In a previous article "Practical Application of Geo Hound: Extracting Wuhan's Unified Planning Map Services for GIS Analysis", I demonstrated using Geo Hound to access Wuhan's planning map data in QGIS. A key objective was comparing land-use planning attributes against reality to identify discrepancies. While I mentioned using layer swipe for this comparison, many readers inquired about implementing swipe functionality in QGIS.

Note: ArcGIS natively supports swipe tools (see: Illustrated Guide to ArcGIS Swipe Function). As of QGIS 3.42 (2025-06-25), no native swipe tool exists.

Third-Party Plugin Solutions

QGIS' extensibility enables this functionality via plugins. Two effective options:

Solution 1: MapSwipe Tool

Primary Features:

  • Vertical/horizontal layer swiping
  • Compares the top two active layers

Installation:

  1. Search "MapSwipeTool" in QGIS Plugins Manager
  2. Install official version

Usage:

  • Activate via Plugins → Map Swipe Tool → Enable Swipe
  • Drag mouse vertically/horizontally to swipe

Enhanced Version:
A community-modified variant adds:

Solution 2: QMapCompare

Primary Features:

  • Multiple comparison modes (side-by-side, circular, split-view)
  • Active development (last update: May 2025)

Installation:

  1. Search "QMapCompare" in Plugins Manager
  2. Install plugin

Usage:

  1. Open QMapCompare panel
  2. Select layers for comparison

  3. Choose swipe mode:

Conclusion

While QGIS lacks native swipe functionality, these plugins provide robust solutions:

  • MapSwipe Tool: Stable but limited feature set (enhanced version recommended)
  • QMapCompare: Feature-rich with active maintenance (developed by Japanese contributor)

For most users, QMapCompare's diverse comparison modes offer greater flexibility.