Layouts

So you’ve added all your data to QGIS and now you want to export it to PDF or an image format (TIFF, PNG, KPEG).

Your project toolbar has 6 icons:

From left to right:

• New Project
• Open Project
• Save Project
• New Print Layout
• Layout Manager
• Style Manager

If you want to make a quick map click on New Print Layout. If you want to make a series of maps – click the next button to your right and you’l lbe able to manage several map layouts. Push your New Print layout and give your map a title. Your layout will look like this:

As numbered:

1. Menu bar
2. Tool Bar
3. Map Layout
4. Command History
5. Composition
6. Item Properties
7. Items
8. Atlas

The Layout has similar functionality to the main QGIS interface. You have buttons and Menus and Toolbars. For me the important toolbar is the Toolbox Toolbar.

From left to right:

• Pan
• Zoom
• Select
• Move Item Content
• Edit Nodes
• Add a New Map
• Add an Image
• Add Text Box
• Add Legend
• Add Scalebar
• Add Shapes
• Add Arrow
• Add Node Item
• Add HTML
• Add Attribute Table

To add a new map just click the “Add a new Map” button and draw a diagonal box across your map canvas by click and dragging the mouse.

Once you do that the data in your Map Display from the QGIS main Interface will display. You can adjust your scale from the Item Properties Window.

Don’t forget to add a title and other annotation using the toolbox menu. You’ll just need to make room and start clicking to add all your additions.

From your layout toolbar you can export your map to a PDF or another image format.

Anyway – Hopefully this was a quick tutorial that was somewhat useful for your jump into QGIS!