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  • OS Download Products' Documentation
  • Addressing and Location
    • Addressing and Location Portfolio Information
    • AddressBase Fundamentals
      • Release Notes
        • AddressBase Products May 2025 – Epoch 118
        • AddressBase Islands May 2025 – Epoch 118
        • AddressBase Products March 2025 – Epoch 117
        • AddressBase Islands March 2025 – Epoch 117
        • AddressBase Products February 2025 – Epoch 116
        • AddressBase Islands February 2025 – Epoch 116
        • AddressBase Products December 2024 – Epoch 115
        • AddressBase Islands December 2024 – Epoch 115
        • AddressBase Products November 2024 – Epoch 114
        • AddressBase Islands November 2024 – Epoch 114
        • AddressBase Products September 2024 – Epoch 113
        • AddressBase Islands September 2024 – Epoch 113
        • AddressBase Products August 2024 – Epoch 112
        • AddressBase Islands August 2024 – Epoch 112
        • AddressBase Products June 2024 – Epoch 111
        • AddressBase Islands June 2024 – Epoch 111
        • AddressBase Products May 2024 – Epoch 110
        • AddressBase Islands May 2024 – Epoch 110
        • AddressBase Products April 2024 – Epoch 109
        • AddressBase Islands April 2024 – Epoch 109
      • AddressBase product family
      • Future and past publication dates
      • Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN)
      • Coordinate reference systems
      • Classification scheme
      • Data sources
      • Street names and numbering
      • Currency, completeness and precision
      • Product supply
      • Code lists and enumerations
        • AddressbasePostalCode
        • BLPUStateCode
        • ChangeTypeCode
        • CountryCode
        • Date
        • FileTypeCode
        • LanguageCode
        • LogicalStatusCode
        • OfficialFlagCode
        • PostcodeTypeCode
        • RPCCode
        • StateCode
        • StreetClassificationCode
        • StreetRecordTypeCode
        • StreetStateCode
        • StreetSurfaceCode
        • Time
        • USRNMatchIndicatorCode
      • AddressBase local custodian codes
      • AddressBase Islands local custodian codes
    • AddressBase
      • Release Notes
      • AddressBase Getting Started Guide
        • Prerequisites
        • Data supply
        • Working with CSV data
        • Working with GML data
        • Working with COU data
        • Creating a single-line or multi-line address
        • Searching for addresses
      • AddressBase Technical Specification
        • Data formats
        • Supply and update
        • AddressBase structure
        • Feature types
          • Address
          • AddressBase Supply Set
        • Code list and enumerations
        • CSV to GML mapping
        • Example records
          • CSV
          • GML
      • AddressBase Downloads
      • AddressBase Known Data Issues
    • AddressBase Core
      • Release Notes
        • 20 May 2025
        • 13 May 2025
        • 07 May 2025
        • 29 April 2025
        • 23 April 2025
        • 15 April 2025
        • 08 April 2025
        • 01 April 2025
        • 25 March 2025
        • 18 March 2025
      • AddressBase Core Overview
        • Data capture and sources
        • GeoPlace
        • Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN)
        • Coordinate reference systems
        • Classification
        • Currency, completeness and precision
        • Product supply
      • AddressBase Core Getting Started Guide
        • Downloading a dataset
        • Working with CSV data
        • Working with GPKG data
        • Working with COU data
        • Working with tiled data
      • AddressBase Core Technical Specification
        • Data formats
        • Supply and update
        • Attributes
        • Enumerations
        • Example records
      • AddressBase Core Downloads
      • AddressBase Core Known Data Issues
    • AddressBase Plus
      • Release Notes
      • AddressBase Plus Getting Started Guide
      • AddressBase Plus Technical Specification
        • Data formats
        • Supply and update
        • AddressBase Plus structure
        • Feature types
          • Address
          • AddressBase Supply Set
        • Code lists and enumerations
        • CSV to GML mapping
        • Example records
          • CSV
          • GML
      • AddressBase Plus Downloads
      • AddressBase Plus Known Data Issues
    • AddressBase Plus Islands
      • Release Notes
      • AddressBase Plus Islands Getting Started Guide
      • AddressBase Plus Islands Technical Specification
        • Data formats
        • Supply and update
        • AddressBase Plus Islands structure
        • Feature types
          • Address
          • AddressBase Supply Set
        • Code lists and enumerations
        • CSV to GML mapping
        • Example records
          • CSV
          • GML
      • AddressBase Plus Islands Downloads
      • AddressBase Plus Islands Known Data Issues
    • AddressBase Premium
      • Release Notes
      • AddressBase Premium Getting Started Guide
        • Prerequisites
        • Data supply
        • Working with CSV data
        • Working with GPKG data
        • Working with GML data
        • Working with COU data
        • Creating a single-line or multi-line address
        • Searching for addresses
      • AddressBase Premium Technical Specification
        • Data formats
        • Supply and update
        • AddressBase Premium structure
        • Feature types
          • Street – (Type 11 Record)
          • BLPU – (Type 21 Record)
          • AddressBase supply set
          • Feature with lifecycle
        • Structured data types
          • Street Descriptor – (Type 15 Record)
          • Application Cross Reference – (Type 23 Record)
          • LPI – (Type 24 Record)
          • Delivery Point Address – (Type 28 Record)
          • Successor Cross Reference – (Type 30 Record)
          • Organisation – (Type 31 Record)
          • Classification – (Type 32 Record)
          • Entity with lifecycle
        • Dataset metadata
          • Metadata – (Type 29 Record)
          • Header – (Type 10 Record)
          • Trailer – (Type 99 record)
        • Code lists and enumerations
        • Attribute format comparison
        • Example records
          • CSV
          • GML
      • AddressBase Premium Downloads
      • AddressBase Premium Known Data Issues
    • AddressBase Premium Islands
      • Release Notes
