape chosen.

../../../../_images/rectangles_ovals_diamond.png

Different buffer shapes

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: point]

Input point vector layer.

Buffer shape [enumeration]

Different shapes available:

0 — Rectangles
1 — Ovals
2 — Diamonds

Default: 0

Width [number]

Width of the buffer shape.

Default: 1.0

Height [number]

Height of the buffer shape.

Default: 1.0

Rotation [number]

Optional

Rotation of the buffer shape.

Default: 0.0

Number of segment [number]

How many segment should have the buffer shape.

Default: 36

Outputs¶

Output [vector: polygon]: Buffer shape in output.

Rectangles, ovals, diamonds (variable)¶

Creates a buffer area for all the features in an input layer with different shape choice.

Buffer shape parameters are specified through attribute of the input layer.

../../../../_images/rectangles_ovals_diamond_variable.png

Different buffer shapes with different parameters

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: point]

Input point vector layer.

Buffer shape [enumeration]

Different shape available:

0 — Rectangles
1 — Ovals
2 — Diamonds

Default: 0

Width [tablefield: numeric]

Width of the buffer shape.

Default: 1.0

Height [tablefield: numeric]

Height of the buffer shape.

Default: 1.0

Rotation [tablefield: numeric]

Optional

Rotation of the buffer shape.

Default: 0.0

Number of segment [number]

How many segment should have the buffer shape.

Default: 36

Outputs¶

Output [vector: polygon]: Buffer shape in output.

Remove duplicate vertices ¶

Removes duplicate vertices from features, wherever removing the vertices does not result in a degenerate geometry.

The tolerance parameter specifies the tolerance for coordinates when determining whether vertices are identical.

By default, Z values are not considered when detecting duplicate vertices. E.g. two vertices with the same X and Y coordinate but different Z values will still be considered duplicate and one will be removed. If the Use Z Value parameter is true, then the Z values are also tested and vertices with the same X and Y but different Z will be maintained.

Note

Duplicate vertices are not tested between different parts of a multipart geometry, e.g. a multipoint geometry with overlapping points will not be changed by this method.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer with duplicate vertices.

Tolerance [number ]

Vertices closer than the specified distance are considered duplicates.

Default:0.000001

Use Z value [boolean ]

Allows to consider the Z coordinate when detecting duplicate vertices ie two points at the same X,Y coordinate but with different Z value are not set as duplicates.

Default: False

Outputs¶

Cleaned [vector: any]: Vector layer without duplicate vertices.

Remove null geometries ¶

Removes any features which do not have a geometry from a vector layer.

All other features will be copied unchanged.

The features with null geometries can be saved to a separate layer.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]: Input vector layer with NULL geometries.

Outputs¶

Non null geometries [vector: any]: Vector layer without NULL geometries.
Null geometries [vector: any]: Vector layer with only NULL geometries.

Reverse line direction ¶

Inverts the direction of a line layer.

Before and after the direction inversion

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]: Input line vector layer to invert the direction.

Outputs¶

Reversed [vector: line]: Inverted line vector layer.

Rotate ¶

Rotates feature geometries by the specified angle clockwise. The rotation occurs around each feature’s centroid, or optionally around a unique preset point.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Vector layer in input.

Rotation (degrees clockwise) [number ]

Angle of the rotation in degrees.

Default: 0.0

Rotation anchor point (x, y) [point]

Optional

X,Y coordinates of the point to rotate the features around. If not set the rotation occurs around each feature’s centroid.

Outputs¶

Rotated [vector: any]: Vector layer with rotated geometries.

Segmentize by maximum angle ¶

Segmentizes a geometry by converting curved sections to linear sections.

The segmentization is performed by specifying the maximum allowed radius angle between vertices on the straightened geometry (e.g the angle of the arc created from the original arc center to consecutive output vertices on the linearized geometry). Non-curved geometries will be retained without change.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Vector layer in input.

Maximum angle between vertices (degrees) [number ]

Maximum allowed radius angle between vertices on the straightened geometry.

Default: 5.0

Outputs¶

Segmentized [vector: line, polygon]: Vector layer with segmentized geometries.

Segmentize by maximum distance ¶

Segmentizes a geometry by converting curved sections to linear sections.

The segmentization is performed by specifying the maximum allowed offset distance between the original curve and the segmentized representation. Non-curved geometries will be retained without change.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Vector layer in input.

