QGIS 1.8
  • Documentation QGIS 1.8

Table Of Contents

  • User guide/Manual (QGIS 1.8)
    • Preamble
    • Conventions
    • Foreword
    • Features
    • Getting Started
    • QGIS GUI
    • General Tools
    • QGIS Configuration
    • Working with Projections
    • QGIS Browser
    • Working with Vector Data
    • Working with Raster Data
    • Working with OGC Data
    • Working with GPS Data
    • GRASS GIS Integration
    • OpenStreetMap
    • SEXTANTE
    • Print Composer
      • Open a new Print Composer Template
      • Using Print Composer
      • Adding a current QGIS map canvas to the Print Composer
      • Adding other elements to the Print Composer
      • Navigation tools
      • Revert and Restore tools
      • Add Basic shape and Arrow
      • Add attribute table values
      • Raise, lower and align elements
      • Creating Output
      • Saving and loading a print composer layout
    • Plugins
    • Help and Support
    • Appendix
    • Literature and Web References
  • User guide/Manual PDF’s
  • PyQGIS cookbook (QGIS 1.8)
  • Documentation Guidelines
  • A gentle introduction in GIS

Print Composer¶

The print composer provides growing layout and printing capabilities. It allows you to add elements such as the QGIS map canvas, legend, scalebar, images, basic shapes, arrows and text labels. You can size, group, align and position each element and adjust the properties to create your layout. The layout can be printed or exported to image formats, Postscript, PDF or to SVG (export to SVG is not working properly with some recent Qt4 versions. You should try and check individual on your system). You can save the layout as template and load it again in another session. See a list of tools in table_composer_1:

Icon Purpose Icon Purpose
       
mActionFolder Load from template mActionFileSaveAs Save as template
mActionSaveMapAsImage Export to an image format mActionSaveAsPDF Export as PDF
mActionSaveAsSVG Export print composition to SVG mActionFilePrint Print or export as Postscript
mActionZoomFullExtent Zoom to full extent mActionZoomIn Zoom in
mActionZoomOut Zoom out mActionDraw Refresh view
mActionUndo Revert last change mActionRedo Restore last change
mActionAddMap Add new map from QGIS map canvas mActionAddImage Add image to print composition
mActionLabel Add label to print composition mActionAddLegend Add new legend to print composition
mActionScaleBar Add new scalebar to print composition mActionAddBasicShape Add basic shape to print composition
mActionAddArrow Add arrow to print composition mActionOpenTable Add attribute table to print composition
mActionSelectPan Select/Move item in print composition mActionMoveItemContent Move content within an item
mActionGroupItems Group items of print composition mActionUnGroupItems Ungroup items of print composition
mActionRaiseItems Raise selected items mActionLowerItems Lower selected items
mActionMoveItemsToTop Move selected items to top mActionMoveItemsToBottom Move selected items to bottom
mActionAlignLeft Align selected items left mActionAlignRight Align selected items right
mActionAlignHCenter Align selected items center mActionAlignVCenter Align selected items center vertical
mActionAlignTop Align selected items top mActionAlignBottom Align selected items bottom

Table Composer 1: Print Composer Tools

All Print Composer tools are available in menus and as icons in a toolbar. The toolbar can be switched off and on using the right mouse button holding the mouse over the toolbar.

Open a new Print Composer Template¶

Before you start to work with the print composer, you need to load some raster and vector layers in the QGIS map canvas and adapt their properties to suite your own convenience. After everything is rendered and symbolized to your liking you click the mActionNewComposer New Print Composer icon in the toolbar or choose File ‣ New Print Composer.

Using Print Composer¶

Opening the print composer provides you with a blank canvas to which you can add the current QGIS map canvas, legend, scalebar, images, basic shapes, arrows and text. Figure_composer_1 shows the initial view of the print composer with an activated checkbox Snap to grid mode but before any elements are added.

Figure Composer 1:

../../../_images/print_composer_blank.png

Print Composer nix

The print composer provides three tabs:

  • The Composition tab allows you to set paper size, orientation, the print quality for the output file in dpi and to activate snapping to a grid of a defined resolution. Please note, the checkbox Snap to grid feature only works, if you define a grid resolution > 0. Furthermore you can also activate the checkbox Print as raster checkbox. This means all elements will be rastered before printing or saving as Postscript of PDF.
  • The Item Properties tab displays the properties for the selected map element. Click the mActionSelectPan Select/Move item icon to select an element (e.g. legend, scalebar or label) on the canvas. Then click the Item Properties tab and customize the settings for the selected element.
  • The Command history tab displays a history of all changes applied to the print composer layout. With a mouse click it is possible to undo and redo layout steps back and forth to a certain status.

