How to Add Coordinates in QGIS

Quick summary

In QGIS, you can add coordinates to a point layer's attribute table by using the Field Calculator with $x and $y expressions, or by running the Add X/Y Fields to Layer tool from the Processing Toolbar. Both methods populate Longitude and Latitude fields directly in your layer's attribute data without requiring external plugins.

Steps

1. Right-click your point layer in the Layers Panel and select Open Attribute Table.
2. Click Toggle Editing (pencil icon) at the top-left corner of the dialog box.
3. Select Field Calculator from the toolbar.
4. Check Create a new field in the Field Calculator dialog.
5. Set the Output field name to Longitude and the output field type to Decimal (real).
6. Enter $x in the Expression box.
7. Click OK to save the Longitude field.
8. Repeat the process, setting the Output field name to Latitude and the field type to Decimal (real).
9. Enter $y in the Expression box.
10. Click OK to save the Latitude field.
11. Open the Attribute Table again to verify that Longitude and Latitude coordinates were successfully added.
12. Alternatively, click a point shapefile layer in the Layers Panel to use the Processing Toolbar method.
13. Select the Toggle Editing button in the top menu.
14. Click the Add Point tool to begin placing points on the map.
15. Hover your cursor over the map and click to place a point.
16. Enter an ID number for identification, then click OK. Repeat to add more points.
17. Go to the Processing Toolbar and search for Add X/Y Fields to Layer, then select it.
18. Choose the input layer in the tool dialog.
19. Select your coordinate system.
20. Click Run to execute the tool.
21. Go to the added layer in your Layers panel.
22. Right-click it and select Open Attribute Table to confirm the results.
23. Verify that points with coordinates have been successfully added to your layer.