I would like to use Field Calculator in PyQGIS to update the existing column based on certain conditions.
How can I do this?
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I think this answer might help. – lrssvt Dec 03 '14 at 13:46
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I agreed, you don't need the Field Calculator with PyQGIS, everything can be done in Python (look at Using Vector Layers) – gene Dec 03 '14 at 19:16
1 Answers
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There is no prebuilt class to do the magic the Field Calculator does (I am planning on adding it at some stage) however it's quite simple:
expression = QgsExpression("1 + 1")
# This allows field lookup
index = layer.fieldNameIndex("UpdateField")
expression.prepare(layer.pendingFields())
layer.startEditing()
for feature in layer.getFeatures():
value = expression.evaluate(feature)
layer.changeAttributeValue(feature.id(), index, value)
layer.commitChanges()
A couple of notes: We are using changeAttributeValue because it's faster but does require use to use the feature id and field index, another way which might be as fast but is clearer to read is:
expression = QgsExpression("1 + 1")
# This allows field lookup
expression.prepare(layer.pendingFields())
layer.startEditing()
for feature in layer.getFeatures():
value = expression.evaluate(feature)
feature["UpdateField"] = value
layer.updateFeature(feature)
layer.commitChanges()
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I am testing this code, but I get an error on the expression.prepareFields(layer.pendingFields()) line? QgsExpression' object has no attribute 'prepareFields' – kflaw Mar 09 '15 at 18:44
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