The original version of this document is located at https://docs.qfield.org/get-started/storage
On the QField homescreen, users are presented with two options to open a project.
There are various possibilities to export copies of project files and datasets from the source device running QGIS and importing them on to a target device for field-data collection.
QField supports a wide range of data formats.
There are two ways of preparing and copying a project in QGIS for use in QField.
One way of compiling all necessary parts of a QGIS project is to store them in a folder.
This folder can contain individual files such as a
The simplest and most efficient way to package a QGIS project and its corresponding geospatial data into one file is to use GeoPackages.
We recommend using the GeoPackage file format for projects in QField, since packaging in QGIS is easy and straightforward.
To package a project as a GeoPackage, three steps are necessary.
Step 1: Package vector layers as GeoPackage:
This tool lets you package selected vector layers in the project file (and elsewhere) into a single GeoPackage containing the geospatial data.
Step 2: add raster layers to GeoPackage
If your project contains raster layers these can also be stored in the GeoPackage.
Step 3: Add project file (.qgs) to GeoPackage:
Direct to Project > Save to > GeoPackage, and select the GeoPackage file containing all the layers.
This saves the project file, with the .qgs
extension into the GeoPackage as well.
Package QGIS Project into GeoPackage
For more information, consult the QGIS documentation packaging layers.
On both the Android and iOS devices, installing QField creates a folder called QField, containing three folders; Imported Datasets
, Imported Projects
and QField
.
Imported Projects
.You can find the folder under the following paths:
Android/data/ch.opengis.qfield/files/Imported Projects
On My iPhone/QField/Imported Projects
Copying the packaged project over to the corresponding folder of each device can be done in several ways.
<drive>:/Android/data/ch.opengis.qfield/files/
.Wireless transfer of files is also possible by sharing files via a Bluetooth connection.
The advantage of using Google Drive is that both the source device and target device have shared access to a central working directory containing the current project files.
A possible workflow may look like this:
Note
When working with Google Drive, it may be helpful to create a dedicated folder in the cloud containing all the projects.
A parallel of this folder can then also be created on the target device, to which the QGIS projects can be downloaded and saved in.
Transferring files from MacBooks or iMacs to iPhone using a cable is not straightforward, since it is not possible to access individual files in the QField directory.
One workaround could be the following
Imported Projects
from your iOS target device (iPhone, IPad) over to your source device (iMac).Imported Projects
folder.Imported Folder
with the new one.An efficient way to synchronize projects is to use iCloud as a shared workspace to download and upload project files.
It is not possible to import projects from folders inside the iOS QField application.
Instead, the new project files have to be saved in the Imported Projects
folder so that QField can access them.
Imported Projects
.A quick and easy way to exchange files back and forth is using AirDrop.
The only requirement is that both source and target device have to be OS and iOS respectively.
Share...
, choose AirDrop
, and then select the target device.Imported Projects
.Apart from using QFieldCloud, QField can open projects and datasets in five ways:
On Android all of these actions are available by clicking on the “import (+) button” located on the bottom-right corner of the project/dataset picker screen, which can be accessed by clicking on the “Open local files” button located in QField’s welcome screen.
Note
On iOS, the only action available through the “import (+) button” is to import from a URL.
When importing a project through the “Import project from folder” action you have to grant permission for QField to read the content of your folder on the device’s storage.
Re-importing a given folder through the drop-down menu action will overwrite preexisting projects given an identical folder name. That will allow you to update their projects.
Note
Feature editing, addition, and deletion will be saved into the imported project’s
datasets, not in the original folder selected during the import process.
See sections below on how to send/export edited projects and datasets.
On iOS, installing QField creates a folder titled QField in the Files app.
Save your packaged project in the QField
> Imported Projects
folder on your source device.
To open a file on your target device, press on “Open local file” on the QField home screen and navigate to QField files directory
> Imported Projects
and choose the project you want to open.
On Android, it is possible to also import compressed (zipped) projects into QField.
QField will then decompress the file into its “Imported projects” location, from which users can open and interact with the project.
This can greatly ease remote deployment of projects by being able to send a single
file to users.
When importing a project or individual dataset through the “Import URL” action, you will be asked to provide a URL string to a file.
QField will subsequently fetch the content and save it into the “Imported projects” or “Imported datasets”, respectively.
QField will consider a ZIP archive as a compressed project when one or more .qgs
/.qgz
project files are detected.
The “Import dataset(s)” action allows you to select one or more datasets via an Android system file picker.
After you selected the datasets, QField will copy those into the “Imported datasets” folder, from where you can then open and modify the content.
Note
Users will have to ensure that all sidecar files are selected when importing datasets (e.g. a Shapefile would require users to select the .shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj,
and .cpg files).
Once you are done with your fieldwork, are four ways to sent and export the changed files back to the source device:
You can access these actions via the dropdown action menu inside the project/dataset picker which you can access by clicking on the “Open local files” button located in QField’s welcome screen.
When choosing the “Export to folder” action, you will be asked to pick a location where the content will be copied to.
You can use this action to copy the content of modified projects or datasets into a folder on ypur device that can be accessed by third-party Synchronisation apps such as Syncthing.
You can also directly copy content into cloud accounts of providers that support Android’s Scoped Storage directory provider (eg. NextCloud).
Note
Exporting onto a folder will overwrite preexisting content.
The “Send compressed folder to” action compresses the content of a selected folder into a ZIP archive.
You will be asked through which app the resulting ZIP archive should be send through.
You can compress and send whole projects by selecting root folders in QField‘s “Imported projects” directory, as well as send selective folders within project folders (for instance, your photos only).
You can select the “Send to” action for individual datasets, to directly send the changed datasets via third party apps such as Gmail, Drive, Dropbox or Nextcloud .
You can also export the layers from a synchronized QFieldCloud project, either to your device or a preferred cloud provider.
To do this, within your project:
Direct to the folder icon with the wheel via the side “Dashboard” to open the project folder.
Inside this project folder, you will find your project files.
Offline layers will be stored in a file named “data.gpkg”.
You can also export your attached files (Photos, Audio, Video, etc).
click on the three dots (⋮) located on the right side of the file or folder.
Choose between the actions “Send to…” or “Export to folder…” based on your preference and follow the prompts accordingly.
Beyond project-specific files stored in project folders, QField utilizes a dedicated App Directory to manage resources and configurations that are shared across all projects on a device.
This centralized location allows you to provide custom fonts, basemaps, projection grids, and more on your deveice without needing to duplicate these files for every project.
Identification of local App Directory
Common Locations
The path varies by operating system.
Here are some common examples to help you find it:
Android: Internal Storage/Android/data/ch.opengis.qfield/files/QField
.
iOS: Files App > On My iPhone/iPad > QField
Windows: C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Roaming\ch.opengis.qfield\QField
macOS: /Users/<YourUsername>/Library/Application Support/QField/QField
Linux: /home/<YourUsername>/.local/share/OPENGIS.ch/QField
The App Directory Structure
Directory | Purpose and Contents |
---|---|
auth/ |
Stores authentication configurations (e.g., OAuth.xml certificates) required to access secured web services (WMS, WFS). |
basemaps/ |
Contains shared basemap files, like COG or MBTiles layers. |
fonts/ |
For custom font files (.ttf , .otf ) to be used for labels or symbology across all projects. |
logs/ |
Contains GNSS connection logs, which are valuable for debugging and troubleshooting positioning device issues. |
plugins/ |
For custom QML plugins that extend QField’s functionality. |
proj/ |
Stores custom projection grids (e.g., .tiff files) for coordinate reference systems (CRS) that require additional transformation files. |