QGIS 2.18 Las Palmas released

At the end of October 2016, version 2.18 "Las Palmas" was released. Compared to the previous release 2.16 "Nødebo" there are fewer new features - due to the fact that the focus of developers and funders already shifted towards version 3.0. Version 2.18 is the last release of the 2.x branch. Version 3.x will be based on Python 3 and qt5 and will again offer many new options and an improved API - at the expense of an incompatible API in certain areas.

There are three more updates planned for the 2.18 version (see release schedule), this time with the exception that two more features will also make it into 2.18. 2.18.1. will feature Geopackage improvements, and one of the further upcoming versions will feature CAD viewing support (DXF and DWG).

A list of improvements can be found in the 2.18 visual changelog. The new version can be downloaded here. One highlight is the improved support for WMTS and XYZ-tile services. Furthermore, there are improvements around the expressions, for labeling and forms. The north arrows are also improved and now support geographic (true) and magnetic north.