View GeoNetwork metadata records in QGIS

1 Find your GeoNetwork CSW endpoint
2 Add the CSW service to QGIS
3 Use MetaSearch to search and view records

A user can see the geographic extent of their GeoNetwork metadata records in QGIS as well as add any linked layers to the map.

For example, if a record has a linked WFS or WMS resource, a button becomes available to add that layer to the map.

Although the QGIS documentation seems to suggest that you can also link to an OGC-API Records endpoint, this doesn’t seem to be the case at the time of writing this.

Find your GeoNetwork CSW endpoint

The CSW endpoint will be of the form https://{domain}/geonetwork/{node}/eng/csw (for example https://spatialdata.gov.scot/geonetwork/srv/eng/csw)

For the multi-tenant customers, the CSW endpoint will be of the form https://metadata.astuntechnology.com/geonetwork/{customer-name}/eng/csw (for example https://metadata.astuntechnology.com/geonetwork/cardiff/eng/csw)

The administrator of a GeoNetwork portal can determine the correct endpoint and see its response by following the steps below:

Login as an administrator in GeoNetwork
Go to Admin console > Settings > CSW test
Pick the desired node from the list (for the main node pick csw; multi-tenant customers need to pick their portal from the available options)

Pick a request from the list OR

Scroll down for the GetCapabilities URL

Add the CSW service to QGIS

This is done using the MetaSearch plugin.

See the official documentation here: https://docs.qgis.org/latest/en/docs/user_manual/plugins/core_plugins/plugins_metasearch.html

Find the MetaSearch plugin in the QGIS toolbar or the Web sub-menu:

Open the plugin and add a New catalog service

Fill in the relevant information:

Name - a recognisable name
URL - the CSW endpoint (i.e. without an actual request, only up to /csw)
Catalog Ty - set this to OGC CSW 2.0.2
Authentication - leave this empty if you only want to see public records or fill this in with GeoNetwork credentials to see unpublished records as well

Then click OK to save the connection.

To check the connection once the details have been saved, click Service Info

Use MetaSearch to search and view records

Pick a service from the list (From):

Search for a record using the Keywords search box - you can use words from the title, abstract or keywords of a metadata record:

If the dataset has a defined geographic extent this will be highlighted on the map in QGIS, for example:

Double-clicking on a record brings up a small preview of some of the metadata and a link to the GetRecordById XML response of the record in the source catalog:

If the record has a linked supported web service (WMS/WMTS, WFS, WCS, ArcGIS REST Service, etc.) or a GIS File attached the Add Data button becomes available, which allows the user to add the data as a layer in QGIS, for example: