Why QGIS 4?

Why now?

  • Qt5 End-of-Life: May 2025: security and stability risk
  • Qt6 brings: modernization, bug fixes, future-proof architecture
  • Goal: long-term maintainability and stability for QGIS

Visible Change

New Start Screen

start screen

More intuitive first steps

3D

Billboard annotations

3d billboard

More to be presented by Martin Dobias later

Layout

Pie Chart Plot Type

pie chart plot

Elevation Profile

SwissLocator / SwissALTI3D

elevation profile

… and much

more

  • Processing: Flow execution, non blocking modeller
  • Data Analysis: PyQGIS no offers as_geopandas() method
  • 3D Calculations: SFCGAL integration
  • …

Plugins

in QGIS 4

  • Already >800 QGIS-4-compatible plugins (of 3500) available
  • Test your plugins and help get them ported
  • Some old plugins might not get an update
  • Old workarounds obsolete: stable XML by default (hello git 👋)
  • Themes as Plugins: new flexibility for UI customization

Migrating

Plugins

  • QGIS ships with a helper tool to migrate plugins pyqt5topyqt6
  • QGIS 4 plugin checks pyqgis4-checker

Migrating Projects and Profiles

What Just Works

  • ✅ QGIS 3 projects can be opened in QGIS 4
  • ✅ QGIS 3 user profiles will be updated to QGIS 4 profiles

Migrating Projects

What Doesn’t Just Work

  • ❌ Backward compatibility: QGIS 4 projects do not open properly in QGIS 3
  • ❌ Backward compatibility: QGIS 4 user profiles are not compatible with QGIS 3
  • ❌ Python customizations: macros, actions, custom scripts, processing scripts often need updates

The HTML story

Browser changes

  • QtWebKit is no longer supported
  • QtWebEngine: is the new technology
  • HTML print layouts: will not just work, especially text, updates are still ongoing and may only land in QGIS 4.4
  • Plugins: which use QtWebKit need to be adjusted

Practical

Migration Strategy

  • 🔄 Separate project files and profiles: maintain QGIS 3 and QGIS 4 versions in parallel
  • 🔧 Server before desktop: QGIS 4 projects may not render properly in QGIS 3 servers
  • 🧪 QFieldCloud Roadmap: full QGIS 4 compatibility planned for mid-July 2026

Test

And Give Feedback

  • 🧪 Test Now!: We need you!

Roadmap

QGIS 4.2 becomes LTR

LTR Roadmap

Circular

Arcs

  • The 🌍 is spinning
  • Since geos 3.13 basic curve support
  • A new geos release 3.15 is around the corner
  • With a new overlay engine that supports curves

We made it 😉🫡

bundesrat

QGIS.org is Hiring

  • New paid position for administration, office, …
  • More capacity for community support, events, compliance, …

TODO: QGIS.org job posting or team photo

QGIS News Feed

Now Localized

TODO: screenshot of localized QGIS feed in start screen

QGIS Website

Translatable Again

TODO: qgis.org shown in Italian

Attribute Table

Quo vadis?

  • 60K Budget aside
  • Major rework planned for QGIS 4.8 (possibly 4.6)
  • Long-standing pain point finally being addressed

TODO: mockup or screenshot of new attribute table

QField, From Laax with 💚

On-the-fly projects, COGO, NTRIP, & 3D

TODO: QField app screenshot on mobile

  • Ongoing features and bugfixes
  • QGIS 4 preparation underway in the background

QGIS User Conference

Laax 5-6.10.2026

  • Tickets running out — register now!
  • Talks, workshops, contributors meeting and outdoor activities

TODO: photo of Laax venue or conference banner

Thank you 🙏

Questions?




https://slides.opengis.ch/talk-qgis.org/qgis4


@mbernasocchi · @kuhnmatthias




OPENGIS.ch · QField.org