QGIS Print Layout and Exporting

From Data Space to Paper Space & Beyond

This short tutorial covers the basics of creating a print layout in QGIS and some considerations for cartographic design in general. The covered technical material allows you to move your QGIS projects from map space to paper space and export your work either in a print format or in a form that will enable you to continue design work in another software environment.

Data View / Print View

So far, you have worked within QGIS’s Map View, adding and symbolizing geospatial datasets. This environment lets you view your data from whatever spatial scale you set through the zoom and pan settings in the map canvas view. We can refer to this environment as data space. To export your work from QGIS to be viewed as a static image outside of the program, you must fix the spatial scale and extent of your map. This can be understood as paper space. The Print Layout function within QGIS is a tool that enables this transition.

Cartographic Design & Conventions

The transition from data space to paper space also opens up the opportunity to think about aspects of cartographic design that are not relevant when performing analysis in QGIS.

How will you orient your map readers to the geographic context of your map? How will you convey the meaning(s) of the chosen symbols?

Maps typically have:

• a legend
• an indication of scale (either a scale bar or, in the case of printed maps, a ratio scale or written scale, 1"=1000' for example)
• a note showing the projection used
• a north arrow
• citations for all data sources
• the name of the cartographer and/or publisher
• (sometimes) a grid or a graticule to convey the coordinate reference system

Set-Up

If you want to follow along with the example from this tutorial, download this GeoPackage. (QGIS documentation on loading vector data from a GeoPackage database is available here.)

When you are satisfied with your symbology choices and are ready to export a map document from QGIS, you will need to create a new Print Layout.

Select the New Print Layout tool in the main toolbar or click through Project>New Print Layout from the top menu. You will be prompted to specify a name for your new layout. Each QGIS project can have multiple associated print layouts, so choose a descriptive name for the layout you are hoping to create so that you can distinguish it if you ever add an additional layout view.

The Print Layout tool will open once you have specified the name of your first layout.

To set up page dimensions and add a map item, follow these steps:

• Right-click anywhere on the blank page and choose Page Properties...(the Item Properties menu will appear on the right)
• Specify the dimensions of the page:

There are preset paper sizes, and you may also specify your size using the `Custom` option and choose specific dimensions and units.

• On the left toolbox, click Add Map and then click and drag on the paper a rectangle over the area on your page that you want the map to cover:

• Click Move Item Content to pan to the desired area (this allows you to navigate through data space within the Print Layout tool)
• Set the desired scale in the Item Properties tab

Add a legend

Click Add Legend button and again draw a rectangle over the area where you want to place your legend (remember that the map item doesn’t have to take the entirety of the paper):

All layers from your QGIS project will be included in the legend by default. If, within the Item Properties for your legend, you select `Only show items inside linked map,` then only the currently visible map layers will be included in the legend.

Uncheck the “Auto Update” option for the Legend’s Item Properties to unlock various editing opportunities. These include changing the layer’s name to a more descriptive and meaningful phrase for your readers:

On your own: Experiment and explore the layout options. Add a scale bar, descriptive text/title (use Add Label button), and a reference for your data source. Change the various Item properties to control the map’s layout (including fonts and font sizes for your legend).

Finally, you can export your layout as an Image, SVG, or PDF by either clicking through Layout > Export as… in the main menu or by clicking their corresponding buttons on the Layout Toolbar:

Notes on Workflow

Using the Print Layout tool within QGIS to design complete and visually compelling maps is possible. However, it is generally much faster to use the Print Layout as a part of the larger workflow to:

1. Define a map/paper/artboard size
2. Set the spatial scale/extent of your map(s)
3. Add any orienting map elements (scale, legend)
4. Export to continue your work in a dedicated graphics editing software

Exporting maps with vector-based data in SVG format allows you to manipulate your data layers' style, symbology, or overall composition in Adobe Illustrator or another vector graphics software.

Ensure that the `Export map layers as SVG groups` option is checked to retain the same layers from QGIS. If you leave this option unchecked, all vector data will be merged into a single layer.

Important: Any raster-based data should be exported separately in a high-resolution image format that can be layered in your graphics editor with any vector-based elements.

Parts of this tutorial are adapted from Dare Brawley’s Print Layouts module for the Methods in Spatial Research class. The QGIS documentation has a more detailed overview of the Print Layout tool, available here.