An exported screenshot of a map view isn't a real map — no accurate scale, no legend, no guarantee the exported image matches what you were actually looking at. Map Layout Generator composes a genuine cartographic layout instead: multiple styled layers, a real unit-aware scale bar, north arrow, and an auto-built legend, exported as an actual PDF or PNG that matches your current view exactly.
What you need before you start
One or more spatial layers — GeoJSON, Shapefile (zipped), GeoPackage, KML/KMZ, or a spreadsheet with coordinates or WKT. Add as many as you need; each gets its own styling.
The steps
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Choose your paper size
A4, A3, Letter, or Legal, in portrait or landscape. This sets the exact shape of your layout frame; change it later if needed.
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Add and style your layers
Upload each layer and set its color, line weight, fill opacity, or point size. Reorder layers by dragging them in the layer list.
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Set your scale
Pan and zoom interactively, or type an exact 1:N scale directly.
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Add map elements
Turn on a scale bar (choose units and one of two visual styles), a north arrow, and the legend — generated automatically from your actual layers and their styles.
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Export
PDF or PNG, at your chosen resolution. A small "Prepared using SM Datum" credit line is included — not a watermark over your map.
Masking to an area of interest
Want a basemap without it extending past your study area? Pick any one of your layers as a mask boundary — both the basemap and every other layer clip to its exact shape in the final export.
Ready to compose your own map layout?
Open Map Layout Generator →