      • AddressBase Premium Islands Getting Started Guide
      • AddressBase Premium Islands Technical Specification
        • Release Notes
          • June 2024
        • Data formats
        • Supply and update
        • AddressBase Premium Islands structure
        • Feature types
          • Street – (Type 11 Record)
          • BLPU – (Type 21 Record)
          • AddressBase supply set
          • Feature with lifecycle
        • Structured data types
          • Street Descriptor – (Type 15 Record)
          • Application Cross Reference – (Type 23 Record)
          • LPI – (Type 24 Record)
          • Delivery Point Address – (Type 28 Record)
          • Successor Cross Reference – (Type 30 Record)
          • Organisation – (Type 31 Record)
          • Classification – (Type 32 Record)
          • Entity with lifecycle
        • Dataset metadata
          • Header – (Type 10 Record)
          • Metadata – (Type 29 Record)
          • Trailer – (Type 99 record)
        • Code lists and enumerations
        • Attribute format comparison
        • Example records
          • CSV
          • GML
      • AddressBase Premium Islands Downloads
      • AddressBase Premium Islands Known Data Issues
    • Boundary-Line
      • Release Notes
        • May 2025
        • October 2024
        • June 2024
      • Boundary-Line Overview
        • Data overview
        • Product supply
      • Boundary-Line Product Information
        • Relationships of administrative areas
        • Structure of Boundary-Line
        • Boundary-Line principles and features
        • Case studies
        • Metadata
        • Glossary
        • Exception areas
        • The coastline and associated items
      • Boundary-Line Technical Specification
        • Shapefile, TAB and GKPG
          • Features - Shapefile, TAB and GPKG
            • Area - GB
            • Area - English region
            • Area - Wales region
            • Link feature type
            • Area - Polling districts England
            • Historical and ceremonial boundaries features
          • Layers - Shapefile, TAB and GKPG
            • Shapefile
            • TAB
            • GKPG
          • Code lists - Shapefile, TAB and GKPG
            • AreaCode
            • TypeCode
        • GML
          • Features - GML
            • AdministrativeUnit
          • Code lists - GML
            • AdministrativeHierarchyValue
            • NationalClassificationValue
          • Example record - GML
        • Vector tiles
      • Guide to Ceremonial County Boundaries
      • Additional Product Details
      • Boundary-Line Downloads
      • Boundary-Line Known Data Issues
    • Code-Point
      • Code-Point Overview
        • Product details
        • Product supply
      • Code-Point Products Comparison
      • Code-Point Getting Started Guide
        • Product supply
        • Data structure
        • CSV file processing
        • Data measures
        • Metadata
        • Glossary
      • Code-Point Technical Specification
        • Product structure
        • Supply formats
      • Code-Point Downloads
      • Code-Point Known Data Issues
    • Code-Point Open
      • Code-Point Open Overview
        • Product details
        • Product supply
      • Code-Point Open Products Comparison
      • Code-Point Open Getting Started Guide
        • Requirements for using the data
        • CSV file processing
        • Data measures
        • Loading the data into a GIS
        • Glossary
      • Code-Point Open Technical Specification
        • Product structure
        • Supply formats overview
      • Code-Point Open Downloads
      • Code-Point Open Known Data Issues
    • Code-Point with Polygons
      • Release Notes
        • January 2025
      • Code-Point with Polygons Overview
        • Product details
        • Product supply
      • Code-Point with Polygons Products Comparison
      • Code-Point with Polygons Getting Started Guide
        • Using the vertical street lookup
        • Creating single-space postcodes
        • Data measures
      • Code-Point with Polygons Technical Specification
        • Data supply
        • Specification
      • Code-Point with Polygons Downloads
      • Code-Point with Polygons Known Data Issues
    • 🆕OS Emergency Services Gazetteer
      • 🆕OS ESG Overview
        • 🆕Product supply
        • 🆕Planned enhancements
      • OS ESG Getting Started Guide
      • OS ESG Technical Specification
        • Feature type
          • BLPU (Type 21 Record)
        • Structured data types
          • LPI (Type 24 Record)
          • Classification (Type 32 Record)
        • 🆕Code lists
          • AddressbasePostalCode
          • BLPUStateCode
          • ChangeTypeCode
          • 🆕ClassificationCode
          • CountryCode
          • FileTypeCode
          • LanguageCode
          • LogicalStatusCode
          • OfficialFlagCode
          • RPCCode
          • USRNMatchIndicatorCode
        • Dataset metadata
          • Header (Type 10 Record)
          • Metadata (Type 29 Record)
          • Trailer (Type 99 Record)
      • 🆕OS ESG FAQs
      • 🆕OS ESG Downloads
      • OS ESG Known Data Issues
    • OS Open Built Up Areas
      • Release notes
        • April 2024
      • OS Open Built Up Areas Overview
        • Product details
        • Product supply
      • OS Open Built Up Areas Technical Specification
        • Feature types
          • Built Up Areas
          • Built Up Extents
          • Non Built Up Extents
        • Structured data types
          • MultiSurfaceWithAreaType
          • NameType
        • Code list
          • LanguageValue
        • Supply formats
      • OS Open Built Up Areas Known Data Issues
    • OS Open Names
      • Release Notes
        • April 2025
        • January 2025
        • October 2024
        • July 2024
      • OS Open Names Overview
        • Product applications
        • Product details
        • Product supply
      • OS Open Names Getting Started Guide
        • Obtaining OS Open Names data
        • CSV file processing
        • Loading the data in a GIS
      • OS Open Names Technical Specification
        • Source of OS Open Names
        • Viewing resolution
        • Product structure
        • Feature type
          • NamedPlace
        • Code lists
          • LanguageValue
          • NamedPlaceTypeValue
          • LocalTypeValue
        • Structured data types
          • GeographicalName
          • Identifier
        • Local Type
        • Supply formats overview
