Research guides: GIS for Architecture: GIS software

Geographic information systems software

ESRI's ArcGIS Pro software is the industry standard for geographic information systems (GIS). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, University of Waterloo has obtained an ESRI institutional license, which permits any student or employee of University of Waterloo to use ESRI software for teaching, learning, and research purposes. Learn more about accessing ESRI ArcGIS software.

There are also free tools available online for GIS; we recommend:

QGIS
A free and open source geographic information system.
Create, edit, visualise, analyse and publish geospatial information on Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD and mobile devices - for your desktop, server, in your web browser and as developer libraries.
Google Earth Pro
Google Earth Pro is free to download.
Overlay, visualize, and create geospatial data within high-resolution satellite imagery.

Working with QGIS

Learning QGIS
LinkedIn Learning course
Creating maps in QGIS: a quick guide [PDF]
University of Waterloo Library's Geospatial Centre
Open source GIS tutorials
Carleton University's Department of Geography and Environmental Studies
QGIS tutorials and tips
QGIS training: common problems
Michigan State University. Includes tips on resolving issues with: offset layers, too much detail, segmented data and inconvenient boundaries.

Troubleshooting:

Often QGIS will not allow you to save a new layer unless you are specifying where the layer can be saved on your computer. It also needs to be saved in a place that you can access.

Other GIS tools

Cadmapper
Transforms data from public sources such as OpenStreetMap, NASA, and USGS into neatly organized CAD files.
GRASS GIS
An Open Source Geographic Information System providing powerful raster, vector and geospatial processing capabilities. It can be used either as a stand-alone application or as backend for other software packages such as QGIS and R or in the cloud.
ArcGIS for AutoCAD
A free plug-in that simplifies the way you share and synchronize GIS content between AutoCAD and ArcGIS.
GeoViewer Pro
A standalone, multipurpose GIS image viewer that enables you to work with a variety of file types. You can display and explore MrSID files, raster imagery, LiDAR point clouds, and vector overlays.
Grasshopper
A graphical algorithm editor tightly integrated with Rhino’s 3-D modeling tools.