Spatial Analysis Tools

Spatial tools run from the map toolbar. Each runs in the background — you keep working while it computes — and the result arrives as a new layer in your project. Your inputs are never touched, and the output is a layer like any other: style it, open its table, export it.

The "Spatial Analysis" menu covers the usual work. Some tools take one layer: "Buffer" to grow it by a distance, "Centroid", "Convex Hull", "Bounding Box", "Dissolve" to merge features together. Others take two: "Clip", "Intersect", "Difference / Erase", "Spatial Join", "Summarize Within", and "Nearest Features".

The layer pickers only offer what a tool can actually use, so you can't pick an input that won't work.

Run a tool

1. In the map toolbar, click "Spatial Analysis" and pick a tool. The floating "Spatial Analysis" panel opens; it remembers the last tool you used.
2. Fill in the panel rows:
   • "Layer" — the input layer.
   • "With" — the second layer, shown only for two-input tools.
   • The tool's parameters, if any (for example "Distance" for "Buffer").
   • "Features" — "All" to process the whole layer, or "In view" to process only the features in the current viewport.
   • "Name" — the output layer name, auto-suggested from your inputs (for example Addresses_buffer_50m). Ava Reyes buffering "Hydrants" on the "Harbourview Network Buildout" project would rename it to something her team will recognize.
3. Click "Run". The button reads "Running" while the job is active and "Run again" once it finishes.

Follow the job

The output layer appears in the layer tree immediately and shows job progress in its row; the same progress mirrors into a bottom-corner toast. Status lines you will see:

• "Waiting to start" — or "Waiting to start · N of yours ahead" when you have queued several jobs
• "Working", with time estimates like "about 45 s left" and "a few seconds left"
• "Added <name> to the map" on success — the new layer is ready to style, open, or feed into the next tool
• "Couldn't finish — <error>" on failure

Cancel a job

Click "Cancel" in the panel while a job runs. The status reads "Stopping", then "Cancelled"; the button becomes "Close". Cancelling discards the partial result — no layer is added.

If a run won't start

• "Move the map once before running on the features in view." — "In view" needs a settled viewport; pan or zoom, then run.
• "Couldn't start the analysis." — the job could not be created; try again.
• "Failed to load spatial analysis tools." / "No spatial analysis tools available." — the tool catalog could not be fetched; reload the workspace.

Demo data: City of Vancouver Open Data — street trees, zoning districts, bikeways, and local area boundaries.