        • Attribute naming format comparison
        • LocalType code list
      • OS Open Names Downloads
      • OS Open Names Known Data Issues
    • Points of Interest
      • Release Notes
        • March 2025
        • December 2024
        • September 2024
        • June 2024
      • Points of Interest Product Information
        • Using Points of Interest
        • Data measures and data sources
        • Classification scheme
        • Points of Interest Provenance
        • Glossary
        • Points of Interest symbology
      • Points of Interest Technical Specification
        • Using Points of Interest
        • Pipe delimited text (PDT) file format
          • Record structure
        • Code lists
          • Positional Accuracy
          • Match Indicator
        • Example records
        • Glossary
      • Points of Interest Classification Scheme
        • Accommodation, eating and drinking
        • Commercial services
        • Attractions
        • Sport and entertainment
        • Education and health
        • Public infrastructure
        • Manufacturing and production
        • Retail
        • Transport
      • Points of Interest Class Count
        • Accommodation, eating and drinking
        • Commercial services
        • Attractions
        • Sport and entertainment
        • Education and health
        • Public infrastructure
        • Manufacturing and production
        • Retail
        • Transport
      • Points of Interest Downloads
      • Points of Interest Known Data Issues
  • Contextual or derived mapping
    • Contextual or Derived Mapping Portfolio Information
    • Colour Raster Map Fundamentals
      • Colour Raster Map Overview
        • Metadata
        • Data compression
        • Data measures
        • Product supply
      • Colour Raster Map Technical Specification
        • Georeferencing
        • Image file directory (TIFF)
        • Abbreviations used on OS 1:25 000 and 1:50 000 scale mapping
        • Product glossary
    • 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster
      • 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster Overview
        • Product details
        • Features depicted in the product
        • Georeferencing
      • 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster Technical Specification
      • 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster Downloads
      • 1:25 000 Scale Colour Raster Known Data Issues
    • 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster
      • 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster Overview
        • Product details
        • Features depicted in the product
        • Georeferencing
      • 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster Technical Specification
      • 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster Downloads
      • 1:50 000 Scale Colour Raster Known Data Issues
    • 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster
      • 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster Overview
        • Product details
        • Georeferencing
        • Gazetteer
      • 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster Technical Specification
      • 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster Downloads
      • 1:250 000 Scale Colour Raster Known Data Issues
    • GB Overview Maps
      • GB Overview Maps Downloads
      • GB Overview Maps Known Data Issues
    • MiniScale
      • MiniScale Product Guide
        • Supply and formats
        • Georeferencing
        • Depiction of roads and towns
        • Data compression
        • Features, layers and styles
      • MiniScale Technical Specification
        • National Grid
        • MiniScale file management
      • MiniScale Downloads
      • Miniscale Known Data Issues
    • OS Open Zoomstack
      • OS Open Zoomstack Getting Started Guide
        • Zoomstack vector tiles
        • Zoomstack GeoPackage format
      • OS Open Zoomstack Technical Specification
        • List of Layers
        • Description of the cartographic styles
        • Sea Extent and Name Languages
        • Vector Tiles Schema
        • GeoPackage Schema
      • OS Open Zoomstack Known Data Issues
    • OS OpenMap – Local
      • Release Notes
        • April 2025
      • OS OpenMap – Local Overview
        • Product applications and uses
        • Product details
        • Product supply
      • OS OpenMap – Local Getting Started Guide
        • Loading raster data
        • Loading vector data
        • Loading and displaying GML Data
        • POSTGIS
        • Loading and displaying Shapefile supply
        • Viewing the data in QGIS
        • Using shapefiles in PostGIS
        • Using MapInfo Professional
      • OS OpenMap – Local Technical Specification
        • Data structure
        • Feature types
          • Building
          • ElectricityTransmissionLine
          • Glasshouse
          • RailwayStation
          • RailwayTrack
          • RailwayTunnel
          • Road
          • RoadTunnel
          • Roundabout
          • MotorwayJunction
          • CarChargingPoint
          • Foreshore
          • SurfaceWater_Area
          • SurfaceWater_Line
          • TidalBoundary
          • TidalWater
          • Woodland
          • FunctionalSite
          • ImportantBuilding
          • NamedPlace
        • Code lists
          • RailwayStationClassification
          • RailwayTrackClassification
          • DrawLevelValue
          • OverrideValue
          • RoadClassification
          • RoundaboutClassification
          • CarChargingType
          • RatedVoltage
          • ChargeMethod
          • TidalBoundaryClassification
          • BuildingTheme
          • BuildingClassification
          • SiteClassification
          • FontHeightClassification
          • NamedPlaceClassification
      • OS OpenMap – Local Downloads
      • OS OpenMap – Local Known Data Issues
    • OS VectorMap District
      • OS VectorMap District Overview
        • Generalisation
        • Feature types
        • Style definition
        • Product supply
      • OS VectorMap District Technical Specification
        • GML Overview
        • Raster Specification
        • Georeferencing
        • Feature types
          • Building
          • ElectricityTransmissionLine
          • Glasshouse
          • RailwayStation
          • RailwayTrack
          • RailwayTunnel
          • MotorwayJunction
          • Road
          • RoadTunnel
          • Roundabout
          • Foreshore
