Frequently Asked Questions about QMS

If you don’t see an answer to your question below, let us know, we’ll add it here.

• General
• Using a service
• Adding a service
• Fixing a service
• Removing a service
• Warranties and Limitation of Liability
• Legal

General

Q: What’s QuickMapServices?
A: QuickMapServices (QMS) is an open catalog of geospatial services and a way to add them to your GIS in one click (read more).

Q: What is the goal of QMS
A: To make geospatial services more accessible.

Q: Why add a service to QMS?
A: To easily find and add a service to your GIS project. Literally in just a click.

Q: Can I add services to GIS without QMS?
A: Sure. But you’ll have to enter cumbersome links and parameters.

Using a service in GIS

Q: How do I use a service from QMS in my GIS?
A: Search and add it in your GIS using a QMS plugin. Currently there are plugins for QGIS, ArcGIS and NextGIS Mobile.

Q: What kind of data will I get by using a QMS service?
A: This depends on a service. Through QMS you can get access to vector data, basemaps or rasters.

Adding a service to QMS

Q: What kind of services can I add to QMS?
A: You can add:

• TMS – Tile Map Service
• WMS – Web Map Service
• WFS – Web Feature Service
• GeoJSON – geospatial in GeoJSON format. Link to a file or a data stream.

Q: What are the minimum requirements to add a service?
A: At the very least you’ll need to provide a correct service url.

Q: All these abbreviations mean absolutely nothing to me, can I still add a service?
A: Unfortunately, not at this point, you’ll need to learn the basics of geospatial services first.

Q: Ok. I’ve found a website with a map like and copy-pasted its link. Can I use it now?
A: Most probably not. Link copied from the browser's address bar is typically not a service link that you can add to QMS.

Q: What does correct service link look like?
A: Here are few examples and their particular features:

• TMS – http://tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png
  • This service provides tiled images
  • Note z, x, y – these are placeholders for tile numbers
  • You can use {switch:1,2,3} to specify the list of domains. e.g. http://{switch:a,b,c}.tile.openstreetmap.org/{z}/{x}/{y}.png
• WMS – http://cartoweb.cma.gva.es/arcgis/services/cartografia_tematica/MapServer/WMSServer
  • This service provides untiled imagery
  • Note words like ‘wms’ or ‘wmsserver’ in the link
• WFS – http://www.wfs.nrw.de/geobasis/wfs_nw_alkis_vereinfacht?REQUEST=GetCapabilities&SERVICE=WFS
  • This service provides vector data
  • Note words like ‘wfs’ or WFSserver’ in the link
• GeoJSON – http://opengeo.intetics.com.ua/osm/pa/data/protected_area_polygon.geojson
  • This service provides vector data and is probably the simplest, being just a file with data laying on a server
  • File can be hosted anywhere, as long as it’s valid GeoJSON

Q: What should I know to successfully add a WMS service to QMS?
A: Please note the following specifics when adding a WMS:

• You should use layer(s) NAME, not layer(s) TITLE.
• To check what layers are available, add your WMS to QGIS first with Layer/Add Layer/WMS layer... and have a look at what's there.

Q: I’ve seen service links that are different from examples above, are there other examples?
A: Yes, there are lots of varieties and service links can look very different. Just browse QMS by clicking on a service type and see what kind of links other services show.

Q: I’ve created a service, but the type is incorrect, can I change it?
A: You can't change the type of a service once it is created. Remove it and create another one with the correct type.

Q: How do I check that my service is OK?
A: If the validator colored it green.

Q: What is the service boundary and why add it?
A: Service boundary describes its geographic extent. It is not mandatory, but if the service has a boundary, several convenient features become available. For example, service becomes discoverable by its location on the map, even if the name is unknown.

Q: How do I add a service boundary?
A: Service boundary can be added while creating or editing a service. Service boundary is a GeoJSON file with the following parameters:

• Coordinate system EPSG: 4326
• Geometry type: polygon or multipolygon
• File size: 2 MiB
• Number of features in a file: one (can in fact be several, but only the first one will be used).

Q: Where do I get a GeoJSON file?
A: GeoJSON can be created in QGIS or at https://geojson.io

Q: I added a service boundary, how do I check if it works ok?
A: After adding a boundary - find this service in QMS for QGIS and place a mouse cursor over the service in the search panel. If all goes well, a green rectangle defining service extent will appear on the map. If not - double check your GeoJSON and re-upload if there are problems.

Fixing a service

Q: I’ve found a service, but it doesn’t work for me. How do I fix it?
A: Use feedback form.

Every service has its author (aka maintainer or submitter). Feedback form lets the submitter know that the service is broken. Provide information on how to fix it or what the symptoms are.

Q: I’ve notified the service maintainer about the problem and provided a solution, but the maintainer is not reacting. What can I do?
A: If the maintainer doesn’t reply for a long time – create a new service (you’ll become its maintainer). Old incorrect service will gradually be removed.

Removing Services from catalog

Q: I've created a service, but it was removed. Why?
A: There are several reasons why we remove services:

• the service is plain wrong or not working for a long time (due to a broken link or other parameters)
• the service is a duplicate of an already created one
• the service lacks a proper name and/or description. QMS is a public collection, all services must have explicit metadata.

Q: How can I remove a service?
A: Find a service you'd like to remove. If you're a submitter for this service you'll see a Delete button in the top right corner. Use it. You can't undo this action.

Warranties and Limitation of Liability

Q: Does NextGIS provide any kind of warranty on QMS entries?
A: QuickMapServices is a crowd-sourced catalog of information. Anyone can add any service which may become public. We perform initial and regular automated technical validation of the service to make sure they work. However, we do not provide any warranty on correctness, performance, completeness or other parameters of the service listed in QMS catalog.

Legal

Q: Is information I obtain via QMS legal and/or official?
A: QuickMapServices is a crowd-sourced catalog of information. Anyone can add any service which may become public. We do not make any legal checks so it is impossible for us to comment on its legal or official status.

Q: I need more information on the legal status of one of the QMS entries. What should I do?
A: Please contact the entry creator by clicking the Feedback button or inquire with your lawyers. You can also check license parameters of the service if they are present.

Q: I’m interested if I can legally use one of the QMS entries?
A: Please contact your lawyers or creator of the QMS entry.

Q: QMS entry is violating my company terms, how do I make it removed from the catalog?
A: Please contact us at info@nextgis.com. Provide clear evidence that you’re entitled to represent a company that runs the service cataloged at QMS.