Maximum offset distance [number ]

Maximum allowed offset distance between the original curve and the segmentized representation, in the layer units.

Default: 1.0

Outputs¶

Segmentized [vector: line, polygon]: Vector layer with segmentized geometries.

Set M value ¶

Sets the M value for geometries in a layer.

If M values already exist in the layer, they will be overwritten with the new value. If no M values exist, the geometry will be upgraded to include M values and the specified value used as the initial M value for all geometries.

Tip

Use the ^{Identify Features} button to check the added M value: the results are available in the Identify Results dialog.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer.

M Value [number ]

New M value to assign to the features.

Default: 0.0

Outputs¶

M Added [vector: any]: Vector layer in output with M value.

Set M value from raster ¶

Uses values sampled from a band within a raster layer to set the M value for every overlapping vertex in the feature geometry. The raster values can optionally be scaled by a preset amount.

If M values already exist in the layer, they will be overwritten with the new value. If no M values exist, the geometry will be upgraded to include M values.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer to set the M values to.

Raster layer [raster]

Raster layer to take the M values from.

Band number [raster band]

The raster band to take the M values from if the raster is multiband.

Value for nodata or non-intersecting vertices [number ]

Value to use in case the vertex does not intersect (a valid pixel of) the raster.

Default: 0.0

Scale factor [number ]

Scaling value: the band values are multiplied by this value.

Default: 1.0

Outputs¶

Updated [vector: any]: A vector layer with M values extracted from the provided raster layer.

Set Z value ¶

Sets the Z value for geometries in a layer.

If Z values already exist in the layer, they will be overwritten with the new value. If no Z values exist, the geometry will be upgraded to include Z values and the specified value used as the initial Z value for all geometries.

Tip

Use the ^{Identify Features} button to check the added Z value: the results are available in the Identify Results dialog.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer.

Z Value [number ]

New Z value to assign to the features.

Default: 0.0

Outputs¶

Z Added [vector: any]: Vector layer in output with Z value.

Simplify ¶

Simplifies the geometries in a line or polygon layer. It creates a new layer with the same features as the ones in the input layer, but with geometries containing a lower number of vertices.

The algorithm gives a choice of simplification methods, including distance based (the “Douglas-Peucker” algorithm), area based (“Visvalingam” algorithm) and snapping geometries to grid.

../../../../_images/simplify_geometries.png

Clockwise from top left: source layer and increasing simplification tolerances

Allows features in-place modification

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Polygon or line vector to simplify.

Simplification method [enumeration]

Method of the simplification.

Options:

0 — Distance (Douglas-Peucker)
1 — Snap to grid
2 — Area (Visvalingam)

Default: 0

Tolerance [number ]

Threshold tolerance (in units of the layer): if the distance between two nodes is smaller than the tolerance value, the segment will be simplified and vertices will be removed.

Default: 1.0

Outputs¶

Simplified [vector: line, polygon]: Simplified vector layers in output.

Single sided buffer ¶

Computes a buffer on lines by a specified distance on one side of the line only.

Buffer always results in a polygon layer.

../../../../_images/single_side_buffer.png

Left versus right side buffer on the same vector line layer

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]

Input line vector layer.

Distance [number]

Distance radius of the buffer.

Default: 10.0

Side [enumeration]

Choose which side the buffer should be created:

0 – Left
1 – Right

Default: 0

Segments [number]

Controls the number of line segments to use to approximate a quarter circle when creating rounded offsets.

Default: 8

Join style [enumeration]

Specifies whether round, miter or beveled joins should be used when offsetting corners in a line. Options are:

0 — Round
1 — Miter
2 — Bevel

Default: 0

Miter limit [number]

Only applicable for mitered join styles, and controls the maximum distance from the offset curve to use when creating a mitered join.

Default: 2.0

Outputs¶

Buffer [vector: polygon]: One side buffer polygon vector layer.

Smooth ¶

Smooths the geometries in a line or polygon layer. It creates a new layer with the same features as the ones in the input layer, but with geometries containing a higher number of vertices and corners in the geometries smoothed out.

The iterations parameter dictates how many smoothing iterations will be applied to each geometry. A higher number of iterations results in smoother geometries with the cost of greater number of nodes in the geometries.

The offset parameter controls how “tightly” the smoothed geometries follow the original geometries. Smaller values results in a tighter fit, and larger values will create a looser fit.

