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QGIS practical course

This is an eight-lesson practical QGIS course for somebody who may never have used GIS before. The lessons do not assume that you already know where QGIS panels are, how to create a project, what a CRS is, how to add data, how to save an edit or how to tell whether an operation worked.

Each lesson gives you:

  • the exact files and earlier outputs you need
  • the menus and buttons to use
  • the values to type or choose
  • the folder and filename for every saved output
  • a You should now see checkpoint after important steps
  • a verification section before you continue
  • common problems and specific fixes

The course is checked against QGIS 3.44 LTR (Solothurn). As at 4 September 2026 QGIS lists 3.44.13 as the long-term build. The current feature release is QGIS 4.2.1. QGIS recommends the LTR when stability matters, so this course stays on the 3.44 interface while you learn the fundamentals.

Download QGIS · QGIS 3.44 User Guide

Before lesson 1​

Complete this setup once. Do not skip it even if QGIS is already installed.

1. Install QGIS 3.44 LTR​

  1. Open the official QGIS download page in your web browser.
  2. Find the installer for your operating system.
  3. Choose the Long Term Version / 3.44 LTR rather than the latest 4.x feature release.
  4. Download the installer.
  5. Run the installer.
  6. Accept the normal installation defaults unless your organisation has given you different instructions.
  7. When installation finishes, close the installer.
  8. Open QGIS.
  9. In QGIS choose Help → About.
  10. Confirm the version begins with 3.44.
  11. Close the About window.

If your work computer does not allow software installation, ask the person who manages software for your organisation to install QGIS 3.44 LTR. Do not download an unofficial copy from another website.

2. Create the course folder​

Use File Explorer on Windows or Finder on macOS.

  1. Go to a location where you are allowed to create and edit files. Your Documents folder is suitable for a personal computer.
  2. Create a new folder called:
qgis-course
  1. Open qgis-course.
  2. Create these four folders inside it:
01_source
02_working
03_project
04_outputs
  1. Inside 02_working, create another folder called:
backups
  1. Inside 01_source, create another folder called:
historical-imagery

Your folder structure should now be:

qgis-course/
  01_source/
    historical-imagery/
  02_working/
    backups/
  03_project/
  04_outputs/

Do not work directly from a ZIP file, email attachment or web-browser download preview. Put source files into 01_source first.

3. Create the project file​

  1. Start QGIS.
  2. If a welcome screen appears, choose New Project. If not, choose Project → New.
  3. Choose Project → Save As….
  4. Browse to qgis-course/03_project.
  5. In the filename box type:
qgis-course.qgz
  1. Click Save.
  2. Look at the QGIS title bar. It should now contain qgis-course rather than Untitled Project.

From now on, press Ctrl+S on Windows or Command+S on macOS regularly. The lessons also tell you when saving is essential.

4. Make sure the important panels are visible​

QGIS normally opens with a map canvas in the centre and panels at the sides. If your screen looks different, restore the panels now.

  1. Choose View → Panels.
  2. Make sure Layers Panel is ticked.
  3. Choose View → Panels again.
  4. Make sure Browser Panel is ticked.
  5. If the Processing Toolbox is already open, you can leave it open. If not, later lessons show you exactly when to open it.

The Layers panel lists data currently in your map. The Browser panel lets you browse files, databases and services. The large central area is the map canvas.

5. Set the project CRS​

A CRS tells QGIS how coordinates relate to locations on Earth. This course uses NZGD2000 / New Zealand Transverse Mercator 2000, usually called NZTM2000, with code EPSG:2193.

  1. Look at the lower-right corner of the QGIS window.
  2. Click the CRS indicator. It may show an EPSG code or a CRS name.
  3. The Project Properties – CRS window opens.
  4. Click the filter/search box.
  5. Type:
2193
  1. In the results, click NZGD2000 / New Zealand Transverse Mercator 2000 – EPSG:2193.
  2. Click OK.
  3. Press Ctrl+S or Command+S.
  4. Look again at the lower-right corner. It should now show EPSG:2193.

