Everything about QGIS
In the QGIS Navigation course, you will learn how to analyze and visualize route and network data in QGIS for all modes of transportation, including cars, bicycles, pedestrians, public transit, and freight transport. You will work with commonly used plugins such as QNEAT3, ORS Tools, OSRM, and Road Graph to perform route, accessibility, and network analyses on road and path networks.
Would you like to learn how to analyze and visualize routes, accessibility, and networks using geographic data, without having to program? In the QGIS Navigation course, you’ll learn how to independently work with navigation and network data for various modes of transportation—such as cars, bicycles, pedestrians, public transit, and logistics—using QGIS. You’ll discover how to spatially analyze routing and accessibility for planning, mobility, logistics, and decision-making.
QGIS is a powerful open-source GIS platform for analyzing and visualizing geographic data. In this course, you’ll build on your QGIS fundamentals and learn to work with commonly used plugins for navigation and network analysis. You will work with tools such as QNEAT3 (for advanced network and accessibility analyses), ORS Tools (for fast routing and multimodal routes via OpenRouteService), OSRM (for very fast route calculations), and Road Graph (for simple and direct routing on road networks). You will learn how each of these plugins has its own strengths and when to use which one.
Navigation analysis in QGIS goes beyond simply drawing a route from A to B. You’ll learn how to calculate the shortest and fastest routes, how to create service areas and isochrones, how to analyze accessibility, and how to apply networks in various transportation contexts. In doing so, you’ll combine data analysis with cartographic visualization to gain clear insights into mobility and accessibility issues.
In QGIS Navigation, you integrate route and network data directly into your daily GIS workflow. Whether you’re working on mobility analysis, logistics, spatial planning, infrastructure, accessibility of facilities, or location analysis—this course shows you how to solve navigation problems practically and effectively within QGIS, without writing a single line of code.
You’ll work with open-source software, follow a hands-on approach, and develop skills that are immediately applicable in real-world GIS scenarios. Technically substantive, yet clearly explained and focused on both understanding and application.
Please note! Basic knowledge of QGIS is required for this course. If you don’t have this yet, we recommend the QGIS Basic Course!
In this course, you’ll learn step-by-step how to use and analyze navigation and network data in QGIS. You’ll start with the basics: what network data is, how road and path networks are structured, and what role attributes such as speed, direction, and cost play.
Next, you’ll get hands-on experience with:
Through clear explanations and practical exercises, you will learn how to correctly interpret navigation results and apply them in analysis and communication.
This course makes navigation and network analysis accessible to GIS users. While routing is often performed in specialized or external tools, this course demonstrates that you can work professionally right away using QGIS and plugins.
You will learn, among other things:
The course is designed for practical, self-directed learning, using open-source tools and with a strong focus on real-world application.
This course is intended for GIS users who work with route, network, and accessibility issues. Do you work in mobility, logistics, infrastructure, spatial planning, government, consulting, or education? Then this course offers immediate value.
You do not need programming knowledge, but you do need a basic understanding of QGIS. Have you already worked with geographic data and do you want to professionally apply navigation and accessibility analyses in GIS? Then QGIS Navigation is a logical next step.
On Day 1, you’ll lay the groundwork for navigation and routing in QGIS. You’ll learn how network data is structured and what role attributes such as distance, speed, direction, and cost play in route calculations. The focus is on shortest-path analysis for various modes of transportation.
You’ll get hands-on experience preparing and analyzing road and path networks and learn how to calculate the shortest and fastest routes between locations. You’ll work with QNEAT3, the leading plugin for professional shortest path and network analysis in QGIS. You’ll also be introduced to Road Graph for simple and direct route calculations.
By the end of Day 1, you’ll be able to:
Day 1 focuses on understanding how routing works and correctly performing shortest path analyses within QGIS.
On Day 2, you will expand your knowledge from individual routes to accessibility and network analysis. You will learn how to analyze service areas, isochrones, and accessibility for various modes of transportation, such as cars, bicycles, and pedestrians.
You will work with QNEAT3 for service area and isochrone analyses and with ORS Tools for multimodal routing, combining modes of transport and route profiles. You will also learn how OSRM is used for very fast route calculations and batch analyses. The focus is on applicability in mobility, logistics, and spatial planning.
By the end of Day 2, you will be able to:
Day 2 focuses on the analysis, interpretation, and application of navigation and network analyses in realistic GIS workflows
Do you have questions about the course content? Or are you unsure whether the course aligns with your learning goals or preferences? Would you prefer an in-house or private course? We’d be happy to help.
In this course, you will work with several plugins, each with its own specialization. QNEAT3 is the primary plugin for shortest path analysis, network construction, service areas, and isochrones. ORS Tools is used for multimodal routing (car, bicycle, pedestrian) via OpenRouteService. OSRM is used for very fast route calculations and batch analyses, while Road Graph is suitable for simple and direct shortest path routes on road networks.
Yes. In this course, you’ll learn how to integrate QGIS with external route data and services. For example, TomTom data can be used as a base map source or via APIs (depending on licensing and access) to analyze realistic travel times and traffic information and compare them with open data solutions such as OpenStreetMap.
Yes. All exercises can be applied to multiple modes of transportation, such as cars, bicycles, pedestrians, and freight transport. With QNEAT3 and ORS Tools, you’ll learn how to apply different network rules, speeds, and costs for each mode of transportation, ensuring that your analyses reflect real-world conditions.
No. All routing, shortest path, and connectivity analyses are performed using QGIS and plugins via the graphical interface. You’ll learn to understand the underlying principles, but you’ll perform all tasks without writing any code.
Yes, a solid foundation in QGIS is required to fully benefit from the course. If you do not have this foundation, we recommend taking the QGIS basics course.
