This semester I am investing some time in refreshing my Matlab skills. Since many readers are either new to spatial analysis entirely or learning some new software themselves, I thought it might be useful for me to highlight some of the learning tools I'm using. In 2015 or thereabouts I took a full semester course… Continue reading Linked In Learning
QGIS 3 Software Update
I know I've been super behind on updating my QGIS software. I stuck to 2.18.19 for the last couple years because I don't like changing versions mid-project, but it's beyond time now. A stable release of QGIS 3 has been available since 2018, and I moved to version 3.8 a few weeks ago. The difference… Continue reading QGIS 3 Software Update
Site Pages: GIS
I've covered lots of different topics in the year+ that Spatially Challenged has been around. In order to make it a little more reader-friendly, I do keep an organized list of GIS-related blog posts on a static page. Just click the GIS button on the main menu (see below) or just click here. Not every… Continue reading Site Pages: GIS
Preparing for Your Defense
I've had a few friends reach out to me this fall asking about how I prepared for my MS defense. I won't say I'm an expert on this (my defense was quite rough), but I did pass. Below are some resources that helped me feel prepared. Most of my last semester was very focused on… Continue reading Preparing for Your Defense
Project CRS
Sometimes when you're generating new layers in QGIS, you don't get the results you're expecting. This could be due to your Project CRS being in weird units or not matching the other files you're working with. I broke out the same example file as the last few posts to show you how to change your… Continue reading Project CRS
Render Checkbox in QGIS
Every now and again someone asks me about "that little checkbox at the bottom of QGIS." Look at the picture below to see what they're talking about. The Render box is checked by default in QGIS. When it is checked, all active layers in you map will be rendered, or created, every time you pan… Continue reading Render Checkbox in QGIS
Save a File with a New CRS
Last week I posted about on-the-fly projections, which is enabled by default in QGIS. It works so well that sometimes we forget when layers are in different coordinate reference systems until we try to run a geoprocessing algorithm. Fortunately, when you inevitably run into this issue it is very easy to solve. To illustrate this… Continue reading Save a File with a New CRS
On The Fly Projection
Over the last few weeks I've seen a couple wonky things in QGIS when I scroll in super far, and have had a few friends call me with error messages related to coordinate reference systems (learn more about CRSs here). These issues are common when different layers in your QGIS project are using different CRSs.… Continue reading On The Fly Projection
Back-to-School
As Wisconsin celebrated back-to-school this past week, I thought I'd share some of my musings on classes. One of the more useful things I learned through social dancing is that course content is only one of many reasons to take a class. Attending and participating in a dance classes is one of the best ways… Continue reading Back-to-School
Better Figures
When I'm not maintaining my own blog, I like to read other people's blogs. Today I'm sharing one of my favorites, Better Figures. The lead author, Doug McNeall, is a climate scientist in the UK. He uses his platform to give constructive feedback on graphics used in climate science. This blog isn't updated super frequently,… Continue reading Better Figures
