Having drop down list for feature editing (attributes) in QGIS

Question

I'm editing a lot of polygons of a shapefile in QGIS and I need to classify them, so I have to write the classes repeatedly. In ArcMap there is an option to have domains set for the fields.

How do I do this in QGIS?

Answer 1

You can customize the attribute editing to various data types (predefined lists, a range of values or a date).

1. Select a layer. Right-click > Properties.
2. In the Properties window, click the Field tab.
3. Select any field you want your pre-defined classes. The Value Map option will ask for your pre-defined classification values.

When you start adding new polygons a drop down list should appear showing your list of classes. The below screenshot is from QGIS 1.7.

Answer 2

The nice thing of having widget type with value map is that it also works on existing features.

Just click on it with the i+arrow (identify feature or CTRL+SHIFT+I) to get the menu back with options to choose from.

I have virtual fields depending on the chosen item and it works like a charm.