The maximum angle parameter can be used to prevent smoothing of nodes with large angles. Any node where the angle of the segments to either side is larger than this will not be smoothed. For example, setting the maximum angle to 90 degrees or lower would preserve right angles in the geometry.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line, polygon]

Polygon or line vector to smooth.

Iterations [number ]

With many iterations the resulting layer will have many nodes.

Default: 1

../../../../_images/smooth_geometry_1.png

Different number of iterations cause smoother geometries

Offset [number ]

Larger values will move the resulting layer borders from the input layer ones.

Default: 0.25

../../../../_images/smooth_geometry_2.png

In blue the input layer. Offset value of 0.25 results in the red line while offset value of 0.50 results in the green line

Maximum node angle to smooth [number ]

Every node below this value will be smoothed.

Default: 180.0

Outputs¶

Smoothed [vector: line, polygon]: The smoothed vector layer.

Snap geometries to layer ¶

Snaps the geometries in a layer either to the geometries from another layer, or to geometries within the same layer.

Matching is done based on a tolerance distance, and vertices will be inserted or removed as required to make the geometries match the reference geometries.

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Vector layer to align.

Reference layer [vector: any]

Vector layer to snap to.

Tolerance [number]

Control how close input vertices need to be to the reference layer geometries before they are snapped. This distance is specified in layer units.

Default: 10.0

Behavior [enumeration]

Snapping can be done on an existing node or a segment (its closest point to the vertex to move). Choose between different snapping options:

0 — Prefer aligning nodes, insert extra vertices where required
1 — Prefer closest point, insert extra vertices where required
2 — Prefer aligning nodes, don’t insert new vertices
3 — Prefer closest point, don’t insert new vertices
4 — Move end points only, prefer aligning nodes
5 — Move end points only, prefer closest point
6 — Snap end points to end points only
7 — Snap to anchor nodes (single layer only)

Default: Prefer aligning nodes, insert extra vertices where required

Outputs¶

Snapped geometry [vector: any]: Vector layer with snapped geometries.

Snap points to grid ¶

Modifies the coordinates of geometries in a vector layer, so that all points or vertices are snapped to the closest point of a grid.

If the snapped geometry cannot be calculated (or is totally collapsed) the feature’s geometry will be cleared.

Snapping can be performed on the X, Y, Z or M axis. A grid spacing of 0 for any axis will disable snapping for that axis.

Note

Snapping to grid may generate an invalid geometry in some corner cases.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Input vector layer to snap.

X Grid Spacing [number ]

Spacing of the grid on the X axis.

Default: 1.0

Y Grid Spacing [number ]

Spacing of the grid on the Y axis.

Default: 1.0

Z Grid Spacing [number ]

Spacing of the grid on the Z axis.

Default: 0.0

M Grid Spacing [number ]

Spacing of the grid on the M axis.

Default: 0.0

Outputs¶

Snapped [vector: any]: Vector layer with snapped geometries.

Subdivide ¶

Subdivides the geometry. The returned geometry will be a collection containing subdivided parts from the original geometry, where no part has more than the specified maximum number of nodes.

This is useful for dividing a complex geometry into less complex parts, easier to spatially index and faster to perform spatial operations. Curved geometries will be segmentized before subdivision.

Left the input layer, middle maximum nodes value is 100 and right maximum value is 200

Note

Subdividing a geometry can generate geometry parts that may not be valid and may contain self-intersections.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Vector layer that will have its feature geometries subdivided.

Maximum nodes in parts [number ]

Maximum number of vertices each new geometry part is allowed to have. Fewer sub-parts for higher values.

Default: 256

Outputs¶

Subdivided [vector: any]: Output vector layer with subdivided geometries.

Swap X and Y coordinates ¶

Switches the X and Y coordinate values in input geometries.

It can be used to repair geometries which have accidentally had their latitude and longitude values reversed.

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]: Input vector layer to swap.

Outputs¶

Swapped [vector: any]: Output swapped vector layer.

Tapered buffers ¶

Creates tapered buffer along line geometries, using a specified start and end buffer diameter.

Tapered buffer example

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]

Input line vector layer.

Start width [number ]

Represents the radius of the buffer applied at the start point of the line feature.

Default: 0.0

End width [number ]

Represents the radius of the buffer applied at the end point of the line feature.

Default: 1.0

Segments [number ]

Number of the buffer segments.

Default: 16

Outputs¶

Buffered [vector: polygon]: Variable buffer polygon layer.

Tessellate ¶

Tessellates a polygon geometry layer, dividing the geometries into triangular components.