You can add multiple elements to the composer. It is also possible to have more than one map view or legend or scalebar in the print composer canvas. Each element has its own properties and in the case of the map, its own extent. If you want to remove any elements from the composer canvas you can do that with the Delete or the Backspace key.

Adding a current QGIS map canvas to the Print Composer¶

Click on the mActionAddMap Add new map toolbar button in the print composer toolbar, to add the QGIS map canvas. Now drag a rectangle on the composer canvas with the left mouse button to add the map. To display the current map, you can choose between three different modes in the map Item Properties tab:

  • Rectangle is the default setting. It only displays an empty box with a message ‘Map will be printed here’.
  • Cache renders the map in the current screen resolution. If case you zoom in or out the composer window, the map is not rendered again but the image will be scaled.
  • Render means, that if you zoom in or out the composer window, the map will be rendered again, but for space reasons, only up to a maximum resolution.

Cache is default preview mode for newly added print composer maps.

You can resize the map element by clicking on the mActionSelectPan Select/Move item button, selecting the element, and dragging one of the blue handles in the corner of the map. With the map selected, you can now adapt more properties in the map Item Properties tab.

To move layers within the map element select the map element, click the mActionMoveItemContent Move item content icon and move the layers within the map element frame with the left mouse button. After you found the right place for an element, you can lock the element position within the print composer canvas. Select the map element and click on the right mouse button to mIconLock Lock the element position and again to unlock the element. You can lock the map element also activating the checkbox Lock layers for map item checkbox in the Map dialog of the Item Properties tab.

Note

QGIS is now able to show labels from the new labeling plugin also in the map composer, but it is not yet scaled correctly. So it might be necessary to switch back to the standard labeling in some cases.

Map item properties tab — Map and Extents dialog¶

Map dialog

The Map dialog of the map Item Properies tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_2):

Figure Composer 2:

../../../_images/print_composer_map1.png

Map Dialog nix

  • The Preview area allows to define the preview modes ‘Rectangle’, ‘Cache’ and ‘Render’, as described above. Click on the [Update preview] button to apply changes to the map view.
  • The Map area allows to resize the map element specifying the width and height or the scale. The field Rotation selectnumber allows to rotate the map element content clockwise in degrees. Note, a coordinate frame can only be added with the default value 0. Furthermore you can enable the checkboxes checkbox Lock layers for map items and checkbox Draw map canvas items.

If you change the view on the QGIS map canvas by zooming or panning or changing vector or raster properties, you can update the print composer view selecting the map element in the print composer and clicking the [Update preview] button.

Extents dialog

The Extents dialog of the map item tab provides following functionalities (see Figure figure_composer_3)):

Figure Composer 3:

../../../_images/print_composer_map2.png

Extents Dialog nix

  • The Map extent area allow to specify the map extent using Y and X min/max values or clicking the [Set to map canvas extent] button.

If you change the view on the QGIS map canvas by zooming or panning or changing vector or raster properties, you can update the print composer view selecting the map element in the print composer and clicking the [Update preview] button in the map Item Properties tab (see Figure figure_composer_2 a)).

Map item properties tab — Grid and General options dialog¶

Grid dialog

The Grid dialog of the map Item Properties tab provides following functionalities (see Figure_composer_4):

Figure Composer 4:

../../../_images/print_composer_map3.png

Grid Dialog nix

  • The checkbox Show grid checkbox allows to overlay a grid to the map element. As grid type you can specify to use solid line or cross. Furthermore you can define an interval in X and Y direction, an X and Y offset, and the width used for cross or line grid type.
  • The checkbox Draw annotation checkbox allows to add coordinates to the map frame. The annotation can be drawn inside or outside the map frame. The annotation direction can be defined as horizontal, vertical, horizontal and vertical, or boundary direction. And finally you can define the grid color, the annotation font, the annotation distance from the map frame and the precision of the drawn coordinates.

General options dialog

The General options dialog of the map Item Properties tab provides following functionalities (see Figure_composer_5):

Figure Composer 5:

../../../_images/print_composer_map4.png

General Options Dialog nix

  • Here you can define color and outline width for the element frame, set a background color and opacity for the map canvas. The [Position and size] button opens the Set item position dialog and allows to set the map canvas position using reference points or coordinates. Furthermore you can select or unselect to display the element frame with the checkbox Show frame checkbox. With the Item ID you can create a relationship to the other print composer items.

Adding other elements to the Print Composer¶

Besides adding a current QGIS map canvas to the Print Composer, it is also possible to add, position, move and customize legend, scalebar, images and label elements.

Label item properties tab - Label and General options dialog¶

To add a label, click the mActionLabel Add label icon, place the element with the left mouse button on the print composer canvas and position and customize their appearance in the label Item Properties tab.

