How to Add a Point in QGIS

Updated on:

June 8, 2026

By:

Use this interactive demo to learn how to place a point on a shapefile layer in QGIS.

Quick summary

Adding a point in QGIS requires enabling Toggle Editing on a Point shapefile layer and using the Add Point tool to click a location on the map. Once you confirm the feature with an ID, the new point is saved to your shapefile layer.

Steps

Select a Point (shapefile) layer in the Layers Panel.
Click the Toggle Editing tool in the top menu to enable editing mode.
Select the Add Point tool from the toolbar.
Hover your cursor over the map layout and click to place a point.
Enter an ID number for identification, then click OK.
Confirm the point has been successfully added to the layer.

📌 Why this matters

QGIS is the world's leading open-source GIS platform, and knowing how to add point features to a shapefile layer is a foundational skill for any geospatial workflow. Accurate point digitization lets surveyors, urban planners, and GIS analysts capture real-world locations directly on a map, forming the basis for spatial analysis and data-driven decision-making. This demo shows the exact steps needed to enable editing, place a point, and assign an ID — reducing the learning curve for new QGIS users. Mastering point feature creation in QGIS empowers teams to build and maintain high-quality vector datasets without relying on costly proprietary GIS software.

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