QFIELD
PLUGIN FRAMEWORK 🚀

Exploring the possibilities

THE ISSUE 🤔

• QField has nearly 400,000 active devices on Android alone, not every functionality justifies rolling out to all users
• QField’s commitment to delivering a lean UI also means certain UXs are not a good fit by default

THE ANSWER: PLUGINS 🧩

• A plugin framework to fulfill those niche needs by the growing number of QField users
• Aligns with a core value promoted by OPENGIS.ch and the QField project: freedom
• Plugin development and release not bound to cadence of QField releases

TYPES OF QFIELD PLUGINS 🔠

• The QField framework offers two types of plugins:
  • App-wide plugins, activated upon app launch until exit
  • Project plugins, enabled while a given project is being consumed

QFIELD VS. QGIS PLUGINS 🔍

• Python powers QGIS’s plugins with Qt widgets for the GUI
• QML & Javascript powers QField’s plugins with QtQuick items for the GUI
• QField’s project plugins can be understood as QGIS project macros

APP-WIDE PLUGINS ✨

• Installed via the plugin manager by providing a URL pointing to a zipped plugin content
• The plugin manager provides a quick way to enable/disable/configure plugins
• Permission will be asked prior to activating a plugin

PROJECT PLUGINS 🗃️

• Served as a sidecar file to the QGIS project file
• Often the easiest way to deploy plugins to users as they are bundled with projects and do not require additional steps to obtain
• Permission will also be asked prior to activating a plugin
• Pro-tip: rely on QFieldCloud to conduct remote distribution and update of project plugins to a fleet of QField devices

WEATHER PLUGIN ☀️

• Leveraging positioning context to provide relevant information
• XMLHttpRequest support unlocks a wide range of web services
• https://github.com/opengisch/qfield-weather-forecast/blob/main/main.qml

OSRM ROUTING PLUGIN 🚗

• Rely on QField items to overlay georeferenced geometries</b. on top of the map canvas
• Did we mention XMLHttpRequest yet?
• https://github.com/opengisch/qfield-osrm