Here we discuss installation of QuantumGIS, and GrassGIS for the course.
The newest version of QGIS is version 0.8. This version also contains the GRASS plugin, which we will be making use of in later modules. You can find a list of available versions for different operating systems at the following link:
http://download.qgis.org/qgis/
If you don't see your operating system listed, it probably means that the QGIS developers haven't finished porting it yet. However, we have written some suggestions and help for operating systems with which we are familiar.
Scroll down to the table with different platforms and get to the "Windows" version: download the most current version: qgis-0.8.0_setup.exe
Double click on the downloaded file to install
The first time you run QGIS activate the GRASS plugin. You can do this through the plugins menu at the top of the screen.
IMPORTANT: the modules in GRASS plugin work only on GRASS data format only. To use the analytical functions of the GRASS toolbox, you need to have opened a mapset where you have writting permisions.
QGIS is a rapidly developi?g application. Some of our modules were created with use of QGIS version 0.7.4. You can install the older version of QGIS and use it for some (not all) exercises in parallel with the current version 0.8.x. To install qGIS 0.7.4:
Download the installation file from here (27Mb).
Double click on the application to start an installation wizard. (the default installation folder is c:\program files\quantum gis74\).
The version of QGIS listed above is extremely new, and as such, some linux distributions that use package managers (i.e. RPM on Redhat, Yast on SuSE, apt on ubuntu and debian) have net yet included it in their repositories. If they do contain a version of QGIS, it's probably the more distant version of 0.7.4, and on this version the GRASS plugin does NOT function. Thus, we would recommend that you download the version from the link we have provided, rather than attempting to get it through a package manager.
If you cannot find a version of QGIS 0.8 that is specific to your operating system, you will have to compile it from the source code, which is also available at this link. We can provide some rudimentary instructions on compiling from source, but because of the differences in every linux distribution and in individual configurations, this may be a difficult process.
First, make sure that you have the newest version of Qt (4.2.2). If you don't, you can get it in two ways. First. if it is available as a package on you distribution, you can install it that way.
If not, you can download the source code. To get the newest version by going here and downloading it. Once you've downloaded it, you need to install it. Open up a terminal, navigate to the downloaded file,then:
copy the file to your home directory
cp qt-x11-opensource-src-4.2.2.tar.gz /home/(yourusername)
go to the home directory and extract it
tar xvf qt-x11-opensource-src-4.2.2.tar.gz
go into the newly created directory (qt-x11-opensource) and configure the program (this will probably take a while)
./configure
make the compilation files (this will also take quite a long time)
make
compile QT (you should be in superuser mode for this part--the command below should work on most distributions)
sudo make install
Download the source code for QGIS 0.8 here.
Open up a terminal window and copy the file to your /home/(yourusername) directory
Navigate in the terminal to wherever you downloaded the file and type:
cp qgis-0.8.0.tar.gz
Navigate to the home directory
Unpack the file by typing the following:
tar xvf qgis-0.8.0.tar.gz
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When you get back to the command prompt you need to enter the directory that was just unpacked, so type:
cd qgis-0.8.0
From there, you can install the program by typing:
./configure
When I typed this step, I recieved an error message telling me that it Qt4.2 was not installed. This was of course after I had spent quite a long time compiling qt4.2, so I was confused. However, upon reading the documentation, I realized that I had to specify on the command line where qt4.2 was located. Thus, I ended up using this command instead:
./configure --with-qtdir=/usr/local/Trolltech/Qt-4.2.2
When that has finished, type the following
make
Then, as root/superuser, type:
make install
Go to the main download page at QGIS here, where you can find a dmg file that can be utilized on OSX.