Make a layout with two maps

A layout includes a map, along with surrounding information such as a title, legend, scale bar, or credit text. These elements—called map surrounds—help to explain the map. It is important that the layout be well designed so the map is easy to interpret. It should be balanced, consistent, uncluttered, and have a clear visual hierarchy.

You have been hired to create a printed map of a marine estuary for a small museum in South Australia. It should show the different land cover types and tidal class areas in the estuary, which are described in other displays in the museum. In this tutorial series, you'll use ArcGIS Pro to design a layout for the client.

This tutorial is the first in the series Design a layout in ArcGIS Pro:

• Make a layout with two maps
• Arrange a layout
• Finish and export a layout

In this tutorial, you'll create a layout featuring two maps of the estuary that you previously created for this project. You'll set up guides, position the maps, and add a title.

Note:

The client has also asked you to create an interactive map of the estuary. You can learn how to make it in the tutorial series Design a layout in ArcGIS Experience Builder.

This lesson was last tested on February 22, 2024, using ArcGIS Pro 3.2 and ArcGIS Enterprise 11.2. If you're using a different version of ArcGIS Pro or ArcGIS Enterprise, you may encounter different functionality and results.

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Requirements

• ArcGIS Pro (see options for software access)
• ArcGIS organizational account: ArcGIS Online (see options for software access) or ArcGIS Enterprise (learn more)

Make a layout with two maps

Insert a layout

In ArcGIS Pro, layout design is done in a layout view, separate from the map view where analysis, editing, and map design take place. The maps for this tutorial are already symbolized and labeled. You’ll start by reviewing them in the map view. Then you’ll create a new layout and add the two maps to it. For the rest of the tutorial series, you’ll be working in the layout view.

1. Download the American River project package.

   A file named American_River.ppkx is downloaded to your computer.

   Note:

   A .ppkx file is an ArcGIS Pro project package and may contain maps, data, and other files that you can open in ArcGIS Pro. Learn more about managing .ppkx files in this guide.

2. Locate the downloaded file on your computer. Double-click American River.ppkx to open it in ArcGIS Pro.
3. If prompted, sign in with your ArcGIS account.

   Note:

   If you don't have access to ArcGIS Pro or an ArcGIS organizational account, see options for software access.

   A map appears, showing the primary vegetation or sediment type that covers each area of the estuary. Estuaries are a kind of wetland. They are coastal water bodies that typically mix fresh water from a river with salt water from a connection to the sea. This mixture provides many nutrients, resulting in a high level of biodiversity.

   

   This estuary is named American River and is located on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. It is a significant site for shorebirds, seabirds, and fish and includes the Pelican Lagoon Conservation Park. However, it faces threats from increasing development, tourism, and nutrient loading.

   Note:

   The data for this map came from the Government of South Australia. You can read more about American River and other marine estuaries on Kangaroo Island in the report Kangaroo Island Natural Resources Management Region: Estuaries Information Package, by the Government of South Australia, Department for Environment and Heritage.

4. Above the map, click the Tidal Class tab.

   

   The Tidal Class map appears. It is now the active view. This map defines the intertidal, supratidal, and stranded tidal areas of the estuary. You could have included this information on the first map, but it is easier to read in a separate map. The more information you put into a single map, the harder that information is to interpret. Often, the best solution is to make a second map.

   

5. Zoom and pan to explore the map and become familiar with the estuary.

   Next, you’ll insert a layout into the project.

6. On the ribbon, click the Insert tab. In the Project group, click New Layout.

   

7. In the menu that appears, scroll down. In the ISO - Landscape section, click A3.

   

   This is the size requested by your client. ISO is a standard of paper sizes used in most of the world, including Australia, while ANSI is a standard primarily used in North America.

   The layout view appears, showing a new blank layout.

Add guides

Before you add the maps to the layout, you’ll set up guides to help you place them and other elements.

1. On the ribbon, click the Layout tab. In the Show group, ensure that Rulers and Guides are both checked.

   

2. Right-click the ruler surrounding the layout view and click Add Multiple Guides.

   

   The Add Guides window appears. You’ll add four guides offset from the edges of the layout to ensure you keep a consistent margin in your design.

3. In the Add Guides window, change the following parameters:
   • For Orientation, choose Both.
   • For Placement, choose Offset from edge.
   • For Margin, type 10 mm.

   

4. Click OK.

   Thin blue lines now mark a margin area around your map. Avoid placing any text or other important information outside of these lines in case they are cut off during printing.

   

   Next, consider how you might position the two maps on the page. The maps are taller than they are wide, so the easiest way to position them will be side by side. You’ll add a guide down the middle of the layout to make positioning the maps easier.

5. Right-click the ruler again and click Add Multiple Guides.
6. For Orientation, choose Vertical. For Placement, choose Center.

   

7. Click OK.

   A guide appears down the center of the layout.

