Adding functionality using actions

Actions are a convenient way of adding custom functionality to QGIS. Actions are created for specific layers, for example, our populated places dataset, popp.shp. Therefore, to create actions, we go to Layer Properties | Actions. There are different types of actions, such as the following:

• Generic actions start external processes; for example, you run command-line applications such as ogr2ogr

  Note

  ogr2ogr is a command-line tool that can be used to convert file formats and, at the same time, perform operations such as spatial or attribute selections and reprojecting.

• Python actions execute Python scripts
• Open actions open a file using your computer's configured default application, that is, your PDF viewing application for .pdf files or your browser for websites
• Operating system (Mac, Windows, and Unix) actions work like generic actions but are restricted to the respective operating system

Configuring your first Python action

Click on the Add default actions...