QGIS Maps from Chat to Web: Mapsuke and Kumoy

Introduction

With Mapsuke, a plugin that lets you operate QGIS through chat, an AI agent runs QGIS for you and carries the work from fetching data to finishing the map, all in chat. To show the finished map to others, though, you still have to export it as an image or PDF, or hand over the project file and its data.

Kumoy, on the other hand, is a service that uploads maps and data made in QGIS to the cloud and shares them as web maps, with the styles you set in QGIS intact. Version 3.2.0 of the Kumoy plugin adds Processing tools that work with Kumoy maps and data. Because Mapsuke prefers the Processing tools you have installed, you can now upload a map you made in chat to Kumoy, also through chat, and share it as a web map.

This article shows how to use Mapsuke and Kumoy together. For how to install and use Mapsuke, and for an overview of Kumoy, see the following articles.

New Processing tools in the Kumoy plugin

Version 3.2.0 of the Kumoy plugin adds the following tools under Kumoy in the Processing Toolbox. The Mapsuke agent uses these tools to operate Kumoy as you instruct in chat.

The tools work only on the maps and data in the project selected under Kumoy in the Browser panel.

Preparation

Update the Kumoy plugin and log in

If you are new to Kumoy, create a Kumoy account and install the plugin first. For the steps from creating an account to selecting a project, see the following article.

If the plugin is already installed, update it from Plugins → Manage and Install Plugins… on the menu bar. On the Installed tab, select Kumoy and check that the version is 3.2.0 or later. If you are on an older version, There is a new version available appears at the top. Click Upgrade Plugin at the bottom right.

After updating, right-click Kumoy in the Browser panel and select Login. Once you are logged in, select the project to upload to.

Check that Mapsuke can use the tools

Next, open Mapsuke, start a new session, and enter Tell me what data is in the project selected in Kumoy. If the agent uses the Kumoy tools and returns a list of the vectors and maps in the project, you are ready.

Upload a map made in chat to Kumoy

Make a map and ask for the upload

This example uses the same map as the article on Mapsuke basics: Sapporo's wards colored by the average price from the land price survey. Enter Aggregate prices by Sapporo ward from the latest land price survey data, and create a choropleth map based on the average price to make the map.

Then enter Upload this map to Kumoy so it can be viewed on the web. The agent sends the layer data to Kumoy with Upload Vector Layer to Kumoy, then saves the QGIS project as a Kumoy map with Create map. In this example, the agent works until the map is public and can be shared by URL.

View the map on the web

When the upload finishes, expand the maps under Kumoy in the Browser panel, right-click the map, and select Open Public Page. If the map does not appear, right-click Kumoy and click Refresh.

Kumoy opens in your web browser and shows the map with the coloring you set in QGIS.

You can view the map made in this article on its public Kumoy page. The map below is the same map, embedded in this article with the Kumoy embed feature. You can drag to pan and zoom in or out.

Here, Mapsuke created the map as Public. Depending on your plan, you can also choose Private, which only your team members can view, or Protected access, which only people who know the URL and the keyphrase can view.

Edit and update the map

To change the colors or the legend, adjust the map in Mapsuke and enter Update the Kumoy map. The agent uses Update map to overwrite the same map. People viewing the map on the web see the updated version.

Work with data in Kumoy

You can also go the other way and start from data in Kumoy. Enter Add the facility location data in Kumoy to the map, and the agent uses Add vector to map to add a vector uploaded to Kumoy to QGIS.

You can take data your team members uploaded to Kumoy, aggregate or analyze it in Mapsuke, and share the result in Kumoy again, all through chat.

To learn how to share Kumoy data within your organization, see the following article.

What to watch for when operating Kumoy from chat

The Kumoy tools include updating and deleting maps and data. Deleted maps and data cannot be restored, so when you work with Kumoy, it is best to keep the approval mode on Ask and approve only after you check what will run.

With Auto or Full auto, Kumoy data can be overwritten or deleted without confirmation.

Mapsuke works on the Kumoy project selected in the Browser panel. To upload to a different project, first right-click Kumoy in the Browser panel and switch projects from Select Project.

Conclusion

With the Processing tools added in Kumoy plugin 3.2.0, you can upload a map made in Mapsuke to Kumoy and share it as a web map, using only chat. Everything from making the map to sharing it now happens within a QGIS panel.

Start by picking one map you made in Mapsuke and entering Upload this to Kumoy. In Ask mode, you can see which tools the agent uses to operate Kumoy as it goes.

To get more out of Mapsuke, see the following article.

Data sources

• National Land Numerical Information “Prefectural Land Price Survey Data” and “Administrative Area Data” (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism)