Creating Multi-Ring Buffers with a constant distance
Included in this tutorial:
Accessing the Multi-ring Buffer (constant distance) tool
Reviewing the tool’s parameters & options
Running an example and Examining the results
Software version in examples: QGIS 3.22
Tutorial Data: The tutorial includes demonstration with sample data available here.
Credits: Varisa Tanti and Nikolas Michael (2022)
This tutorial covers creating multi-ring buffers with a constant distance from input features with QGIS.
Accessing the Multi-ring Buffer (constant distance) tool
Access the Multi-ring buffer (constant distance) tool by clicking Processing in the main menu, and clicking through Vector geometry > Multi-ring buffer (constant distance) in the Processing Toolbox. Alternatively, you can search for it within the Processing search bar.
The path to opening the Multi-ring buffer (constant distance) tool is Processing > Vector geometry > Multi-ring buffer (constant distance).
Multi-ring buffer (constant distance) Parameters & Options
In the Multi-ring buffer (constant distance) dialogue box, you will see these fields: Input layer, Number of rings, Distance between rings, Multi-ring buffer (constant distance), and Open output file after running algorithm.
the inputs for running the Multi-ring buffer (constant distance) geoprocessing tool
The Standard Inputs
Here’s a brief description of the different inputs:
Input layer: Specify the layer as your input feature class
Number of rings: Indicate how many concentric rings you want to create
Distance between rings: Indicate the unit and the distance specified for each ring’s size.
Multi-ring buffer (constant distance): Indicate if the output will be created as a temporary layer, saved to a file (file type and location), or will not have an output.
Open output file after running algorithm: Check this box to add the output to your project
Example: Multi-ring Buffer (constant distance)
Below is an example of executing the Multi-ring Buffer (constant distance) tool. The inputs in the dialogue box indicate the Facility layer (a single point feature) as the input layer, two concentric rings to be created, and a buffer distance increment of 500 meters.
running the Multi-ring Buffer (constant distance) tool with two rings and a distance of 500 meters between each ring
Examining the results
The resulting output feature layer (in this example, automatically named “Multi-ring buffer (constant distance),” appears in the Layers panel after running the tool. The two concentric rings center around the point of origin, which is the singular point found in the Facility layer.
The new layer’s attribute table contains two rows: one for each of the new buffer ring features created. Each feature includes the attributes associated with the original input facility point as well as two new fields: “ringId” and “distance.” The “ringId” field is an automatically generated unique key, and the “distance” field contains the distance of the ring from the point of origin. In this example, since 500 meters was set as the buffer distance increment, the resulting attribute table has one ring with a distance of 500 meters and the other ring at 1,000 meters.