The output layer consists of multipolygon geometries for each input feature, with each multipolygon consisting of multiple triangle component polygons.

Tessellated polygon (right)

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: polygon]: Polygon vector layer in input.

Outputs¶

Tesselated [vector: polygon]: Output a multipolygonZ layer with tessellated features.

Transect ¶

Creates transects on vertices for (multi)linestring.

A transect is a line oriented from an angle (by default perpendicular) to the input polylines (at vertices).

Field(s) from feature(s) are returned in the transect with these new fields:

TR_FID: ID of the original feature
TR_ID: ID of the transect. Each transect have an unique ID
TR_SEGMENT: ID of the segment of the linestring
TR_ANGLE: Angle in degrees from the original line at the vertex
TR_LENGTH: Total length of the transect returned
TR_ORIENT: Side of the transect (only on the left or right of the line, or both side)

Dashed red lines represent the transect of the input line layer

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]

Input line vector layer.

Length of the transect [number ]

Length in map unit of the transect.

Default: 5.0

Angle in degrees from the original line at the vertices [number ]

Change the angle of the transect.

Default: 90.0

Side to create the transect [enumeration]

Choose the side of the transect. Available options are:

0 — Left
1 — Right
2 — Both

Default: 0

Outputs¶

Transect [vector: line]: Transect of the source line vector layer.

Translate ¶

Moves the geometries within a layer, by offsetting with a predefined X and Y displacement.

Z and M values present in the geometry can also be translated.

../../../../_images/translate_geometry.png

Dashed lines represent the translated geometry of the input layer

Allows features in-place modification

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: any]

Vector layer in input.

Offset distance (x-axis) [number ]

Displacement to apply on the X axis.

Default: 0.0

Offset distance (y-axis) [number ]

Displacement to apply on the Y axis.

Default: 0.0

Offset distance (z-axis) [number ]

Displacement to apply on the Z axis.

Default: 0.0

Offset distance (m values) [number ]

Offset value to apply on M.

Default: 0.0

Outputs¶

Translated [vector: any]: Translated (moved) vector layer.

Variable distance buffer (Processing Modeler only)¶

Computes a buffer area for all the features in an input layer.

The size of the buffer for a given feature is defined by an attribute, so it allows different features to have different buffer sizes.

Parameters¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Input layer	`INPUT`	[vector: any]	Input vector layer
Distance field	`DISTANCE`	[tablefield: numeric]	Attribute for the distance radius of the buffer
Segments	`SEGMENTS`	[number] Default: 5	Controls the number of line segments to use to approximate a quarter circle when creating rounded offsets.
Dissolve result	`DISSOLVE`	[boolean] Default: False	Choose to dissolve the final buffer, resulting in a single feature covering all input features. Normal and dissolved buffer
End cap style	`END_CAP_STYLE`	[enumeration]	Controls how line endings are handled in the buffer. Round, flat and square cap styles
Join style	`JOIN_STYLE`	[enumeration]	Specifies whether round, miter or beveled joins should be used when offsetting corners in a line.
Miter limit	`MITER_LIMIT`	[number] Default: 2.0	Only applicable for mitered join styles, and controls the maximum distance from the offset curve to use when creating a mitered join.

Outputs¶

Label	Name	Type	Description
Buffer	`OUTPUT`	[vector: polygon]	Buffer polygon vector layer.

Variable width buffer (by M value)¶

Creates variable width buffers along lines, using the M value of the line geometries as the diameter of the buffer at each vertex.

../../../../_images/variable_buffer_m.png

Variable buffer example

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: line]

Line vector layer in input.

Segments [number ]

Number of the buffer segments. It can be a unique value (same value for all the features) or it can be taken from features data (different value depending on the feature attribute).

Default: 16

Outputs¶

Buffered [vector: polygon]: Variable buffer polygon layer.

Voronoi polygons ¶

Takes a points layer and generates a polygon layer containing the Voronoi polygons (known also as Thiessen polygons) corresponding to those input points.

Any location within a Voronoi polygon is closer to the associated point than to any other point.

Voronoi polygons

Default menu: Vector ‣ Geometry Tools

Parameters¶

Input layer [vector: point]

Input point vector layer.

Buffer region [number]

Area of the Voronoi polygons or of the input layer.

Default: 0.0

Outputs¶

Voronoi polygons [vector: polygon]: Voronoi polygons of the input point vector layer.

Vector geometry¶

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