Downloading and using data from the OS Data Hub
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In this tutorial we are going to explain how to create an OS Data Hub account, download Ordnance Survey (OS) data and then load it into a GIS (or other appropriate software).
In order to access OS Data and APIs you will need to sign up to the OS Data Hub. There are 3 account types:
OS OpenData Plan – this is freely available to anyone or any business and gives you access to OS OpenData and OpenData APIs.
Public Sector Plan – if you work for a public sector organisation, you can access OS Premium data and APIs in addition to OS OpenData through the PSGA,
Premium Plan – gives you access to OS Premium Data and Services.
If you’re just starting out with OS Data, we recommend signing up a free OS OpenData Plan to get you started. To create an account on the OS Data Hub navigate to osdatahub.os.uk/plans
Create a free Data Hub account by selecting the purple Sign-Up button in the top right corner. Choose the OS OpenData Plan on the left hand side.
Enter your email address and select Get verification code. A code will be sent to your inbox to input into the box below.
Once verified, click Next to input your details and create a password.
You are now signed up to the OS Data Hub and can access all the OS Open data and APIs.
To download OS data from the OS DataHub, go to the ‘Download’ tab and then on the left, select ‘OS OpenData downloads’. If you have a Premium Plan or Public Sector Plan you’ll also be able to see the premium data available to you.
You’ll be shown a selection of OS Products which are available for you to download. For this tutorial we are going to download OS Open Zoomstack which provides a great contextual basemap for projects but can also be used analytically.
Click on this and then in the ‘Data Format’ dropdown, select the data format you wish to download the data in e.g. Geopackage and then click the link next to ‘Download’ to start the download.
The downloaded file will likely by saved by default in your ‘Downloads’ Folder on your PC as a .Zip file. Copy this file somewhere suitable on your PC.
Now that you’ve downloaded your data, you can load it into a GIS (or suitable alternative software) to view it and start with some simple styling or analysis.
How you add data will depend on the software you are using and the file format you have downloaded the data in. Getting Started Guides are available for all products within OS Download Products' Documentation site.
Once you are on the OS Download Products' Documentation site, find the product you are interested in from the left-hand-side menu (products are grouped by portfolio). Click on the product name, then select the Getting Started Guide from the dropdown list of documents available for the product.
Within the Getting Started Guide there will be details of how to add your data in various formats to different GIS software packages.
Please see our separate tutorial on ‘How to access and apply stylesheets’.