          • SurfaceWater_Area
          • SurfaceWater_Line
          • TidalBoundary
          • TidalWater
          • Ornament
          • Woodland
          • FunctionalSite
          • NamedPlace
          • SpotHeight
          • AdministrativeBoundary
        • Code lists
          • RailwayStationClassification
          • RailwayTrackClassification
          • RoadClassification
          • RoundaboutClassification
          • DrawLevelValue
          • OverrideValue
          • TidalBoundaryClassification
          • FunctionalSiteClassification
          • NamedPlaceClassification
          • FontHeightClassification
          • AdministrativeBoundaryClassification
        • Attributes
        • Feature Codes
        • Styling of Land and Sea
      • Vector Simple Guide
        • Downloading OS OpenData
        • Opening OS OpenData in QGIS
        • Styling vector data
        • Opening and saving maps in Composer
      • Raster Simple Guide
        • Downloading OS OpenData
        • Opening OS OpenData in QGIS
        • Opening and saving a map in composer
      • OS VectorMap District Downloads
      • OS VectorMap District Known Data Issues
    • OS VectorMap Local
      • Release Notes
        • January 2025
      • OS VectorMap Local Overview
        • Product details
        • Features represented in the product
        • Product style definition
        • Product supply
        • National Grid coverage for OS VectorMap Local
      • OS VectorMap Local Technical Specification
        • GeoPackage overview
        • GML overview
        • Raster data
        • Feature types
          • Area
          • Line
          • VectorMapPoint
          • RoadCLine
          • RailCLine
          • Text
        • Code lists
          • DrawLevelValue
          • AnchorPositionValue
          • TextFontValue
        • Structured data types
          • textRenderingType
        • Feature codes and descriptions
        • Vector tiles overview
        • Important Buildings classification
      • OS VectorMap Local Downloads
      • Supporting documents
        • OS VectorMap Local Cartographic Style Definitions
      • OS VectorMap Local Known Data Issues
  • Networks
    • Networks Portfolio Information
    • OS Detailed Path Network
      • OS Detailed Path Network Overview
        • Product details
        • Attribution
        • Product supply
        • Coordinate reference system
      • OS Detailed Path Network Getting Started Guide
        • Downloading the data
        • Loading GML data
      • OS Detailed Path Network Technical Specification
        • OS Detailed Path Network structure
        • Feature types
          • Route
          • RouteLink
          • RouteNode
        • Structured data types
          • VerticalGainType
        • Code lists
          • LevelCodeValue
          • PotentialHazardValue
          • RightOfWayValue
          • RouteDescriptiveGroupValue
          • RouteDescriptiveTermValue
          • RouteLinkDescriptiveTermValue
          • RouteNodeDescriptiveTermValue
          • SurfaceTypeValue
        • Data quality
        • GML overview
        • GeoPackage overview
          • Route
          • RouteLink
          • RouteNode
        • Vector Tiles overview
          • Route
          • RouteLink
        • GML examples
      • OS Detailed Path Network Downloads
      • OS Detailed Path Network Known Data Issues
    • OS MasterMap Highways Network Fundamentals
      • Release Notes
        • May 2025
        • April 2025
        • March 2025
        • February 2025
        • January 2025
        • December 2024
        • November 2024
        • October 2024
        • September 2024
        • August 2024
        • July 2024
        • June 2024
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Product Family
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Overview
        • Standards
        • Coordinate reference system
        • Feature types
          • Road Link (present in Roads & RAMI products)
          • Road Node (present in Roads & RAMI products)
          • Path Link (present in Paths product)
          • Path Node (present in Paths product)
          • Connecting Link (present in Paths product)
          • Connecting Node (Present in Paths product)
          • Road (present in Roads & RAMI products)
          • Path (present in Paths product)
          • Street (present in all OS MasterMap Highways Network products)
          • Road Junction (present in Roads & RAMI products)
          • Ferry Link (present in all OS MasterMap Highways Network products)
          • Ferry Node (present in all OS MasterMap Highways Network products)
          • Ferry Terminal (present in all OS MasterMap Highways Network products)
          • Access Restrictions (present in RAMI product)
          • Turn Restrictions (present in RAMI product)
          • Restrictions For Vehicles (present in RAMI product)
          • Hazards (present in RAMI product)
          • Structures (present in RAMI product)
          • Maintenance (present in RAMI & Paths products)
          • Reinstatement (present in RAMI & Paths products)
          • Highways Dedication (present in RAMI & Paths products)
          • Special Designations (present in RAMI & Paths products)
        • Product supply
        • Product packaging
        • File naming
        • Feature validation data set
        • Volume feature count
        • OS Open Roads Lookup Table
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Getting Started Guide
        • What do I need to use this data?
        • Product supply
        • Coverage
        • Product packaging
        • File naming
        • Unzipping GML, GeoPackage, and vector tiles files
        • Loading OS MasterMap Highways Network products into a GIS
        • Relationships between Highways tables
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Playbook
        • Connecting to Address Data
        • Identifying Change in the Network
        • Highlighting Roads Under Construction
        • Creating a Map of Winter Gritting Routes
        • Adding Road Names and Numbers to a Map
        • Merging Tables and Dropping Geometry
        • Creating a Routable Network
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Downloads
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Known Data Issues
    • OS MasterMap Highways Network – Roads
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Overview
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network – Roads Technical Specification
