linepointpolyline-creationproximityqgis
I have two layers, a line and a point layer.
I need to make a line layer which connects all the points to the nearest line feature. How can I do that?
Is there a plugin available for QGIS?
This is a very important tool which is missing in QGIS.
ArcView has this tool: "Nearest Features"
You can use the NNJoin plugin to calculate the distance between points and its nearest line. You can download the plugin via Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins....
It is recommended, however, to not use this plugin on large datasets containing lines as it does not use a spatial index for lines.
A simple solution for your question is using QGIS tool Distance to Nearest Hub. However, this tool does not bring into account your particular way of calculating distance using a 90 degree angle, as you specified. It simply measures the distance from each input point to the middle of each line feature.
Here is an example of how the tool can be used in a similar context:
Input:
Parameters (Hub Layer name attribute is the attribute from the line layer you wish to keep, in your case 'id'):
Output (same points as input, with added attribute):
As with any other processing algorithms, make sure both your layers are using the same coordinate systems (in your case you had a different CRS for each input layer). If the distance field (Hub Dist) is of importance to you too (not just which feature is closest), then make sure you are also using projected coordinate systems (not 4326).
Hope this helps!
Best Answer
As an alternative, you could:
Use the Convert Lines to Points tool from:
Processing Toolbox > SAGA > Shapes - Points > Convert Lines to Points
(Add points over small distances. E.g. add a point every 1m if the overall line is 100m)
Use the Distance to nearest hub from:
Processing Toolbox > QGIS geoalgorithms > Vector analysis tools > Distance to nearest hub
(Set the parameters, using the output layer of the Convert Lines to Points tool as the Destination hubs layer and setting the Output shape type as Line to hub)
Final result should be a line layer which connects the original points layer with the original line layer (with line-converted points):
(without line-converted points):
I used QGIS 2.12.3-Lyon.