Add map frames

Next, you’ll add two map frames to the layout, one for each map. You’ll rename the map frames in the Contents pane to make it easier to distinguish between them later.

1. Below the layout view, ensure that the Snapping button is highlighted, indicating that snapping is on.

   

2. Point to the Snapping button and ensure that the first three options are highlighted.

   It is okay if the fourth option is highlighted as well.

   

   These settings will allow you to snap to guides, other elements, and page boundaries when using interactive layout tools.

3. On the ribbon, click the Insert tab. In the Map Frames group, click Map Frame.

   Under Cover Type, two options are listed. The only difference between them is the initial scale and extent of the map, which can be changed later.

4. Click Cover Type.

   

5. Point to the top left corner of the layout page (not the corner of the guides).

   Dashed lines appear, indicating that you can snap to the corner.

   

6. When dashed lines are visible in both directions, click and drag until you snap to the bottom center of the layout—where the center guide meets the bottom edge of the page.

   

   The map frame appears on one half of the page. Don’t worry if the estuary appears too small or off-centered, you’ll adjust its scale and position later.

7. On the ribbon, click Map Frame again. This time, choose Tidal class.
8. Click and drag to fill the other half of the layout with the second map.

   

   Next, you’ll rename the two map frames in the Contents pane to make it easier to tell them apart.

9. In the Contents pane, click Map Frame 1 to select it, and click it again to make the name editable.

   Tip:

   You can also press F2 to make the name editable.

10. Type Tidal Class.

    

    You’ll keep the map frames collapsed while you don’t need to access map layers. This will help to keep the Contents pane tidy as more elements are added to it.

11. Click the arrow next to the Tidal Class map frame to collapse it.
12. Rename the Map Frame item to Cover Type and collapse it as well.

    

Position the maps

In this layout, the two maps will be the most important elements. For that reason, you’ll set their position first, so you can arrange all of the other elements around them later. You’ll activate the two map frames to change the scale and position of the maps. You’ll create a bookmark to ensure you can reset the position later, and a map frame constraint to ensure both maps share the same scale and position.

1. On the layout, click the Tidal Class map frame (the map with the imagery) to select it.
2. Below the layout view, double-click the scale box. Type 36000 and press Enter.

   The scale updates to 1:36,000.

   

   In this tutorial, the scale is provided for you. In real life, you need to experiment to determine the best scale for your design.

3. Right-click the Tidal Class map frame and click Activate.

   

   Now you can navigate and interact with the map.

4. Pan the map so the estuary touches both the right and the bottom guides.

   

   This placement leaves extra room at the top of the layout for a title.

   Tip:

   To pan and zoom on the layout instead of the map, press and hold the 1 key. If you accidentally zoom on the map, retype 36,000 in the scale box.

   On the ribbon, the Map tab is active. When you activate a map frame from a layout, you gain access to all the map’s tools. You’ll add a bookmark to the map. This will make it easier for you to reset the map’s scale and position if you accidentally move it later.

5. On the ribbon, on the Map tab, in the Navigate group, click Bookmarks.
6. Click New Bookmark.

   

7. In the Create Bookmark window, for Name, type 1:36,000.
8. Click OK.
9. At the top of the layout view, click the Back to Layout button to exit activation.

   

   Next, you’ll set the scale and position of the other map so it matches the first one exactly. You could activate the map and zoom to the new bookmark to achieve this, but instead, you’ll use a map frame constraint.

10. In the Contents pane, right-click the Cover Type map frame and click Properties.

    The Element pane appears. The Element pane shows properties for whichever layout element is currently selected.

11. In the Element pane, click the Display Options button.

    

12. For Constraint, choose Linked map frame extent. For Map frame, choose Tidal Class.

    

    The Cover Type map shifts to match the scale and extent of the other one.

    

    Now, if you were to change your mind and choose a new scale and extent for the Tidal Class map frame, the Cover Type map frame would update automatically to match it.

13. In the Contents pane, next to both map frames, click the Lock button.

    

    Locking the map frames will prevent you from accidentally selecting or moving the maps on the layout. This will make it easier to arrange other elements on top of the maps later.

Add a title

Next you'll add a title. You’ll format the font to match the labels in the map and save the text symbol to a style so it can be reused elsewhere in the layout. You’ll also adjust font properties so the title can stretch all the way across the top of the layout without being too large.

1. On the ribbon, on the Insert tab, in the Graphics and Text group, click the Straight text button.

   

   The initial font size will be small, so you’ll start by zooming in on the layout.

2. Zoom in. Click anywhere and type American River Marine Estuary.
3. Click to finish typing.

   The text should still have a box around it to indicate it is selected. You'll change the font to match the one used by the map's labels. Using more than one or two fonts on a map can look cluttered and unintentional.

4. If the text is not selected, click it. On the ribbon, click the Text tab.
5. In the Text Symbol group, click the current default typeface Tahoma and type bah to search. Click Bahnschrift to set that as the new typeface for the selected text.

