[GIS] Shapefile layer no longer editable (toggle edit option greyed out) in QGIS

editingqgisqgis-2shapefile

I am using QGIS 2.16 / Windows 10.

I have a point shapefile which I have been using for a little while that has always been editable.

Today I was editing the layer, saved my edits and left my computer for a few hours. When I came back I was not able to toggle the editing button on the toolbar and when I right click on the layer it longer has toggle editing as an option.

I have googled the problem every way I can think of and have not been able to find an answer to why the layer is suddenly un-editable or how to fix this.

Best Answer

It happened the same to me. Sometimes QGIS (2.18.11) blocks the edition when you "save as..." your project. Just remove the shp from the box and import it again. That should work. If not, save your layer as a new shp.

It also happens with duplicate layers.

Related Solutions

QGIS Layers – How to Fix Greyed Out Edit Button

Layers based on KML files are most likely to cause such problems. KML does not offer all possibilities we use in QGIS, and has other features we can not handle in QGIS. In such cases, editing of the layer will be abandonned by greying the button out.

Best practice is always to load a KML, save as shapefile (or spatialite database), delete the KML layer and work on with the shapefile(s).

For the styling, you can save the styling for every layer you created as .qml file, and reload it in another project.

[GIS] PyQGIS – load PostGIS layer as editable

To load a shapefile into QGIS and set the layer as "editable", I executed the code below in the Python Concole:

LayerName =iface.addVectorLayer("/Path/To/Your/Shapefile.shp", "name", "ogr")
qgis.utils.iface.setActiveLayer(LayerName)
qgis.utils.iface.actionToggleEditing().trigger()

For PostGIS tables this blog post may help to set up the SELECT statement in order to load the PostGIS table successfully. Once the layer has been loaded into QGIS I assume the code below will enable/disable editing:

qgis.utils.iface.setActiveLayer(LayerName)
qgis.utils.iface.actionToggleEditing().trigger()

I have not tried the PostGIS example yet. This is my first post on GIS StackExchange so I hope it helps.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

QGIS Layers – How to Fix Greyed Out Edit Button

[GIS] PyQGIS – load PostGIS layer as editable

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