        • Specification changes
        • Structure
        • How the product fits together
        • Change-Only Update (COU) supply
        • Feature types
          • RoadLink
          • RoadNode
          • Road
          • Street
          • RoadJunction
          • FerryLink
          • FerryNode
          • FerryTerminal
        • Structured data types
          • identifier
          • OperationalStateType
          • DesignatedNameType
          • ResponsibleAuthority
          • CycleFacilityType
          • ElevationGainType
          • RoadWidthType
        • Code lists and Enumerations
          • ChangeValue
          • RoadClassificationValue
          • RoadFunctionValue
          • MatchStatusValue
          • OperationalStateValue
          • ProvenanceSourceValue
          • RoadStructureValue
          • LinkDirectionValue
          • FormOfWayValue
          • CycleFacilityValue
          • RoadWidthConfidenceLevelValue
          • FormOfRoadNodeValue
          • RoadNodeClassificationValue
          • AccessPointValue
          • StreetTypeValue
          • JunctionTypeValue
          • ConnectionTypeValue
          • FormOfWaterwayNodeValue
        • GML overview
        • GeoPackage overview
          • ferry_link
          • ferry_node
          • ferry_terminal
          • road
          • road_junction
          • road_link
          • road_node
          • street
        • Vector tiles overview
          • ferry_link
          • ferry_node
          • ferry_node
          • road_link
          • road_node
          • street
        • GML examples
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Getting Started Guide
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Known Data Issues
    • OS MasterMap Highways Network – Routing and Asset Management Information
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Overview
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network – Routing and Asset Management Information Technical Specification
        • Specification changes
        • How the product fits together
        • Routing and Asset Management feature information
          • Data types
            • NetworkReference
            • NodeReference
            • LinkReference
            • PointReference
            • Multiple Link Reference
            • Point Reference
        • Common attribution
        • Rights and Restrictions
          • Feature types
            • AccessRestriction
            • HighwayDedication
            • TurnRestriction
            • RestrictionForVehicles
        • Advisory information
          • Feature types
            • Hazard
            • Structure
        • Asset management
          • Feature types
            • Maintenance
            • Reinstatement
            • Special Designation
        • Change-Only Update (COU) supply
        • Code lists and enumerations
          • ChangeValue
          • UseTypeValue
          • VehicleTypeValue
          • LoadTypeValue
          • NamedDateValue
          • NamedDayValue
          • NamedPeriodValue
          • NamedTimeValue
          • AccessRestrictionValue
          • DedicationValue
          • TurnRestrictionValue
          • RestrictionTypeValue
          • HazardTypeValue
          • StructureTypeValue
          • ReinstatementTypeValue
          • SpecialDesignationTypeValue
          • LinkDirectionValue
          • MaintenanceValue
        • Data types
          • TemporalPropertyType
          • DateRangeType
          • DayPropertyType
          • TimePropertyType
          • TimeRangeType
          • TrafficRegulationOrderType
          • VehicleQualifier
          • ResponsibleAuthority
          • Identifier
        • GML overview
        • GeoPackage overview
          • Access Restriction
          • Highway Dedication
          • Turn Restriction
          • Restriction for Vehicles
          • Hazard Point
          • Hazard
          • Structure Point
          • Structure
          • Maintenance
          • Maintenance Point
          • Maintenance Line
          • Maintenance Area
          • Reinstatement
        • GML examples
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Getting Started Guide
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Known Data Issues
    • OS MasterMap Highways Network – Paths
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network Overview
      • OS MasterMap Highways Network – Paths Technical Specification
        • Specification changes
        • Structure
        • How does the product fit together?
        • Change-Only Update (COU) Supply
        • Feature types
          • PathLink
          • PathNode
          • ConnectingLink
          • ConnectingNode
          • Path
          • Street
          • FerryLink
          • FerryNode
          • FerryTerminal
          • Maintenance
          • Reinstatement
          • SpecialDesignation
          • HighwayDedication
        • Structured data types
          • Identifier
          • CycleFacilityType
          • ElevationGainType
          • OperationalStateType
          • DesignatedNameType
          • ResponsibleAuthority
          • TemporalPropertyType
          • DateRangeType
          • DayPropertyType
          • TimePropertyType
          • TimeRangeType
        • Data types
          • NetworkReferenceLocation
          • Temporal Properties
        • Code lists and Enumerations
          • ChangeValue
          • FormOfWayValue
          • SurfaceTypeValue
          • MatchStatusValue
          • ProvenanceSourceValue
          • CycleFacilityValue
          • FormOfRoadNodeValue
          • RoadNodeClassificationValue
          • OperationalStateValue
          • StreetTypeValue
          • ConnectionTypeValue
          • FormOfWaterwayNodeValue
          • DedicationValue
          • ReinstatementTypeValue
          • SpecialDesignationTypeValue
          • MaintenanceValue
        • GML Overview
        • GeoPackage overview
          • connecting_link
          • connecting_node
          • ferry_link
          • ferry_node
          • ferry_terminal
          • highway_dedication
          • maintenance
          • path
          • path_link
          • path_node
          • reinstatement
          • special_designation
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  • Loading and displaying the ESRI shapefile supply
  • Merging the ESRI shapefile supply
  • Removing duplicate features from merged data

