Installing GEEST

Installing GEEST#

Follow the steps below to install the GEEST QGIS plugin.

Step 1: Open the Plugin Manager in QGIS#

    1. Launch QGIS.

    1. Go to Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins….

QGIS Plugin Setup

Step 2: Install the Plugin#

    1. In the Plugin Manager window, select the All tab in the Plugin Manager.

    1. Search for GEEST.

    1. Select the plugin and click Install Plugin.

QGIS Plugin Installation

Step 3: Verify the Installation and Configure the Tool#

    1. After installation, check the QGIS toolbar for the new GEEST icon Show/Hide GEEST Panel. GEEST Toolbar Icons

    1. If the icon is not visible, go to Plugins > Manage and Install Plugins…, then click on the Installed tab.

    1. In the list, find Gender Enabling Environments Spatial Tool (GEEST) and ensure the checkbox is ticked. The GEEST panel should now appear in the QGIS interface.

QGIS Plugin Installation

    1. Optionally, you can customize the plugin’s behavior by navigating to:
      Settings Menu → Options → GEEST Settings. While the default settings are recommended, the following configurable sections are available:

      ▪︎ Chunk size
      Determines how many cells are processed at once. For example, a chunk size of 10 processes 10×10 cell blocks. Increasing this value (e.g., to 50) can improve performance on powerful machines, but may slow down or crash QGIS on lower-spec systems.

      ▪︎ Analysis Options – Assign 0 to cells by default
      If checked, areas without data will be assigned a value of 0. If unchecked, those areas will be left as NoData. This is useful for consistent raster outputs when comparing or summing layers.

      ▪︎ User Interface Options
      ▫︎ Show layer when clicking an item in the GEEST tree
      Automatically activates the corresponding layer in QGIS when selected in the GEEST panel.

      ▫︎ Show canvas overlay with current layer details
      Enables an overlay that provides quick visual feedback about selected layers.

      ▪︎ Advanced Options – Concurrent Tasks
      Specifies how many processing threads to run simultaneously. Set this equal to the number of CPU cores for efficient performance (e.g., 4 or more on most systems).

      ▫︎ Enable developer mode
      Intended for debugging — attaches the plugin to a remote debugger. ⚠️ Not recommended unless you’re actively developing the plugin.

      ▫︎ Verbose logging mode
      Enables detailed logging useful for troubleshooting and diagnostics. Requires a restart to take effect.

GEEST Settings
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