Lesson 5b - Print Map to PDF or Image File
Another way to share your map is to compose and print a map layout. This lesson covers how to print your map layout to PDF or image file format.
Table of Contents
Lesson Objectives
- Create a map layout
- Export the map to PDF or image file format such as JPG
Map Layouts
Map layouts are used to design the map for printing or publication and include map elements such as a title, scale bar, north arrow, legend, and data sources.
The following video guides you through the process of creating, exporting, and printing a map layout. The text version of this lesson is available through the ArcGIS Pro Quick Start Tutorials from Esri.
Activity
Follow along with the video in ArcGIS Pro, using the Make a Layout project from ArcGIS Online.
Watch the video on the ArcGIS YouTube channel
Print Settings
For more information about the print options, such as size and output quality, see the Printing Options section of the ArcGIS Pro documentation.
Available File Types
In addition to the JPEG file format, there are a number of other formats available, including those listed below. For a complete list of export file types, see the ArcGIS Pro documentation.
| File Format | Link for More Information |
|---|---|
| AIX (Adobe Illustrator Exchange) | Export to AIX |
| BMP (Microsoft Windows bitmap) | Export to BMP |
| PDF (Portable Document Format) | Export to PDF |
| PNG (Portable Network Graphics) | Export to PNG |
| SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) | Export to SVG |
| TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) | Export to TIFF |
Summary
After completing the above lesson, you should be able to:
- Create a map layout and add a map frame and surrounds, including a title, legend, north arrow, and scale bar.
- Export the map layout to PDF or image format for printing or including in presentations or publications.
Additional Resources (optional)
The following are a list of other items that can be added to layouts:
- Cartographic creations - Make an inset map (Heather Smith, Esri)
- Add a grid or graticule (ArcGIS Pro documentation, Esri)
- Add a chart (ArcGIS Pro documentation, Esri)
See the following resources for more options relating to map layouts and the methods to convert a web map to a static print map.
- Convert a web map into a static map (Heather Smith, Esri)
- Cartographic creations - Arrange a map layout (Heather Smith, Esri)
- Create a map series (ArcGIS Pro documentation, Esri)
The following pages go into more detail about map design and the elements of a map layout.
- Principles of map design - Map essentials
- Design principles for cartography (Aileen Buckley, ArcGIS Blog, October 28, 2011)