Make a layout in ArcGIS Pro
ArcGIS / Esri. Watch the process, then make the practice product using your own data and decisions.
Watch recommended videoRecorded with ArcGIS Pro 3.1. Check page size and output scale in your installed version.
Build a Map Layout and Export It Clearly
Compose a page with a map frame, title, legend, scale bar, and source note, then export PDF and PNG versions for different uses.
What you will make
A one-page PDF layout and a PNG preview of a local planning map.
A map view is for exploring. A layout is a page composition designed for printing or sharing. Matching the page size and export format to the audience makes labels and context readable after the map leaves ArcGIS Pro.
- Create a page layout and map frame.
- Add supporting elements that help interpret the map.
- Export and inspect a PDF or PNG at the intended page size.
Before you start
- A saved ArcGIS Pro project with a styled map.
- ArcGIS Pro Basic access; no extension is needed for the basic layout workflow.
- Starter data: open the Townscape Workshop GIS downloads, choose Bluefield or a Dickenson County town, unzip the package, and read its README and metadata. Use its supplied building and street layers for practice; they are not an authoritative parcel or assessment inventory.
Project connections: Bluefield VA comprehensive plan; Haysi downtown; Clintwood downtown reuse and housing; Red Onion industrial site marketing; Clinchco and Nora workforce and former-school reuse.
Watch and try it
Make a layout overview video
Esri ArcGIS Pro documentation. The official tutorial page links to its embedded video and walks through a page layout, map frame, legend, text, and export.
Watch recommended videoOfficial Esri tutorial page links to a YouTube embed. Video was created with ArcGIS Pro 3.1; use current documentation for interface differences.
Work through the method
Choose the page
On Insert, create a new layout using a common page size and orientation. Select a page that fits the map's shape and the amount of supporting text you need.
Check your work: The layout page has an intentional size and orientation.
Add the map frame
Insert a map frame linked to the map you prepared. Set the extent so the study area has breathing room and the features remain visible. A layout can contain more than one map frame, but use one unless a second view answers a clear question.
Check your work: The map frame shows the right place at a useful scale.
Add interpretation
Add a concise title, a legend for meaningful symbols, and a scale bar when distance matters. Add a source and date note using only facts available from the data. A north arrow is optional when orientation is already clear.
Check your work: Every page element helps a reader understand the map.
Check reading order
Review the layout at its final page size. Check title, labels, legend patches, scale bar, and source note for clipping or overlap. Keep the main map visually dominant without adding decorative rules or empty frames.
Check your work: The page remains legible at normal screen size and print scale.
Export a PDF
Activate the layout, open Share > Export Layout, choose PDF, name the file, and export. PDF can preserve vector map content and may retain georeferencing depending on settings; it is not a copy of the .aprx and source datasets.
Check your work: The PDF opens and the full intended page appears.
Export a PNG preview
Export the same layout as PNG for screen sharing or a slide. PNG uses lossless compression and is generally suitable for map text and linework. Reopen the export to check that text has not become too small.
Check your work: The PNG matches the intended layout and no element is cropped.
Make a one-page planning map
- Create a page for a supplied local map and choose a standard page size.
- Add a map frame, concise title, useful legend, and source/date note.
- Add a scale bar if the question depends on distance.
- Export and inspect both a PDF and a PNG.
Bring the method into a product
- One-page PDF layout
- PNG preview
Suggested formats: PDF, PNG.
Reflect: Which map element did you remove or simplify to make the main planning pattern easier to read?
Avoid these mistakes
- A map-view export and a page-layout export are different outputs.
- Exported page size affects how text and symbols appear; inspect the actual file.
- A legend should explain symbols that appear on the map, not list every available layer.
Check your understanding
These short checks are practice, not course grades. Read the explanation, revise your reasoning and try again when useful.
Submit your practice product
Use the existing course login. Your file and notes are visible to you and the instructor, not the public or other students. Official graded assignments still go to Canvas.
Submit a PDF, image, DOCX, UTF-8 text/CSV, JSON or GeoJSON file. For several products, combine the evidence, text alternatives and notes into one accessible PDF or DOCX, or submit each file separately with the same project title. Keep native ArcGIS projects and complete shapefile bundles locally. Upload only work you can share with the instructor; leave out confidential client records and sensitive species or infrastructure locations.
My academy workSources and further help
- Make a layout
Esri. Page layout, map frame, surrounds, text, and export workflow; tutorial states ArcGIS Pro Basic requirement.
- Introduction to exporting a map or layout
Esri. Map and layout export distinction and available raster/vector formats including PDF and PNG.
- Townscape Workshop: GIS starter packages
Course workshop. Download existing town-scale building and street packages with source notes and use constraints.
Guidance may change. Follow the current source and check the software version, license, local rules and data limitations before applying the method.