Import Data

Bringing data into Topologis happens from the Data tab in the project editor. Every import becomes a tracked job, so you can watch its progress, step in when configuration is needed, and review failures without leaving the project.

If you’ve never done this before, the fastest path is to upload a file. The other sources (URLs and Google Sheets) are worth setting up later when you want refreshable data, but they’re overkill for a first import.

Where data can come from

The editor offers four places to start an import:

• File upload for GeoJSON, Shapefile, GeoPackage, KML, or CSV files
• URL import for data hosted at a stable endpoint
• Google Sheets for tabular data maintained in a spreadsheet
• QGIS plugin for pushing vector layers straight from QGIS without exporting a file first

Each path has a different tradeoff. Uploads are the most direct and don’t depend on anything outside Topologis. URLs and Sheets connect to a live source, which makes them schedulable. The QGIS plugin is the right pick when your data already lives in a QGIS project and you want to skip the export-then-upload step. Pick based on whether the data lives somewhere stable and whether you’ll want to refresh it later.

For a beginner walkthrough that pairs an import with the rest of a first map, see Create Your First Map.

Upload a file

In the Data tab, use Upload File or drag a file into the project. The upload limit is 1 GB.

Topologis stores the file first, then opens an import job for it. From there you’ll either confirm parsing settings (for CSV and Shapefile) or jump straight to a finished layer.

This is the simplest path because nothing about it depends on a remote server or a connected account. If you’re not sure where to start, start here.

Import from a URL

If your data lives behind a stable HTTP endpoint, use From URL.

You can enter the URL, choose between GET or POST, add headers, attach a request body for POST, and run a connection test before kicking off the import. The connection test is worth using; it catches typos, missing auth headers, and malformed bodies before you commit to a job.

URL imports are also the right pick when you want the data to stay in sync. Once the initial import is complete, you can put it on a schedule (see below).

Import from Google Sheets

Google Sheets imports are guided. Topologis walks you through three steps:

1. Sign in with Google or reuse a token from an earlier import.
2. Pick a spreadsheet and a worksheet tab.
3. Preview the data, configure the import, and confirm.

This path makes sense when non-technical collaborators maintain the data in a sheet. They keep editing the spreadsheet, you schedule the import, and the map stays current.

QGIS

If you already work in QGIS, you can publish vector layers to a Topologis project without exporting them to a file first. Topologis ships a free QGIS plugin that handles the conversion and upload for you.

See the QGIS Plugin docs for installation, tokens, and the full export flow.

When an import asks for input

Not every import finishes in one go. CSV and Shapefile imports often pause at an Action required state so you can confirm how the file should be interpreted.

When that happens, the job stays in the Data tab and opens a configuration step the next time you click into it. This is by design. Guessing wrong about a delimiter or geometry column makes for a much worse outcome than asking once.

Mapping columns and geometry

The configuration step is where a raw file becomes usable map data.

For CSV, you confirm how the file is parsed (delimiter, encoding, quote and escape characters, header row), pick which columns to include, and tell Topologis where the geometry comes from: either two columns for X/Y, a single column with WKT, or none if the data isn’t spatial on its own. You also choose a source coordinate reference system (CRS), since the same numbers can mean very different things depending on the projection.

Then you pick how the import flows into the project:

• Import Geometries to create a brand-new layer
• Enrich Existing Layer to add columns to a layer you already have, joined by a shared key
• Create Time Series to attach time-stamped values to an existing layer

If you choose enrichment or time series, you’ll also map a source key to a target key so Topologis can join rows correctly.

Google Sheets imports follow the same shape, with the same Import Geometries and Enrich Existing Layer choices.

Reusing import recipes

CSV and Shapefile configuration both support saved recipes.

Once you’ve configured one, you can save it and load it again next time instead of rebuilding the same parsing setup from scratch. Recipes belong to the workspace, so they’re useful when several projects all consume data with the same shape: daily exports from the same warehouse, or recurring shapefiles from the same source.

Schedule a refresh

Some imports can run again automatically. Scheduling is available for completed import jobs sourced from a URL or Google Sheets. Uploads can’t be scheduled, since there’s no remote endpoint to fetch from.

In the schedule dialog, pick a completed job, set an interval in minutes, and decide whether the existing layer should be overwritten on each refresh. The schedule is a continuation of the original import, not a new one: same configuration, same recipe, just running on a clock.

When something goes wrong

If an import doesn’t go through, open it from the Data tab to see why. Each job carries one of these statuses:

• Waiting to start
• Processing
• Action required
• Completed
• Failed
• Canceled

Action required means Topologis needs more configuration from you, so open the job and finish the recipe. Failed means something went wrong in processing, and the job details show an error summary that’s usually enough to point at the cause.

For URL imports, run the connection test in the URL dialog before creating a new job; most URL failures show up there first. For uploaded files, the cleanest fix is often to re-export the source data into one of the supported formats and try again.