QGIS – Attribute Table Showing Records for Map Extent

by David Crowther

Question:

How can I get the Attribute Table in QGIS to show only the records in the current Map Extent?

Answer:

The default setting within QGIS is for any Attribute Table to list ALL the Records for any Layer. For example if we open this Liverpool Wards Layer and view the Attribute Table we see all 33 Records.

If we pan and zoom the map, the Attribute Table still shows all 33 Records.

To change this method, choose the Settings > Options menu and on the Data Sources tab, in the Feature Attribute and Table section change the Default View from Show All Features to be Show Features Visible on Map.

Now when you pan or zoom the map, the Attribute Table will only show the records which are shown within the map extents.

Note – You will need to close the current Attribute Table and open it again for this change to work.

If you have Cadlines webGIS – MapThat – we choose this methodology by default. So as you pan the map, the Data Table only shows the features that are in the current map extents.

You can also change this methodology for any MapThat Spatial Layer by simply ticking the Show All Records in Hits Panel tick box in the Layers Admin Forms.

By default the Layer will still show only those records in the current Map Extents…

However, the user now has the option to press the SHOW ALL RECORDS button…

… and once depressed, the Data Table now shows ALL Records in the Data Table, with the ones that are in the current Map Extents shown in Yellow.

You can also set this option at startup for any Layer, so the Show All Records button is auto activated. To do this also tick the Show All Records at Start option as well.