   

6. With the text still selected, change the font style to Bold. Change the font size to 12 pt.

   

   You’ll make the title larger than 12 points later, but for now, you’ll set it to the same size as the map labels so you can save a text style from it.

7. On the map, right-click American River Marine Estuary and choose Save to Style.

   

8. In the Save Text Symbol As window, for Name, type Layout.
9. Click OK.

   You’ll use the Layout text style later.

10. Drag the edges of the title to make it larger.

    Because it is a straight text element, the font size grows larger as well.

11. On the ribbon, click the Layout tab. In the Navigate group, click the Full Extent button.

    

    The layout view zooms to show the full layout.

12. Resize the title until it roughly fills the width of the page.

    

    You’ll also change the title to all uppercase letters. You can achieve this through the Element pane instead of erasing and retyping all the letters.

13. In the Element pane, click the Text Symbol tab and the General button.

    

    Tip:

    If the Element pane isn’t visible, double-click the title, or right-click it and click Properties.

14. For Text case, choose Upper case.

    

15. At the bottom of the pane, ensure that Auto Apply is turned on.

    

    The title now appears very large. You want the title to be smaller but still extend across the full width of the page. You can achieve this by increasing the word and letter spacing.

16. In the Element pane, click the Formatting button.
17. For Word spacing, type 130 percent. For Letter spacing, type 50 percent.

    

18. On the layout, resize and position the title so it snaps to the top, right, and left guides.

    

Add a background to the title

Next, you’ll add a background to the title to give it some more weight and separation from the map.

1. On the ribbon, click the Insert tab. In the Graphics and Text group, expand the gallery.

   

2. Under Polygon, click Rectangle.

   

3. On the layout, click and drag to create a rectangle that covers the title and fills the top of the layout.
4. If necessary, resize and position the rectangle so it snaps to the top, right, and left edges of the layout and forms an even margin on all sides of the title text.

   

   By default, the rectangle symbol has a transparent fill and a thin black outline. You’ll change it to a solid fill and no outline so it appears more like a banner at the top of the page.

   To make a consistent and cohesive looking layout, you should stick to a restricted palette of colors, for example, by repeating colors used in the maps. Your two maps are both very colorful, and you want them to stand out. Using neutral colors like black, white, and gray for the non-map elements of your layout will help the maps stand out. Black is a neutral color and also a color used in the maps, so it’s a good choice for your header.

5. In the Element pane, click the Symbol tab.

   For Color, choose black. For Outline width, choose 0 pt.

   

6. In the Contents pane, drag the Text element above the Rectangle element.

   

7. In the Element pane, click the Text Symbol tab. For Color, choose white.

   

   The title now appears as white text on a black background.

   

Add a subtitle

You’ll make a copy of the title text and adapt it to create a subtitle.

1. In the Contents pane, right-click the Text element and click Copy.
2. Right-click Layout and click Paste.

   

3. In the Element pane, for Text, type Kangaroo Island, South Australia.

   

   On the layout, the text appears in capital letters because of the settings you configured earlier.

4. In the Element pane, click the Text Symbol tab. For Size, type 19 pt.
5. Drag the new text element and place it below the title text. Snap it to the center of the page.

   

   Next, you’ll make a background rectangle for the subtitle.

6. In the Contents pane, make a copy of the Rectangle element. Drag it below both text elements.

   

7. Resize and position the new rectangle to form an even background for the subtitle text.

   

   You’ll group all of the title elements together to keep the Contents pane tidy.

8. In the Contents pane, hold the Shift key and click all of the text and rectangle elements to select them all at once.
9. Right-click and click Group.

   

10. Rename Group Element as Title.
11. Collapse the Title group.

    

12. On the Quick Access Toolbar, click the Save button to save the project.

    

In this tutorial, you made a layout. You added guides, two map frames, and a title. You positioned the maps and formatted the title text. You added rectangle graphics to form a background for the title. The maps and the title will be the largest and most important elements of your layout, so it is good that you designed them first.

Next, try the tutorial Arrange a layout to add map surrounds like legends and a scale bar to your layout.

Acknowledgements

• The Cover Type, Outlines, Tidal Class, Annotation, and Imagery Mask layers are derived from Estuarine Habitats of South Australia, provided by the Government of South Australia, Department for Environment and Water. Accessed May 2023.
• The Imagery layer is derived from the World Imagery layer available from ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, sourced from Maxar. Accessed February 2024.
• The Pelican Lagoon Sanctuary Boundary, Graphics Layer, Annotation Halos, Point Locations, and American River layers were created by Esri for this tutorial.
• The Human Geography Dark Detail layer is from Esri. Its sources are Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community.
• The World Hillshade layer is from Esri. Its sources are Esri, Airbus DS, USGS, NGA, NASA, CGIAR, N Robinson, NCEAS, NLS, OS, NMA, Geodatastyrelsen, Rijkswaterstaat, GSA, Geoland, FEMA, Intermap, and the GIS user community.