QGIS 3.40 New Features: Cloud Storage Access

Introduction

QGIS 3.40 “Bratislava” was released on October 25, 2024.

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is a charming city near other Central European capitals. You can easily reach Vienna, Budapest, and Prague from there by train.

This article introduces some of the new features from the changelog for version 3.40.

User interface

Autosize all columns when opening an attribute table

You can now set the width of attribute table columns to adjust automatically to the size of the text in each value.

To enable this option, open Settings → Options from the menu bar. On the Data Sources tab, check Autosize all columns by default when opening attribute table.

Project color model settings

Project Properties now includes a setting for managing the color model within a project. You can set the color model by specifying colors in RGB or CMYK, or by loading an ICC file.

With a color model set, you can choose from colors registered in advance, for example in the symbology settings. This lets you keep the colors used in the project consistent.

Add connections to cloud storage providers in the Browser panel

The Browser panel can now connect to cloud storage. You can load vector and raster data sources supported by GDAL directly from cloud providers such as AWS S3, Azure, and Google Drive. You can also create, edit, delete, export, and import connections through XML files.

STAC data integration

STAC (SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog) is a standard specification for organizing geospatial data into catalogs so that it can be searched and shared. Data providers use it for data such as imagery, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and point clouds.

With this update, you can load data from STAC data catalogs in the Browser panel. You can create, edit, and delete catalog connections, check the details of each item, and download data.

Symbology

Stacked diagrams

You can now display multiple diagrams side by side, horizontally or vertically, for a single feature. This makes it easy to create complex diagrams such as population pyramids.

Style categories for raster layers

When you copy the properties or style of a raster layer, you could previously select only All Style Categories. Now you can copy by category. You can choose from the following style items:

• Layer Configuration
• Symbology
• Map Tips
• Rendering
• Custom Properties
• Temporal Properties
• Elevation Properties
• Attribute Table Configuration
• Notes

Processing

Add Processing tools to Favorites

You can now collect the Processing tools you use often as favorites. This lets you call up frequently used Processing tools right away. To add a tool, right-click it in the Processing Toolbox and select Add to Favorites.

The ⭐︎Favorites toggle appears once you add a Processing tool to your favorites.

How to upgrade

The article below explains in detail how to upgrade QGIS. Have a look at it as well.

Conclusion

QGIS 3.40 improves usability with user interface refinements. It also makes data stored in the cloud easy to access. In addition to the continued implementation of the CMYK mode introduced in the previous version (QGIS 3.38), this release adjusts how colors are handled in projects.

QGIS 3.40 adds many more features than the ones covered here. See the changelog for the other new features.