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  1. Topography
  2. OS Open Greenspace
  3. OS Open Greenspace Getting Started Guide

QGIS

PreviousOS Open Greenspace Getting Started GuideNextESRI ArcGIS

Last updated 6 months ago

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It is assumed that the user will have already set the default coordinate reference system in QGIS to British National Grid (EPSG 27700). Instructions on how to do this can be found in the QGIS Getting Started Guide:

Loading and displaying the ESRI shapefile supply

  1. Click on the ‘browse’ button in the next window.

  2. In the next window, navigate to the folder in which the data has been stored following download.

  3. Select the files which need to be loaded and then click ‘open’.

  4. Click ‘open’ again in the following window:

  5. The data will now load into QGIS and will look something like the following:

The data will be loaded un-styled. It will be noted that the data will be loaded by tile reference as shown in the layers panel window of QGIS on the left-hand side of the screen. For small amounts of data, loading in this way will be perfectly acceptable. However, for larger areas, it will be more manageable to merge the data together to load larger areas as one file.

Merging the ESRI shapefile supply

The user may need to load more than one 10000 km² grid square to cover the required area. The user will need to extract the relevant shapefiles from each tile into a folder. In the final release of data, the individual shapefiles will be prefixed with their National Grid 100 km grid square reference letters as shown below:

In OS Open Greenspace, there are two elements of the shapefile data, one for the Greenspace sites and one for the access points. These two elements will need to be merged separately from each other, so that the user will obtain a larger shapefile for the sites and one for the access points.

It is recommended that the user copies each of these elements into a new empty folder before merging is carried out. In the example below, the Access Points for two tiles of OS Open Greenspace have been copied into a ‘Merged_Data’ folder. This will need to be repeated for the Greenspace sites

  1. To merge the shapefiles together in QGIS, from the main menu, select ‘vector’ then ‘data management tools’. The ‘merge shapefiles to one’ option is towards the bottom of the list of options.

  2. In the next window, the user will need to define if the shapefiles to be merged are either points, lines or polygons. OS Open Greenspace contains two layers, the Access Points are point data and the Greenspace Sites layer is a polygon layer. Additionally, the folder where the files to be merged will sit needs to specified. In this example, all the files in the folder specified will be merged, which is easier than defining individual files. Finally, an output folder and file name for the merged shapefile needs to be selected.

  • The user can specify if they want the newly-merged file to be automatically added to the map canvass. Click ‘OK’ when satisfied with the files to be merged and the name and location of the output file has been decided.

  1. Click ‘Close’ on this window when the process is completed. If the user selected the ‘add result to map canvass’ box, the data will appear. In the example below, two tiles of OS Open Greenspace, containing Access Points and Greenspace sites in separate layers, have been merged and loaded.

When working with merged shapefiles of any kind, it is highly recommended that a spatial index be applied to each element of the data, particularly if the user is loading national sets of data. The performance improvement in rendering the data will be very noticeable. To do this, carry out the following procedure:

  1. Right-click on the table in the layers pane on the left-hand side of the screen. In the context menu which appears click ‘Properties’.

  2. In the next window, select the ‘General’ tab on the left and then click on the ‘Create Spatial Index’ button.

  3. Click ‘OK’ when this is done. If working with larger shapefiles, the user will notice a distinct improvement in performance in rendering and panning the data.

At the time of writing this Getting Started Guide, the plan is to make available pre-defined style files for Open Greenspace in both ESRI shapefile and GML output. The style files for QGIS are files which have the .qml extension. These are available to download from the Ordnance Survey Github pages.

It is also possible to style the Greenspace data manually using the tools available within QGIS to produce an output which suits the data user’s needs.

  1. To style an element of the data, right-click on the table in the layers pane and in the context menu, select ‘Properties’.

  2. In the next window, select the ‘Style’ tab on the left-hand side of the window. The user will see something like the following:

It’s now up to the user as to how to style the data. However, for the OS Open Greenspace data, a categorized approach, based upon the attributes within the data, is the logical approach.

  1. Using the drop-down box in the style window, select ‘Categorized’ from the list of options.

  2. In the next window, select the column within the data which is to be used for defining the categories. For the Greenspace Sites layer it will be ‘function’.

  3. The user will now need to add all the categories which make up the different elements of the data. Click the ‘classify’ button towards the bottom of the window.

  4. Once this has been done, a list of categories will now appear in the main window.

  5. Each of the categories will have been assigned a random style by QGIS. To change these, the user should select each category in turn, and using the tools within QGIS, assign their preferred style.