Label dialog

The Label dialog of the label item tab provides following functionalities:

Figure Composer 6:

../../../_images/print_composer_label1.png

Label Options Dialog nix

  • The Label dialog offers to add text labels to the composer canvas. You can define the horizontal and vertical alignment, select font and font color for the text and it is possible to define a text margin in mm.

General options dialog

The General options dialog of the label Item Properties tab provides following functionalities:

Figure Composer 7:

../../../_images/print_composer_label2.png

General Options Dialog nix

  • Here you can define color and outline width for the element frame, set a background color and opacity for the label. The Position button opens the Set items position dialog and allows to set the map canvas position using reference points or coordinates. Furthermore you can select or unselect to display the element frame with the checkbox Show frame checkbox. Use the Item ID to create a relationship to other print composer items.

Image item properties tab - Picture options and General options dialog¶

To add an image, click the mActionSaveMapAsImage Add image icon, place the element with the left mouse button on the print composer canvas and position and customize their appearance in the image Item Properties tab.

Picture options dialog

The Picture options dialog of the image Item Properties tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_5 a):

Figure Composer 8:

../../../_images/print_composer_image1.png

Picture Options Dialog Dialog nix

  • The Preloaded Images field then shows all pictures stored in the selected directories.
  • The Options area shows the current selected picture and allows to define width, height and clockwise rotation of the picture. It is also possible to add a user specific SVG path. Activating the checkbox Sync with map checkbox synchronizes the rotation of a picture in the QGIS map canvas (i.e. a rotated north arrow) with the appropriate print composer image.
  • The Search directories area allows to add and remove directories with images in SVG format to the picture database.

General options dialog

The General options dialog of the image Item Properties tab provides following functionalities:

Figure Composer 9:

../../../_images/print_composer_image2.png

General Options Dialog Dialog nix

  • Here you can define color and outline width for the element frame, set a background color and opacity for the picture. The [Position and size] button opens the Set item position dialog and allows to set the map canvas position using reference points or coordinates. Furthermore you can select or unselect to display the element frame with the checkbox Show frame checkbox. With the Item ID you can create a relationship to other print composer items.

Legend item properties tab - General, Legend items and Item option dialog¶

To add a map legend, click the mActionAddLegend Add new legend icon, place the element with the left mouse button on the print composer canvas and position and customize their appearance in the legend Item Properties tab.

General dialog

The General dialog of the legend item tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_10):

Figure Composer 10:

../../../_images/print_composer_legend1.png

General Dialog nix

  • Here you can adapt the legend title. You can change the font of the legend title, layer and item name. You can change width and height of the legend symbol and you can add layer, symbol, icon label and box space. Since QGIS 1.8, you can wrap the text of the legend title to a given character.

Legend items dialog

The Legend items dialog of the legend Item Properties tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_11):

Figure Composer 11:

../../../_images/print_composer_legend2.png

Legend Items Dialog nix

  • The legend items window lists all legend items and allows to change item order, edit layer names, remove and restore items of the list. After changing the symbology in the QGIS main window you can click on [Update] to adapt the changes in the legend element of the print composer. The item order can be changed using the [Up] and [Down] buttons or with ‘drag and drop’ functionality.

General options dialog

The General options dialog of the legend Item Properties tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_12):

Figure Composer 12:

../../../_images/print_composer_legend3.png

General Options Dialog nix

  • Here you can define color and outline width for the element frame, set a background color and opacity for the legend. The [Position and size] button opens the Set item position dialog and allows to set the map canvas position using reference points or coordinates. Furthermore you can select or unselect to display the element frame with the checkbox Show frame checkbox. Use the Item ID to create a relationship to other print composer items.

Scalebar item properties tab - Scalebar and General options dialog¶

To add a scalebar, click the mActionScaleBar Add new scalebar icon, place the element with the left mouse button on the print composer canvas and position and customize their appearance in the scalebar Item Properties tab.

Scalebar dialog

The Scalebar dialog of the scalebar Item Properties tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_13):

Figure Composer 13:

../../../_images/print_composer_scalebar1.png

Scalebar Options Dialog nix

  • The Scalebar dialog allows to define the segment size of the scalebar in map units, the map units used per bar units, and how many left and right segments units from 0 should be used.
  • You can define the scalebar style, available is single and double box, line ticks middle, up and down and a numeric style.
  • Furthermore you can define height, line width, label and box space of the scalebar. Add a unit label and define the scalebar font and color.

