Now that you’ve got a map, you need to be able to print it or to export it to adocument. The reason is, a GIS map file is not an image. Rather, it saves thestate of the GIS program, with references to all the layers, their labels,colors, etc. So for someone who doesn’t have the data or the same GIS program(such as QGIS), the map file will be useless. Luckily, QGIS can export its mapfile to a format that anyone’s computer can read, as well as printing out themap if you have a printer connected. Both exporting and printing is handled viathe print layout.
The goal for this lesson: To use the QGIS print layout to create a basicmap with all the required settings.
Fixed an issue that could cause a crash when starting a file listing. Various other minor bug fixes and enhancements. Fixed a bug that could cause Print Window to crash when the splash window closed. (This only affected the non-Mac App Store version of Print Window. The Mac App Store version remains at Version 5.2. Choose Print from your program’s File menu. Click the program’s Print icon, usually a tiny printer. Right-click your unopened document’s icon and choose Print. Click the Print button on a program’s toolbar. Drag and drop a document’s icon onto your printer’s icon. If a dialog box appears, click the OK or Print button, and Windows immediately begins sending your pages to the printer.
5.1.1. Follow Along: The Layout Manager¶
QGIS allows you to create multiple maps using the same map file. For thisreason, it has a tool called the Layout Manager.
- Click on the Project ‣ Layout Manager Password vault manager 6 2 0 0 download. menu entry to openthis tool. You’ll see a blank Layout manager dialog appear.
- Click the Add button and give the new layout the name ofSwellendam.
- Click OK.
- Click the Show button.
(You could also close the dialog and navigate to a layout via theProject ‣ Layouts ‣ menu, as in the image below.) Littlesnapper v1 8 5 macos nmac ked.
Whichever route you take to get there, you will now see the PrintLayout window:
5.1.2. Follow Along: Basic Map Composition¶
In this example, the composition was already the way we wanted it. Ensure thatyours is as well.
Print Window 5 2 2010
- In the Print Layout window, check that the values underComposition ‣ Paper and Quality are set to the following:
- Size: A4 (210x297mm)
- Orientation: Landscape
- Quality: 300dpi
Now you’ve got the page layout the way you wanted it, but this page is stillblank. It clearly lacks a map. Let’s fix that!
- Click on the Add New Map button:
With this tool activated, you’ll be able to place a map on the page.
- Click and drag a box on the blank page:
The map will appear on the page.
- Move the map by clicking and dragging it around:
- Resize it by clicking and dragging the boxes in the corners:
Note
Your map may look a lot different, of course! This depends on howyour own project is set up. But not to worry! These instructions aregeneral, so they will work the same regardless of what the map itself lookslike.
- Be sure to leave margins along the edges, and a space along the top for thetitle.
- Zoom in and out on the page (but not the map!) by using these buttons:
- Zoom and pan the map in the main QGIS window. You can also pan the map usingthe Move item content tool:
![Window Window](https://62d60299a4a72c63efbc-2c359e94805a75036f2d5b8f640fb0f5.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/3748_de8c244d-ab0b-4d99-97fe-31599e2bba54.jpg)
When zooming in, the map view will not refresh by itself. This is so that itdoesn’t waste your time redrawing the map while you’re zooming the page towhere you want it, but it also means that if you zoom in or out, the map willbe at the wrong resolution and will look ugly or unreadable.
- Force the map to refresh by clicking this button:
Remember that the size and position you’ve given the map doesn’t need to befinal. You can always come back and change it later if you’re not satisfied.For now, you need to ensure that you’ve saved your work on this map. Because aLayout in QGIS is part of the main map file, you’ll need to saveyour main project. Go to the main QGIS window (the one with theLayers panel and all the other familiar elements you were workingwith before), and save your project from there as usual.
5.1.3. Follow Along: Adding a Title¶
Now your map is looking good on the page, but your readers/users are not beingtold what’s going on yet. They need some context, which is what you’ll providefor them by adding map elements. First, let’s add a title.
- Click on this button:
- Click on the page, above the map, and a label will appear at the top of themap.