Do not change the CRS of source data merely because it uses another valid CRS. QGIS can transform layers for display. Lesson 3 deliberately imports longitude and latitude in WGS 84 / EPSG:4326 and converts the working copy to EPSG:2193.

6. Create a simple project README​

You will record decisions and methods as you work.

  1. Open a plain-text editor such as Notepad on Windows or TextEdit in plain-text mode on macOS.
  2. Create a new file.
  3. Type:
QGIS practical course
Project CRS: NZTM2000 / EPSG:2193
Started: [today's date]

Source notes

Method notes
  1. Save it as:
qgis-course/03_project/README.md

If your editor tries to add .txt, choose All files or equivalent and make sure the final filename is README.md, not README.md.txt.

What you will build​

By the end of the course you will have:

  • a saved QGIS project in NZTM2000
  • public imagery and vector data around a familiar place
  • a documented block/parcel comparison
  • an ingoa wāhi layer with source fields
  • a local GeoPackage you created yourself
  • a checked spreadsheet join
  • a derived spatial-analysis result
  • a georeferenced historical aerial photograph
  • an A3 and A4 PDF map suitable for a hui or project discussion
  • source and method notes that another person can follow

Course data​

The course avoids mystery files and pretend downloads. Where a lesson needs a small table, you either create it yourself from text shown in the lesson or use a maintained public demonstration file whose contents and source are documented.

Lesson 3 uses the reviewed Wairarapa public-place demonstration CSV. It contains three public place-name records checked against the New Zealand Gazetteer and is also documented in the Local AI complete example.

The source coordinates in that CSV are longitude/latitude in WGS 84 / EPSG:4326. The course explicitly shows you how to tell QGIS that, then save the working data into the project GeoPackage in NZTM2000 / EPSG:2193.

How to read the instructions​

When a lesson says click, use the normal primary mouse button. When it says right-click, use the secondary mouse button or your operating system's equivalent.

A path such as:

Layer → Add Layer → Add Delimited Text Layer…

means click Layer on the main menu, then Add Layer, then Add Delimited Text Layer….

A filename such as:

02_working/course.gpkg

is relative to your qgis-course folder. It means the file course.gpkg inside the 02_working folder you created during setup.

If a dialog contains Apply and OK, use Apply when you want to see the change without closing the dialog. Use OK when the instruction says the settings are finished.

If a lesson says save edits, that is different from saving the QGIS project. Vector edits must be saved to the data layer, and the .qgz project must also be saved. The lessons tell you to do both where needed.

Lessons​

  1. Open a familiar place — add real imagery and vector data, learn the QGIS screen, inspect attributes and record sources.
  2. Compare Māori land and parcels — compare source systems without treating Māori Land Court block information and cadastral parcels as the same thing.
  3. Label ingoa wāhi — add a UTF-8 CSV, preserve macrons, export to GeoPackage and create useful labels.
  4. Create a local GeoPackage layer — create fields, enter points, configure a form, save edits and make a backup.
  5. Join a spreadsheet — create a CSV, add it as a table, join on a stable key and find unmatched records.
  6. Run spatial analysis — create a polygon, select by location, buffer, clip and intersect.
  7. Georeference a historical map — download a Retrolens image, create control points, transform it and check alignment.
  8. Make a map for hui — build a print layout, add essential map elements, export PDF and check the result outside QGIS.

Course rule​

Do not continue because you managed to click Run. Continue when the lesson's Verify before moving on section is true on your own computer.

If your screen does not match the instruction, stop at that step and use the lesson's common-problem section. GIS errors compound quickly when an early CRS, file or layer mistake is ignored.

Finish standard​

The course is complete when you can close QGIS, reopen 03_project/qgis-course.qgz and show another person:

  1. the original source-data folder
  2. 02_working/course.gpkg
  3. an analysis output created from earlier layers
  4. the georeferenced historical raster
  5. the final A3 and A4 PDF maps
  6. the source and method notes explaining where the main layers came from and what you did to them

That is a much better test of useful GIS capability than remembering where a particular toolbar button happens to be.

Last reviewed: 4 September 2026

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