Loading vector data

To load vector files using the Data Source Manager, click on the Open Data Source Manager icon , or press Ctrl + L. From the list of layer types on the left, choose Vector. You now have the option to load a Vector file for a number of Source type options:

The source type contains four options: File, Directory, Database, and Protocol: HTTP(S), cloud, etc. When you choose a source type, the source interface will change to display the appropriate options. Let's take a moment to discuss what types of data these four source types can load:

There is a big push to move users away from using ESRI shapefiles, replacing it instead with GeoPackages (more will be discussed about these later). QGIS, in the first instance, will prompt you to save to this format over .shp.
  • File: This can load flat files that are stored on disk. The commonly used flat file types are as follows:
    • GeoPackage (.gpkg)
    • ESRI shapefile (.shp)
    • GeoJSON (.geojson)
    • Geography Markup Language (.gml)
    • AutoCAD DXF (.dxf)
    • Comma-separated values (.csv)
    • GPS eXchange Format (.gpx)
    • Keyhole Markup Language (.kml)
    • SQLite/SpatiaLite (.sqlite/.db)
  • Directory: This can load data stored on disk that is encased in a directory. The commonly used directory types are as follows:
    • U.S. Census TIGER/Line
    • Arc/Info Binary Coverage
  • Database: This can load databases that are stored on disk or those available through service connections. The commonly used database types are as follows:
    • ODBC
    • ESRI Personal GeoDatabase
    • MSSQL
    • MySQL
    • PostgreSQL
  • Protocol: This can load protocols that are available at a specific URL. In QGIS 3.4, these protocols have been extended to include calls to HTTP/HTTPS/FTP, AWS S3, and Google Cloud Storage, adding to the previous GeoJSON and CouchDB options:
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