  6. In this example, we are going to style the Allotments or Growing Spaces areas. Double-click on the feature in the list.

  7. The style assigned by QGIs is a simple fill. We are going to keep this but change the colour to something more appropriate. Click on the ‘Simple fill’ box beneath the ‘Fill’ entry.

  8. Another set of tools will now open. Select the drop-down next to ‘Fill’ in Colours.

  9. The user has the option to select from a choice of recent colours or copy, pick or choose a colour using the appropriate menu option. In this example, we will choose a recently used colour. We have also selected a transparent border for the feature.

  10. Click ‘OK’ when finished.

  11. The new colour has been applied to Allotments and Growing Spaces. This will need to be repeated for all the remaining categories, using an appropriate colour for each. When finished, click ‘OK’ at the bottom of the window.

In the example above, we see that QGIS has applied the style to the Allotments features.

  1. To load a predefined style file for OS Open Greenspace, click on the ‘Style’ button at the bottom of the window. Then click on ‘Load Style’.

  2. Another window will open to allow the user to browse to the location of the style file (ending in .qml).

  3. In this example, we will select the Greenspace_Site.qml. Click ‘Open’.

  • The window will now change to a view of the categories in the predefined style as determined by the style file.

  1. The styling will now be applied to the data. In this case, the Greenspace Sites will be styled.

  2. The data will now look something like the above. Styling can also be applied to the Access Points by either styling manually or by adding a predefined style something like the below.

When using the predefined style files available from Github, it is important to consult the quick-start guide with those files for their correct use.

If the user wants to save a style file they have created, they should follow the procedure below:

  1. Click on the layer for which the styling is to be saved. Right-click and select ‘Properties’ to bring up the properties window. Select the styling tab on the left-hand side of the window as previously.

  2. At the bottom, click on ‘Style’.

  • There is now a context menu which allows the user to save the style as a QGIS Layer style file. Select that option.

  1. In the next window, provide a style name and save it to a location. It is suggested that the user saves the style in a new empty folder to make managing style files easier.

  • In the example, we are saving the style file as Greenspace Site.QML.

  1. Click ‘Save’. The file of type should be a QGIS Layer Style file, as we are not saving the style into a database or as a Styled Layer Descriptor in this instance. The style file is now saved and can be loaded into QGIS in future to style updated OS Open Greenspace data or data from a different location. It should be noted that this process needs to be repeated for the Access Points file in the OS Open Greenspace data as separate style files for the access point and greenspace sites shapefiles will need to be produced.

Removing duplicate features from merged data

OS Open Greenspace data is supplied as ‘hairy tiles’ with features which cross a 100km tile edge being supplied in both tiles in which the feature appears. In many instances, the user will simply wish to use the Greenspace data as merged. In this case, there will be no need to remove duplicate features along the tile edges as the features will display perfectly clearly with one duplicate feature overlying the other.

There may, however, be instances where the user wishes to carry out some form of analysis using feature counts contained within the data. In this case, the data will need to have the duplicate features removed. There are several ways within QGIS to achieve this. There are also several plugins for QGIS which can be installed to carry out this function, in particular, one called ‘MMQGIS’. However, methods using these options are not described here.

The ‘Dissolve’ function in QGIS which is part of standard functionality will effectively carry out this procedure. In the example described below, we are going to de-duplicate the merged OS Open Greenspace file that we created in the section on merging shapefiles in this guide. In this example described, we have the file loaded into the map window.

  1. From the main menu, select ‘vector’ then ‘geoprocessing tools’ followed by ‘dissolve’. Another window will then appear.

The user will need to select the input vector layer to be de-duplicated; in this case, the Merged_Greenspace_Sites file is already selected. The dissolve field is set to ‘id’ which will be the field in the data which will be searched for duplicate features. Finally, the user will need to specify an output folder and file name for the de-duplicated data. Once this is done, the user can specify whether the newly created file can be added to the current map canvass.

  1. Click ‘OK’ to start the process.

A message appears once the process is complete. In this example, we have asked QGIS to automatically load the dissolved file. Once again, it is highly recommended that the dissolved file be given a spatial index using the method previously described to improve rendering performance.

Compared with the data which contains duplicates, the de-duplicated data should contain fewer features.

  • This can be confirmed by either running a COUNT query in an expression window or by simply opening the attribute table of the data and comparing the number of features.

  • In the example above, which is the original merged file, there are a total of 4473 features as seen in the attribute table.

In this example, which is the dissolved file, there are now only 4468 features in the layer, so the duplicate features have been removed.

Styling can now be applied to the dissolved file if required. The same style files created earlier or downloaded from Github should work with the dissolved file because no column headers or other changes have been made to attribution.

LOADING AND DISPLAYING THE GML SUPPLY

  1. Open QGIS. Select ‘open vector layer’ from the left-hand toolbar.

  1. In the resulting window, click ‘browse’ to open the window, which will allow the user to select the .GML files to be loaded. The user will need to specify that a .GML (geography mark-up language) file needs to be opened from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the window.

  2. Select the file and then click ‘open’ twice. The .GML data for the OS Open Greenspace contains two elements which make up the data, namely access points and greenspace sites. After selecting the .GML files to load and clicking ‘open’, an additional window will appear:

  3. The user should select the elements from the data which are needed and then click ‘OK’. If both are selected, the user will see something like the example below (the polygons being the greenspace sites and the points being the access points):

The data can now be styled using a predefined style file (.QML file) as described previously or using the tools within QGIS. Please note that style files created for the shapefile supply of the data may not work with GML supply without modifications. It is highly recommended that style files created specifically for the GML supply be used.

  • The styled data will appear in similar fashion to that shown below. In this instance the style files created for the ESRI shapefile supply do work for the .GML data without modifications.

It should be noted that rendering performance of the data within QGIS will be much poorer than in the case of the shapefile format, as GML data cannot be spatially indexed. It should also be noted that multiple 100 x 100 km tiles of OS Open Greenspace .GML data cannot easily be merged together, as with the shapefile option. Consequently, rendering performance will also be much slower. In addition, it is not easy to de- duplicate features along tile edges using common spatial geoprocessing tools within QGIS. As a result, the GML data itself will have to be queried using code scripts to highlight and remove duplicate features within a text editor. The other option would be to use the QGIS facility of saving out the .GML data as shapefiles and then carrying out additional data processing on the shapefiles instead. However, there would be little point in this as one of the OS Open Greenspace supply options is ESRI Shapefile.

Open QGIS. Select ‘Add Vector Layer’ from the left-hand toolbar.

Then, click ‘Apply’ followed by ‘Open’.

8. Coordinate Reference Systems — QGIS Documentation documentation
Ordnance SurveyGitHub
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Add vector layer dialog window
Data shown being opened from TF_AccessPoint.shp and TF_GreenspaceSite.shp files
Files selected for loading into QGIS
AAdd vector layer dialog showing TF_GreenspaceSite.shp file set as a dataset
Data loaded un-styled into QGIS
Merge Shapefiles to One
Merge shapefiles dialog
Data shown loaded into the main data window
Properties option in the dataset context menu
Layer properties dialog showing the Create spatial index
Properties option in the dataset context menu
Layer Properties window
Layer properties window
Layer properties window showing the function category column
Classify button shown on the layer properties window
Categories list displayed in the layer properties main window
Allotment style shown in the layer properties window
Allotment style symbols shown in the symbol selector dialog
Allotment style symbols shown in the symbol selector dialog
Colour options available for the symbol selector window
Symbol selector window showing border options
Layer Properties window showing function symbols styled
QGIS styles applied to the Allotments features
Load style button
File explorer window showing the Greenspace_Site.qml style file
Category view of predefined styles loaded through the style file
Greenspace Sites showing styled data
Greenspace sites access points showing styled data
Layer properties dialog showing the style tab with multiple styled features
Save style menu option on the context menu
File explorer dialog showing .qml file saved in OS_Open_Greenspace folder
Dissolve dialog window showing Dissolved_Greenspace_Sites.shp selected as the output shapefile
Dissolved Greenspace file loaded into QGIS
Data attribute table showing feature counts
Data attribute table showing feature counts
File explorer window showing the GML gile to be loaded into QGIS
Select vector layers dialog showing AccessPoint and GreenspaceSite layers and their feature counts
Greenspace sites and access points loaded into the main QGIS window
Styled data shown in QGIS
Shapefile data shown in QGIS
Shapefile data shown in QGIS
Add vector layer dialog window showing a file source type using system encoding with no dataset selected
Data shown in TF_AccessPoint.shp and TF_GreenspaceSite.shp files in the Windows file explorer
TF_AccessPoint.shp and TF_GreenspaceSite.shp file sselected for loading into QGIS
Add vector layer dialog showing TF_GreenspaceSite.shp loaded with the same parameters
Data loaded un-styled into QGIS shown in the main data window
Merge Shapefiles to One menu item under the Data Management Tools tab in the Vector menu
Merge shapefiles dialog showing Merged_Data uses as an Input directory and GreenspaceArea.shp as an output file
Data shown loaded into the main data window
Properties menu item shown in the bottom portion of the dataset right-click context menu
Layer properties dialog showing the 'Create Spacial Index' button in the coordinate reference menu
Properties menu item shown in the bottom portion of the dataset right-click context menu
Layer properties window showing the styles page
Layer properties window showing the Style tab
Layer properties window showing the function category column selected for styling
Allotment style shown in the layer properties window
Allotment style showing fill patterns selected
Allotment style symbols shown in the symbol selector dialog
Colour options available for the symbol selector window
Symbol selector window showing border options
Layer Properties window showing function symbols styled
QGIS styles applied to the Allotments features
Load style button on the style menu
File explorer window showing the Greenspace_Site.qml style file
Category view of predefined styles loaded through the style file
Greenspace Sites showing styled data
Greenspace sites access points showing styled data
Layer properties dialog showing the style tab with multiple styled features
Save style menu option on the context menu
File explorer dialog showing .qml file saved in OS_Open_Greenspace folder
Dissolve dialog window showing Dissolved_Greenspace_Sites.shp selected as the output shapefile
Dissolved Greenspace file loaded into QGIS and shown in the main map window
Data attribute table showing the feature counts for five attributes
Data attribute table showing feature counts for the layer
File explorer window showing the GML gile to be loaded into QGIS
Select vector layers dialog showing AccessPoint and GreenspaceSite layers and their feature counts
Data loaded into the main data window of QGIS
Styled data shown in QGIS