Downloading with OS Select+Build

What is OS Select+Build?

OS Select+Build is our download service that gives you access to OS National Geographic Database (NGD) data. You can use it to choose and download the OS NGD data you need (by theme, collection and feature type) and select how you want to receive your data.

For the first time, you can select and build only the data you require rather than taking off-the shelf OS products. For example, if you're only interested in buildings information, then you just select the OS NGD Buildings Theme and the content you require within that theme. There's no need to take a whole product and spend time filtering out the data you need from it.

You can also take data from different OS NGD collections. For example, you could select the Building Line and Building Part Feature Types (which are both in the Building Features Collection of the Buildings Theme) and the Structure Line Feature Type (which is in the Structure Features Collection of the Structures Theme).

The screenshot below shows what selecting this data would look like using OS Select+Build. The secondary navigation menu on the left-hand side of the screen is where you select the feature types you want from the tree view of the OS NGD themes, collections, and feature types, and where you can apply filters to the feature types (if needed). The right-hand side panel displays the definition for the feature type you've selected and lists all the attributes present within it.

There are two different file formats options available when you download OS NGD data from OS Select+Build: GeoPackage and CSV. Various supply options are available.

OS Select+Build is available via the OS Data Hub.

Recipes

What is a recipe?

A recipe is a bespoke selection of OS NGD data which is made by a user within OS Select+Build. Recipes allow you to choose the OS NGD data that best fits your requirements.

OS NGD data is structured by themes, collections, and feature types; the main advantage to this data structure is that you can easily find and select individual feature types across different themes and build your own recipes and data package/s containing only the data you are interested in. There's also the option to select all or only a few feature types from a single theme.

Every new recipe you create will be stored in your OS NGD Select+Build Recipe Library. This library will be visible to other people in your organisation. It provides a central place for colleagues to view and use recipes.

How do I create a new recipe?

Before you create a data package to receive your OS NGD data, you'll need to create a recipe.

To create a new recipe:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.
Select Download from the main menu.
Choose OS Select+Build from the secondary navigation menu.
Click the Create a new recipe button.
Add the following details to your recipe under Create your recipe in the secondary navigation menu:
- Give your recipe a name.
- Add a description for your recipe.
- Select your OS NGD data by choosing the themes, collections and feature types you want to include in your recipe.
- If you wish to choose which schema version (where applicable) you'd like to receive the data in for a feature type, click on the feature type name within the tree view in the secondary navigation menu, then choose a data schema version from the drop-down box in the right-hand side panel.
- Add filters to the feature types, if needed.
Click the Create recipe button.

Your new recipe will now instantly be available in your OS Select+Build Recipe Library.

Please note:

We recommend defining a naming convention for your organisation before creating OS NGD recipes and / or data packages.
Selecting a data schema version for a feature type is an optional step; if you don't choose a particular data schema version for a feature type, OS Select+Build will always select the latest available data schema version for you by default. See the 'Data schema versioning' page for more information.
Adding filters to feature types is an optional step for those with advanced OS data knowledge; see the 'Getting Started with Attribute Filtering' page for more information on applying filters and step-by-step instructions.

How do I find my OS Select+Build Recipe Library?

Any recipes created by your organisation will be stored in your OS Select+Build Recipe Library in the OS Data Hub.

To find your OS Select+Build Recipe Library:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.
Select Download from the main menu.
Choose OS Select+Build from the secondary navigation menu.

You will then be taken to your organisation's OS Select+Build Recipe Library.

How do I check what's in a recipe?

You can easily check details about any of your organisation's existing recipes, including a recipe's name, description, creation date, author, the filters used (if applicable), and what OS NGD themes, collections and feature types are included in a recipe.

To check what's in an existing recipe:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.
Select Download from the main menu.
Choose OS Select+Build from the secondary navigation menu.
In your OS NGD Select+Build Recipe Library, scroll or search for the recipe you would like to find out more about.
In this view, you can see the following high-level details about a recipe:
- The recipe's name
- The recipe's author
- The date the recipe was created
- A description of the recipe, if one has been added
- OS NGD theme tags to show which themes are included in the recipe

In the screenshot below, you can see that the example recipe includes the following OS NGD themes: Land, Buildings, and Structures.

To see what OS NGD themes, collections and feature types are in a recipe, follow the steps above to find a recipe in your OS Select+Build Recipe Library, then:

Click on the name of the recipe you would like to find out more about.
You are now within the Recipe details screen, where you can view detailed information about the recipe, including:
- The recipe's name
- A description of the recipe, if one has been added
- An option to view all of the filters applied to feature types in the recipe (if applicable)
- The date the recipe was created
- The recipe's author
- An option to show the data schema version of each feature type in the recipe
- A recipe tree detailing the OS NGD themes, collections, and feature types included in the recipe

A recipe can be shared with another organisation to enable collaboration.

To share a recipe:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.
Select Download from the main menu.
Choose OS Select+Build from the secondary navigation menu.
In your organisation's OS Select+Build Recipe Library, scroll or search for the recipe you want to share.
Click on the name of the recipe to view the recipe details.

In this view, you will be able to see the Share recipe button; please note that you can only share recipes created by your organisation.

Click the Share recipe button.