General options dialog

The General options dialog of the scalebar Item Properties tab provides following features (see figure_composer_7 b)):

Figure Composer 14:

../../../_images/print_composer_scalebar2.png

General Options Dialog nix

  • Here you can define color and outline width for the element frame, set a background color and opacity for the scalebar. The [Position and size] button opens the Set items position dialog and allows to set the map canvas position using reference points or coordinates. Furthermore you can select or unselect to display the element frame with the checkbox Show frame checkbox. With the Item ID you can create a relationship to the other print composer items.

Navigation tools¶

For map navigation the print composer provides 4 general tools:

  • mActionZoomIn Zoom in
  • mActionZoomOut Zoom out
  • mActionZoomFullExtent Zoom to full extend
  • mActionDraw Refresh the view (if you find the view in an inconsistent state)

Revert and Restore tools¶

During the layout process it is possible to revert and restore changes. This can be done with the revert and restore tools:

  • mActionUndo Revert last changes
  • mActionRedo Restore last changes

or by mouse click within the Command history tab (see figure_composer_9).

Figure Composer 16:

../../../_images/command_hist.png

Command history in the Print Composer nix

Add Basic shape and Arrow¶

It is possible to add basic shapes (Ellipse, Rectangle, Triangle) and arrows to the print composer canvas.

The Shape dialog allows to draw an ellipse, rectangle, or triangle in the print composer canvas. You can define its outline and fill color, the outline width and a clockwise rotation.

Figure Composer 18:

../../../_images/print_composer_shape.png

Shape Dialog nix

The Arrow dialog allows to draw an arrow in the print composer canvas. You can define color, outline and arrow width and it is possible to use a default marker and no marker and a SVG marker. For the SVG marker you can additionally add a SVG start and end marker from a directory on your computer.

Figure Composer 19:

../../../_images/print_composer_arrow.png

Arrow Dialog nix

Add attribute table values¶

It is possible to add parts of a vector attribute table to the print composer canvas.

Table dialog

The Table dialog of the attribute table item tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_20):

Figure Composer 20:

../../../_images/print_composer_attribute1.png

Table Dialog nix

  • The Table dialog allows to select the vector layer and columns of the attribute table. Attribute columns can be sorted and you can define to show its values ascending or descending.
  • You can define the maximum number of rows to be displayed and if attributes are only shown for visible features of the current composer canvas.
  • Additionally you can define the grid characteristics of the table and the header and content font.

General options dialog

The General options dialog of the attribute table item tab provides following functionalities (see figure_composer_21):

Figure Composer 21:

../../../_images/print_composer_attribute2.png

General Options Dialog nix

  • Here you can define color and outline width for the element frame, set a background color and opacity for the table. The [Position and size] button opens the Set item position dialog and allows to set the map canvas position using reference points or coordinates. Furthermore you can select or unselect to display the element frame with the checkbox Show frame checkbox. Use the Item ID to create a relationship to the other print composeritems.

Raise, lower and align elements¶

Raise or lower functionalities for elements are inside the mActionRaiseItems Raise selected items pulldown menu. Choose an element on the print composer canvas and select the matching functionality to raise or lower the selected element compared to the other elements (see table_composer_1).

There are several alignment functionalities available within the mActionAlignLeft Align selected items pulldown menu (see table_composer_1). To use an alignment functionality , you first select some elements and then click on the matching alignment icon. All selected will then be aligned within to their common bounding box.

Creating Output¶

Figure_composer_22 shows the print composer with an example print layout including each type of map element described in the sections above.

Figure Composer 22:

../../../_images/print_composer_complete.png

Print Composer with map view, legend, scalebar, coordinates and text added nix

The print composer allows you to create several output formats and it is possible to define the resolution (print quality) and paper size:

  • The mActionFilePrint Print icon allows to print the layout to a connected printer or a Postscript file depending on installed printer drivers.
  • The mActionSaveMapAsImage Export as image icon exports the composer canvas in several image formats such as PNG, BPM, TIF, JPG,...
  • The mActionSaveAsPDF Export as PDF saves the defined print composer canvas directly as a PDF.
  • The mActionSaveAsSVG Export as SVG icon saves the print composer canvas as a SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic).

Note

Currently the SVG output is very basic. This is not a QGIS problem, but a problem of the underlaying Qt library. This will hopefully be sorted out in future versions.

Saving and loading a print composer layout¶

With the mActionFileSaveAs Save as template and mActionFolder Load from template icons you can save the current state of a print composer session as a .qpt template and load the template again in another session.

The mActionComposerManager Composer Manager button in the QGIS toolbar and in File ‣ Composer Manager allows to add a new composer template or to manage already existing templates.

Figure Composer 23:

../../../_images/print_composer_manager.png

The Print Composer Manager nix

If not stated otherwise, all content is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 licence (CC BY-SA)

Select graphics from The Noun Project collection - Last updated on 12:45 May 14, 2014