- Resize it and place it in the top center of the page. It can be resized andmoved in the same way that you resized and moved the map.
As you move the title, you’ll notice that guidelines appear to help youposition the title in the center of the page.
However, there is also a tool to help position the title relative to the map(not the page):
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- Click the map to select it.
- Hold in Shift on your keyboard and click on the label so that both themap and the label are selected.
- Look for the Align button and click on thedropdown arrow next to it to reveal the positioning options and clickAlign center:
To make sure that you don’t accidentally move these elements around now thatyou’ve aligned them:
- Right-click on both the map and the label.
A small lock icon will appear in the corner to tell you that an element can’tbe dragged right now. You can always right-click on an element again to unlockit, though.
Now the label is centered to the map, but not the contents. To center thecontents of the label:
- Select the label by clicking on it.
- Click on the Item Properties tab in the side panel of theLayout window.
- Change the text of the label to “Swellendam”:
- Use this interface to set the font and alignment options:
- Choose a large but sensible font (the example will use the default font witha size of 36) and set the Horizontal Alignment toCenter.
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You can also change the font color, but it’s probably best to keep it black asper the default.
The default setting is not to add a frame to the title’s text box. However, ifyou wish to add a frame, you can do so:
- In the Item Properties tab, scroll down until you see theFrame option.
- Click the Frame checkbox to enable the frame. You can also changethe frame’s color and width.
In this example, we won’t enable the frame, so here is our page so far:
5.1.4. Follow Along: Adding a Legend¶
The map reader also needs to be able to see what various things on the mapactually mean. In some cases, like the place names, this is quite obvious. Inother cases, it’s more difficult to guess, like the colors of the farms. Let’sadd a new legend.
- Click on this button:
- Click on the page to place the legend, and move it to where you want it:
5.1.5. Follow Along: Customizing Legend Items¶
Crossover 17 1 – run windows apps on your macbook. Not everything on the legend is necessary, so let’s remove some unwanted items.
- In the Item Properties tab, you’ll find theLegend items panel.
- Select the buildings entry.
- Delete it from the legend by clicking the minus button:
You can also rename items.
- Select a layer from the same list.
- Click the Edit button:
- Rename the layers to Places, Roads and Streets,Surafce Water, and Rivers.
- Set landuse to Hidden, then click the down arrow and editeach category to name them on the legend. You can also reorder the items:
As the legend will likely be widened by the new layer names, you may wish tomove and resize the legend and or map. This is the result:
5.1.6. Follow Along: Exporting Your Map¶
Finally the map is ready for export! You’ll see the export buttons near the topleft corner of the Layout window:
![Print Window 5 2 2 Print Window 5 2 2](https://get-melamine.com/sites/default/files/product-images/H91TRITANCL-print.jpg)
The button on the left is the Print button, which interfaces witha printer. Since the printer options will differ depending on the model ofprinter that you’re working with, it’s probably better to consult the printermanual or a general guide to printing for more information on this topic.
The other three buttons allow you to export the map page to a file. There arethree export formats to choose from:
- Export as Image
- Export as SVG
- Export as PDF
Exporting as an image will give you a selection of various common image formatsto choose from. This is probably the simplest option, but the image it createsis “dead” and difficult to edit.
The other two options are more common.
If you’re sending the map to a cartographer (who may want to edit the map forpublication), it’s best to export as an SVG. SVG stands for “Scalable VectorGraphic”, and can be imported to programs like Inkscapeor other vector image editing software.
If you need to send the map to a client, it’s most common to use a PDF, becauseit’s easier to set up printing options for a PDF. Some cartographers may preferPDF as well, if they have a program that allows them to import and edit thisformat.
For our purposes, we’re going to use PDF.
- Click the Export as PDF button:
- Choose a save location and a file name as usual.
- Click Save.
5.1.7. In Conclusion¶
- Close the Layout window.
- Save your map.
- Find your exported PDF using your operating system’s file manager.
- Open it.
- Bask in its glory.
Congratulations on your first completed QGIS map project!
5.1.8. What’s Next?¶
On the next page, you will be given an assignment to complete. This will allowyou to practice the techniques you have learned so far.