How to Change Map Coordinate Systems with QGIS (for Free)

By: Tyler Gakstatter - Resource Supply, LLC

All GIS data is based on a frame of reference; either a geographic coordinate system(latitude/
longitude) or a projected coordinate system(UTM, State plane, etc.). A geographic coordinate
system describes one or many locations anywhere on the earth using three values; latitude, longi-
tude, elevation. Projected coordinate systems such as UTM and State plane represent your data by
northing and eastings from a defined starting point. All data must be in the same coordinate sys-
tem to compare and make any sense of it. In this whitepaper I will show how you can take a point
(or any kind) shapefile that is in WGS(84) Latitude/Longitude and re-project that data into UTM
coordinates. This process requires the QGIS desktop suite, it is open source software and free to
download at http://www.qgis.org/en/site/.

These instructions assume the installation of QGIS is already done.

1. Open QGIS Desktop by double clicking the icon on the desktop.

This is what an empty project looks like in QGIS.

2. Navigate to the shapefile that is to be re-projected within

the browser frame. Double click on the shapefile to add
it to the map.

Resource Supply, LLC

11607 SW Winter Lake Drive
Tigard, OR 97223
503-521-0888
Jon’s cell: 503-707-6236 Tyler’s cell: 503-547-3756

(Copyright 2015 by Resource Supply, LLC) 1

Once the shapefile is added to the map you will be able to see it in the map view window.

3. To re-project the shapefile, right click on the

shapefile map layer within the Layer window.
Click Save As.

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4. Save the new shapefile with the new coordinate
system. If you ar e familiar with r epr ojecting in
ArcGIS than you know that ArcGIS has a standalone
tool for doing the reprojecting. QGIS uses a different
approach. To reproject a file just save it with a new
name and specify a different coordinate system, QGIS
handles the rest in the background.
Within the Save As window….

-Specify the name of the new shapefile

Note: When reprojecting, I like to include an indication of the coor-
dinate system within the name. In this case I am taking the shapefile
named “Lake Points(LatLong)” and reprojecting it to UTM, so I
will name the new shapefile “Lake Points(UTM)”.

-Specify the new coordinate system

Click on the globe icon to browse all the coordinate systems available.

Use this text field to search for a coordinate system.

I simply typed in “UTM” which provided me with a
list of all the UTM coordinate systems available in

Select the coordinate system from this list.

“WGS 84 / UTM Zone 10N”

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Once you have specified the
name and the coordinate system
for the new shapefile click OK.

Reprojecting this particular shapefile didn’t take longer than hitting the okay button...for larger shapefiles allow
more time for processing. QGIS will notify you when it is done.

After the re-projection is done you will notice that

the new shapefile has been added to the map and
that the shapefile has been saved in
the location that you specified.

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Resource Supply will send you a copy of QGIS and this whitepaper on a DVD at no cost or obliga-
tion. Call me at (503) 521- 0888 or email
Tyler@ResourceSupplyLLC.com.

Tyler Gakstatter

Resource Supply, LLC

11607 SW Winter Lake Drive
Tigard, OR 97223
503-521-0888
Jon’s cell: 503-707-6236 Tyler’s cell: 503-547-3756

(Copyright 2015 by Resource Supply, LLC) 5