# How to Create a New Project
DANGER
This content may differ from what you encounter when working with Mergin Maps. It will be updated soon to include recent changes in Mergin Maps, Mergin Maps Input and Mergin Maps plugin for QGIS.
There are several methods of creating a new Mergin Maps project:
- Mergin Maps Input offers the quickest (albeit limited) way of creating a Mergin Maps project.
- If you want to take full advantage of Mergin Maps, use QGIS to prepare new projects.
- You can also use merginmaps.com, especially if your project files are already fully prepared and only need uploading.
If you want to make a copy of your projects or the ones shared with you, you can clone them in QGIS or merginmaps.com.
# Create a project in Mergin Maps Input
TIP
Capturing Your First Field Data tutorial will show you how to create a new project and capture field data in Mergin Maps Input.
Open Mergin Maps Input on your mobile device
Go to the Home tab of the Projects screen and press Create project
Give the project a name
Press Create project
Your new project should now be visible on the Home tab of the Projects screen
# Create a project in QGIS
TIP
Creating a Project in QGIS tutorial will show you how to create a new project in QGIS, add layers, configure attributes forms and save changes to Mergin Maps.
To work with Mergin Maps projects in QGIS, you will need to install the Mergin Maps plugin for QGIS first.
Open a blank or an existing project in QGIS.
Click on Create Mergin Maps Project from the toolbar.
There are three options available (the last two options are available only if you have an existing project open):
New basic QGIS project. If you are new to QGIS, this is a good starting point. The new basic QGIS project will contain a survey layer (a point layer) and a background map (OpenStreetMap).
Package current QGIS project. This option will create a copy of your project and all the files in a single folder. There are three options for handling layers: package, keep as is (the layer will be referenced as is in the new project) or ignore (the layer will not be included in the new project). For more details, see Mergin Maps project.
Use current QGIS project as is. This is for cases when you already have a stand-alone folder with your project packaged.
Name the project and select a path where your project folder and associated files will be generated.
DANGER
Your project should be saved on a local drive. Using shared network drives and cloud storage (such as OneDrive or Google Drive) is not supported.
The new Mergin Maps project will be created locally on your computer and also on the Mergin Maps server.
# Clone an existing project in QGIS
Using Mergin Maps plugin for QGIS, you can make a copy of one of your existing projects or the ones shared with you.
Navigate to Mergin Maps in the Browser panel
Find the project you want to clone, right-click on it and select Clone
Select the Owner from the drop-down menu and type your new Project Name.
# Create a project through merginmaps.com
Navigate to app.merginmaps.com and sign in.
To create a new project, click on Create in the Projects section:
Give the project a name
- in Template project, you can select a template from the list
- Project owner is you (your username) or your organisation
- the project is private by default, you can use the checkbox to make it Public
After creating a new project, you will be directed to the project page.
Add files to your project:
- Click on Drag & drop here to click and select file(s) to upload
- Select files or folders to upload
- Once the files and folders are selected, press Update in the Data Sync window.
# Clone an existing project through merginmaps.com
You can also make a copy of your own existing project, a project that is shared with you or a public project in Explore.
Find the project you want to clone and click on it.
If a project was shared with you via link, open the project link in your web browser.
Click on the Clone button
In the new window, you can change the project name and set the project owner