The share recipe dialog will appear.

Search for the organisation with whom you wish to share the recipe. To do this, just start to type the organisation's name, then select the correct organisation from the list.
Add a message for the organisation receiving the recipe to provide them with context around why you are sharing the recipe with them.
Click Send.

How do I accept a recipe shared with me?

To accept a shared recipe:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.

You will see a new notification at the top right of your screen, indicated by a bell button and a number count of any unread notifications.

Click the bell button.

You will then see details of a notification explaining You have been sent a shared recipe, which will include the name of the organisation that shared the recipe with you, along with a message if they added one when sharing the recipe.

Click View recipe details.

The recipe details will be displayed for you to review. If you are happy with the shared recipe:

Click the Accept recipe button.

You will be presented with a dialog box explaining: When you accept a recipe, it is added to your organisation’s recipe library. It will show as "shared". You can create data packages from it, but you can’t share the recipe with other organisations.

If another team member in your organisation declines the invitation to accept a shared recipe before you view it, you may no longer have access to the shared recipe.

Shared recipes that you have accepted from another organisation can be identified by the presence of the Shared with me tag against them.

How do I reject a recipe shared with me?

To reject a shared recipe:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.

You will see a new notification at the top right of your screen, indicated by a bell button and a number count of any unread notifications.

Click the bell button.

Click View recipe details.

The recipe details will be displayed for you to review. If this recipe is not right for you and you want to reject it:

Click the Reject button.

Once a shared recipe is rejected, you will not be able to access it again.

Data packages

How do I create a new data package?

Once you've created a recipe, you'll then need to create a data package against it to receive your OS NGD data.

To create a new OS NGD data package:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.
Select Download from the main menu.
Choose OS Select+Build from the secondary navigation menu.
In your OS NGD Select+Build Recipe Library, scroll or search for the recipe you wish to create a data package against, select that recipe, then click the Add data package button.

Add the following details to your data package under Add a data package in the secondary navigation menu:
- Give your data package a name.
- Choose the area you want to receive your data for: Either all of Britain or Predefined Area (this means you receive data and it will not be refined by location) or Draw a polygon / upload a file / use an OS polygon to select a smaller area for your data to be provided for.
- Select the desired coordinate reference system.
- Select a file format: CSV or GeoPackage.
- Select the updates you want: Either not required or COU (Change-Only Update) frequency. There is also an option to select a one-off snapshot of a current or past date.
- Set your initial supply date.
Click the Create data package button.

You will receive an email confirming that your data package is being created and another one when your new data package is ready to download.

When you order data through OS Select+Build, the data package/s you receive will be provided at a feature type level. Each feature type you order will be available to download as a .zip file. Currently, grouped files are not available for OS NGD data packages.

Single or multiple data packages can be created from a single defined recipe. Creating multiple data packages from a single recipe is useful if you want to select a different file format or area of interest for a recipe.

Please note that the Annual Full Supply order frequency option will not be available for the the three new feature types released in March 2023 (River Basin District Catchment, Waterbody Catchment, and Average and Indicative Speed Feature Types) or the data schema version 2.0 addressing feature types until 01 January 2023. If you select this order frequency for a data package containing one (or more) of the three new feature types or the data schema version 2.0 addressing feature types before 01 January 2023, then you will receive blank files.

How do I find and download an existing data package?

All OS NGD, OS OpenData and OS Premium data packages created and ordered by your organisation will be catalogued in your Data packages list in the OS Data Hub.

To find and download an existing data package:

Log into your OS Data Hub account.
Select Download from the main menu.
Choose Data packages from the secondary navigation menu.

You will be then taken to your Data packages list.

Scroll through the list to find a particular data package or use the search bar to search by data package name, data package number, or product name.

Data packages linked to an OS NGD recipe can be identified by their prefix of 'OS NGD Recipe' against the recipe name in the Product column in the Data packages list:

Once you have found the data package you want from the list, click the Download button in the Status column.

You are now within the Data package summary screen, where you can view and download files. Under 'Individual file downloads' in the bottom left-hand side of your screen, you will see a .zip file for every feature type in your data package order.

Click on a file to download it.

What is the Order Summary file?

This is also known as a manifest file, a computing file which contains metadata. We provide an Order Summary file for each feature type in your data package. The following file naming convention will be applied to each Order Summary file you receive:

collection_featuretype_orderSummary.jso

For example, the file name for the Building Part Feature Type Order Summary file would look like this:

bld_fts_buildingpart_orderSummary.jso

The example below shows the information a Order Summary file contains:

{
 "featureName": "bld-fts-buildingline",
 "crs": "http://www.opengis.net/def/crs/EPSG/0/27700",
 "schemaVersion": "1.0",
 "validFromDate": null,
 "validToDate": "2023-03-01",
 "recordCount": 202653
}

Things to remember

You can:

Create multiple data packages from a single recipe.
Delete a data package.
Search through your organisation's recipes in the OS Select+Build Recipe Library using the recipe name, description, or content (i.e. themes, collections, or feature types).
Search through your organisation's data packages in the Data packages list screen using the data package name, data package number, or product name.
Collect your data package(s) via the OS Data Hub or the OS Downloads API.
Share a recipe with another organisation that has access to OS Select+Build.