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What's new

The main changes each month, newest first. To read more about a change and try it, select its name. For the full picture of what Groundwork can do, see Features.

October 2026

  • Map server edit checks. Before Groundwork saves or deletes a feature on a map server, it checks that nobody else changed the feature first.
  • Scale ranges from QGIS. Groundwork now draws a layer only within the scale range that you set for it in QGIS.
  • FlatGeobuf layers. Groundwork now opens FlatGeobuf files, as read-only layers.
  • Record geometry from lines and polygons. A record that you add to a line or polygon feature now gets a point, line or polygon of its own, as it already did on a point feature.

Also improved

  • Groundwork now opens QGIS projects saved as .qgz, as well as .qgs.
  • On a layer that you cannot edit directly, the Details tab now has an add button for related records.
  • When you colour a layer by one of its fields, the legend chips now start with the most common value.
  • Bug fixes. If someone else saves first, Groundwork now saves your new records too, and a layer from a cloud folder or map server shows the same records and styles on its first open as on later opens.

September 2026

  • OGC API - Features. You can now connect a map to an OGC API - Features service, the successor to WFS.
  • Public GitHub repositories. You can now open a public GitHub repository as a map, with no account and no sign-in.
  • Start page. You now start each new map from one page, which shows each demo map and each data source.
  • Legend chips. You can now press a value in the legend to filter the map and the list to it.
  • Street View. You can now see a feature in Google Street View, below its title.
  • Open space maintenance demo. A new demo map, Open space maintenance, shows mown areas with the jobs done there and the requests that residents logged.

Also improved

  • Groundwork now names a new map after its data source, and no longer asks you for a name.
  • As well as GeoJSON, you can now drop a QGIS project with its data files, or SLD style files, on the Drag and drop tile.
  • Groundwork now treats a field of yes and no values as a true/false field, with a tick or a cross.
  • On a phone, Groundwork now moves the map so that the sheet does not cover a feature that you select.
  • Map labels are larger, with a wider halo.
  • We rewrote Groundwork’s screen text in plain language, and each error now says first what Groundwork could not do.
  • Bug fixes. On a phone, a field’s dropdown list now opens on the screen, and Groundwork no longer opens a folder again after you cancel its OneDrive sign-in.

August 2026

  • Records attached to a feature. A feature’s details now have a tab for each dataset of related records, such as the inspections of a tree.
  • Live edits from teammates. On some shared maps, you now see a teammate’s saved changes within a second or two.
  • Saving back to the source. Groundwork now shows where it saved your change, and a failed save stops the app until you choose what to do.
  • Layer styling. You can now change a layer’s style, and give each value of one of its fields its own colour.
  • Cloud folder browsing. You can now pick a cloud folder in Groundwork after you sign in, so you no longer paste a share link.
  • COG, GeoParquet and PMTiles layers. Groundwork now opens Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF (COG), GeoParquet and PMTiles data as layers.

Also improved

  • A map from a QGIS project now opens on the project’s saved view, with its layer order and field aliases.
  • Groundwork now lists the items in a catalogue collection, and adds each item that you pick as a layer.
  • You can now place a point at the location that you set, or at your device’s position, with no need to draw it.
  • You now use one tick box, Require sign-in to open, to choose whether a recipient can edit the map or only view it.
  • You can now make a link ask the person who opens it for their location before the map shows.
  • The location box now starts as a compact bar, which covers less of the map until you set a location.
  • You can now see your bookmarked features on the map, by their badge and their bolder label.
  • When you hover over a feature, its tooltip now shows above it, with a line to the feature.
  • Groundwork now draws a feature that you select above its neighbours, so that a dense layer does not hide it.
  • A true/false value now shows as a tick or a cross, in the details, in the list and in map labels.
  • A date on a feature’s row now says how long ago it was, such as 3 months ago.
  • You can now choose metric or US units in Settings, such as hectares or acres.
  • The street basemap is now dark in dark mode, and no longer shows shops, house numbers or highway badges.
  • You can now ask the website’s chat widget about Groundwork, and it answers from our own documentation.
  • Bug fixes. If you cancel a save, Groundwork no longer stops later saves, and a discard no longer reverses a save that the source accepted.

July 2026

  • Copy and paste. You can now copy a feature and paste it, at the same location or at a new one.
  • Travel-distance sorting. Nearby now sorts features by the distance along streets and paths from a location that you set.
  • Mobile improvements. On a phone, you can now press and hold the map to get the options that a right-click gives on a desktop.
  • New logo and light theme. Groundwork now has a new logo, and opens in light mode.

Also improved

  • Edit mode now stays on when you pan the map, so you can edit a feature larger than the screen.
  • When you select a feature, its highlight is now in the feature’s own colour.
  • You can now show a description below each feature’s title in the list, such as a tree’s species.
  • The aerial basemap now shows roads and labels on top of the photography.
  • Bug fixes. Groundwork now reports an error when a server accepts a save but does not apply it, and no longer mixes layers from two maps if you change maps during an import.

June 2026

  • The Groundwork website. We launched the product site and documentation at groundwork.do.
  • A refreshed colour scheme. Groundwork has a new deep-blue colour scheme.
  • Sign-in for private cloud folders. Team members that you invite now sign in once to open shared Dropbox data. Anyone can open a public folder.
  • Cloud data loading. Groundwork now opens remote files in the same way, whatever host they are on.

May 2026

  • QGIS projects as a source. You can now connect Groundwork to a QGIS project in your cloud storage, and your layers load with their styling and field aliases.
  • QGIS Server. Groundwork now loads layers from the QGIS Server projects that your organisation already publishes.
  • Dropbox, OneDrive and SharePoint. Groundwork now connects to the cloud storage that your organisation already uses.

April 2026

  • Share links. You can now send a link to a ready-made view, with its layers, filters, sort and extent, that opens with no account.
  • Multiple maps. You can now make a separate map for each team, project or site.
  • Search and sorting. You can now sort features by distance, size or any field, and search all their details.
  • Plain-language records. You can now choose the fields that give each feature its title and its group, so lists use your organisation’s terms.
  • Source setup shortcuts. Groundwork now has preset WFS endpoints, a list of recent addresses, aerial imagery, and wider support for Esri WFS.

March 2026

  • Multiple layers. A map can now have several layers. You can show or hide each one, and download any of them as GeoJSON.
  • Published symbology. Groundwork now draws layers with the styles published on your WFS or WMS server.
  • Orientation aids. We added a legend that you can collapse, address search, a scale bar, and a style icon for each feature.
  • Date entry and field labels. Dates and times are easier to enter, and fields show readable labels in place of database column names.

February 2026

  • GeoJSON layers. You can open GeoJSON layers, search and filter their features, and see every detail in a side panel.
  • WFS transactional editing. You can edit live WFS data in place.