QGIS » Quantum GIS Desktop

This note shows a graphical method for deleting columns from attribute tables in QGIS.

QGIS 1.8 and above
For version 1.8 QGIS (and above) can now delete columns from tables without plugins.¶

To delete a column select the layer that you what to work on, and open the Attribute table.

Make the layer editable by selecting the edit icon.

Then select the delete column icon.

Choose the layer (or layers) that you want to delete.

Then save the layer to commit your changes.

QGIS 1.7 and below
Plugins: Table manager¶

You may have noticed on the Attribute Table, a button that looks like it should delete columns. At the current time, this only works for PostGIS files.

There is a third-party plugin that can be installed to help with this, Table Manager. If you need help on installing plugins, there is a good write up in the [Manual].

This plugin appears as an icon and a menu item (Plugins → Table → Table Manager).

The Table Manager plugin then allows you to add, delete and reorder columns in the selected table.

Notes:
* There seems to be some differences in how this works on different platforms.
** For instance, you can't save the altered table as the same name on windows.

• On linux it appears to get around this work by briefly closing and reopening the file into your project. This affects your layer order.

• Another alternative is to edit the dbf directly.
  • A note for windows users, more recent versions of Excel (starting from 2007) can only read, not save dbf files.