QField Setup
QFIELD is a very useful field data collection program. It can be set up on your company tablet (hopefully with an in-built GPS chip) or your personal/work phones for quick/unencumbered field data collection.
For routine task, I would advise the setup of a master geopackage file (.gpkg). This .gpkg is the master geopackage that all field collected data is synced to once collected. Ensure you add this .gpkg to the project you plan to export to QField.
It may take some time, but set up the .gpkg fields to suite your usage. It is a good idea to match the .gpkg’s configuration to your companies databse, to allow for easier importing of collected rock, soils, etc data straight into your database without having to change the fields too much post collection.
Keep your master .gpkg in a central location
In the context of geological field data collection, you could utilise this .gpkg to contain field data for all of your projects. This however, entails editing the .gpkg layers to suite your specific project area before exporting. Go through the different fields attribute form defaults/options to tweak it to the specifc project you are about to embark on a field data collection program (e.g. GDA Zones, geology options, project names, etc). Do this for all layers within the geopackage. not just one.
Packaging your QGIS project for QField
Install the QField Sync plugin
Configure your Project
Make all the layers you’d like to take into the field visible in your QGIS project, hiding all layers not required. Then click the “Configure Current Project” button in the QField Sync toolbar.
It is tricky to know what you can get away with bringing to the field, obviously the more data you have on hand in the field, the better, but the risk is that the project will be slow to run or not open properly, Multiple Gb size raster images (geophysics, aerial imagery, etc) are the main cause of headaches.
Next follow these steps in correct order:
Click “add all layers”
Click “remove hidden layers”
Change the FieldData layers ‘Action field’ to ‘Offline Editing’ (This will allow us to add features to these fields whilst in the Field.
Basemaps
If you don’t already have a reasonale sized aerial imagery basemap (<5gb) in the project, utilise the raster tool “Generate XYZ tiles (MBTiles)” tool to create a smaller basemap from bing/google earth aerial.
Hide everything except the aerial imagery before running the tool, as it creates the .MBtiles image of everything displayed on teh canvas at the time of running the tool
If your basemap layer has the same CRS as your project (generally CRS 3857 for .MBTiles, which unfortunately, you can’t edit), do the following:
Return to the QField configuration window and select “Create Base Map”, then sellecting the created smaller .MBTiles basemap. Set tile size to 1024 and map units/pixel to 1. Ensure the ‘Action’ for this basemap layer is set to ‘Remove’, as we have assigned it as a basemap, it no longer needs to be ‘copied’ into the packaged QField project.
If your project CRS differs from your basemap file CRS, you can either change the project CRS, and reporject all your layers to match the basemap CRS, or do the following and hope it works:
Set your desired basemaps file action to ‘Copy’
Untick ‘Create Base Map’
Transfer the Project to QField
Click "Package project for QField’ and seet export directory with an appropriate folder where you are storing packaged projects (e.g. S:\GIS\QFIELD\Packaged Projects).
Once packaged successfully, copy the whole filed onto your field device (phone/tablet), and load the project file through the QField app to check everything loads fine
Recording Data in the Field
Point data entry (e.g. rock/soil/stream or field station entry)
Polygon data entry (e.g. outcrop capture, alteration halos)
Syncing a Project from QField back into QGIS
Retrieve the QField project from your mobile directroy (On samsung/android, it will be found somewhere like below)
Note: This is not the same locaiton you originally placed the project, as when importing into QField, the app takes your original file, and copies it to a new location where it writes your field data entries to.
2. Save the project back to your system in a created import folder location (e.g. S:\GIS\QFIELD\Field QGIS Package Imports)
3. Open your relevant QGIS project and click “Syncronize from Field”
4. Navigate to the saved project location and select the project of interest
5. QGIS should now synchronie your collected field data into the Master .gpkg, and your collected field data will be visible in all QGIS projects that have the Master .gpkg loaded.
Note: If you have multiple devices that were used to collect field data over teh same field period, syncing them should not overwrite each previous synch, although I havn’t trialed this yet.
