Install and Run wxGIS Portable — Step-by-Step GuidewxGIS Portable is a lightweight, portable geographic information system (GIS) build that can be run from a USB stick or a local folder without requiring full installation. This guide walks you through downloading, preparing, running, and troubleshooting wxGIS Portable, plus tips for using it effectively in the field.
What you’ll need
- A USB drive (8 GB or larger recommended) or a local folder with enough free space.
- A Windows PC (wxGIS Portable distributions are typically Windows-based).
- Internet access to download files.
- Optional: an external mouse and GPS receiver for fieldwork.
1. Download wxGIS Portable
- Visit the official wxGIS or distribution page where the portable build is hosted. If there are multiple versions, choose the latest stable release unless you need features from a newer beta.
- Download the portable ZIP or self-extracting archive. Files are usually a few hundred megabytes depending on included datasets and plugins.
Tips:
- If you expect limited internet in the field, download any optional sample data or plugins ahead of time.
- Verify checksums (MD5/SHA256) if provided to ensure download integrity.
2. Prepare the USB drive or local folder
- Format the USB drive as exFAT or NTFS if you need files larger than 4 GB. For cross-platform compatibility, FAT32 is common but limited to 4 GB file size.
- Create a dedicated folder on the USB drive, e.g., “wxGIS_Portable”. Avoid very long paths to reduce chance of path-length errors.
- Extract the downloaded archive into that folder, preserving directory structure.
Example structure:
- wxGIS_Portable/
- bin/
- data/
- plugins/
- wxgis.exe (launcher)
3. Configure portable settings
- Look for a configuration file (often named config.ini, settings.json, or portable.ini). Open it with a plain text editor.
- Set data and cache paths to relative locations inside the portable folder where possible (e.g., ./data, ./cache) so wxGIS remains self-contained.
- If you have limited write cycles on the USB drive, point temporary/cache paths to the local PC’s temp folder (only if you won’t always run on the same machine).
Common settings to check:
- Default projection / coordinate reference system (CRS).
- Path to OGR/GDAL plugins or data drivers.
- Language and UI settings.
4. Run wxGIS Portable for the first time
- On the host PC, open the usb folder and double-click the launcher (wxgis.exe or similar).
- If Windows shows a security prompt, allow the app to run. If your antivirus flags it, verify the source and whitelist if safe.
- On first run, the application may initialize GDAL/OGR drivers and create caches; allow it a few minutes.
If the app fails to start:
- Ensure required VC++ redistributables are present (the distribution may include them or provide links).
- Check for missing DLLs — the launcher’s error message often names the missing file.
- Run the launcher as Administrator if there are permission issues writing cache files.
5. Load data and create a project
- Use the File > Open or Layer > Add menu to load vector (e.g., Shapefile, GeoJSON) and raster (e.g., GeoTIFF) data.
- For data on the USB drive, use relative paths in project files to keep portability. Example: ./data/roads.shp.
- Save projects inside the portable folder (Project > Save As -> ./projects/my_project.wxp) so they can be moved with the USB drive.
Tips for performance:
- For large rasters, build overviews (pyramids) using GDAL to speed display.
- Convert shapefiles with many small features into spatialite or GeoPackage to reduce file-count overhead.
6. Using wxGIS Portable in the field
- Connect any GPS receiver and configure the serial/Bluetooth port in the GPS settings panel. Test position updates before relying on them.
- Use offline base maps stored on the USB (MBTiles or local raster tiles) to avoid data charges.
- Keep an operations checklist: battery power for laptop, cable adapters, backup USB, and a copy of essential datasets.
Example offline setup:
- MBTiles folder: ./tiles/city.mbtiles
- Projects referencing MBTiles: ./projects/field_survey.wxp
7. Syncing data back to your main workstation
- After fieldwork, copy project folders and modified datasets from the USB drive to your workstation.
- If multiple people worked on the same dataset, use timestamps and a simple naming convention (e.g., roads_20250831_joe.geojson) to avoid overwrites.
- Optionally, import collected GPS tracks or survey results into a central GeoPackage for archival.
8. Troubleshooting common issues
- App crashes on start: check for missing Visual C++ redistributables or incompatible GPU drivers.
- Slow performance: disable unnecessary plugins, build raster overviews, or increase host PC RAM/swap.
- File permission errors: ensure the portable folder isn’t write-protected and run with correct user permissions.
- Projection mismatches: enable on-the-fly reprojection or reproject datasets to a common CRS using ogr2ogr.
9. Security and backup tips
- Keep a backup copy of the USB image on cloud or another drive.
- Encrypt sensitive datasets stored on the USB (e.g., using VeraCrypt) if they contain private information.
- Regularly update the portable build and included GDAL/OGR libraries to get bug fixes and security patches.
10. Useful commands and tools
- Build overviews with GDAL:
gdaladdo -r nearest ./data/large_raster.tif 2 4 8 16 - Reproject a dataset with ogr2ogr:
ogr2ogr -t_srs EPSG:4326 output.shp input.shp
Summary
Follow these steps to get wxGIS Portable running reliably: download the correct portable build, extract it to a prepared USB or folder, adjust configuration to use relative paths, run the launcher and verify dependencies, and adopt field-friendly workflows (offline tiles, GPS tests, backups). With these practices, wxGIS Portable can be a robust tool for mobile GIS tasks.
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