QGIS Plugin
Layout Maker
I built a QGIS plugin that speeds up everyday print layout work for surveyors, planners and GIS professionals: set fold marks, place a title block, and generate complete maps from a drawn map extent or a predefined paper size – instead of drawing map frames and fold marks by hand every time.
Languages
DE · EN · FR
QGIS
3.x & 4.x
Qt
Qt5 & Qt6
Plugin icon – preview coming soon
Overview
Two features, one dialog
Layout Maker has two features, reachable from the main dialog (toolbar or the “Layout Maker” menu):
Fold marks
Set or remove fold marks on an existing print layout.
Create map
Build a new map – by drawing a map extent or with a predefined size, optionally with a title block.
Feature 1
Fold marks
Fold marks are short tick marks along the edge of a map, spaced to a fixed grid (default A4, 210 × 297 mm) – they show where a large sheet must be folded, e.g. to fit into a binder. The grid size can be changed in the settings (e.g. to A3). The target layout must already exist in the project.
Grid (dashed) + fold marks (short ticks on the edges)
Add fold marks …
Opens the dialog with all parameters (mark length, line width, border, title block position); confirmed with “Set fold marks”. Existing fm_* marks can be deleted first automatically.
Remove fold marks …
Simple dialog: just pick the target layout and confirm – removes all existing fold marks (fm_* objects), without drawing new ones.
The title block
Header/stamp field, placed automatically
The title block is only the header/stamp field of a template (.qpt) – logo, scale, project details, etc. It contains no map of its own. It occupies a column on the left or right side of the page (reserved for the full page height); the map area automatically fills the other column.
Left/right in the title block position chooses the column. Top/bottom determines how the title block content is aligned within that column – if it doesn't fill the whole column, the rest of it stays blank.
Example top-left: title block position "top left" – left column, content aligned to the top; the map fills the right column over the full height.
Custom template
Building a title block template (.qpt)
For the placement to work correctly, the .qpt file must contain only the title block elements (no map frame, no page background).
- 1
Open (or create) a print layout in QGIS and build/place the title block elements (logo, text fields, table, etc.).
- 2
Important: position these elements as close as possible to the top-left corner of the page – the plugin calculates the column width/height from the bounding box of these elements. Lots of empty space around them makes the reserved column unnecessarily large.
- 3
Select all title block elements with the mouse (do not include the map frame/background rectangle).
- 4
Right-click → "Save Selected Items as Template…" (not "Save Layout as Template" – that would also save the whole page including its size).
- 5
Pick the saved .qpt file under "Title block template" in the "Create map" dialog.
Tip: if the template contains project-specific text fields (e.g. title, scale), these can use QGIS expressions/layout variables that the plugin fills in automatically when creating the map.
Feature 2
Create map
Builds a completely new layout. The map area is determined in one of two ways. In both cases the title block is optional, and fold marks/border are added automatically with the chosen parameters.
Draw extent
Draw a rectangle on the map (or use the current extent) and enter a scale – the map size is calculated from that.
Predefined map size
Choose a paper format (A0–A4 or custom, portrait/landscape) and a scale. The map extent is calculated automatically, centred on the middle of the currently visible map view.
Further notes
Installation & tips
- Install via QGIS: Plugins → Manage and Install Plugins → search for "Layout Maker" and install, or manually via "Install from ZIP".
- The interface follows the QGIS language setting (German, English, French); other languages fall back to German.
- Layout names must be unique within the project.
- Compatible with QGIS 3.x and QGIS 4.x (Qt5 & Qt6).
Feedback & contact
Questions, ideas, or found a bug?
Layout Maker is under active development. I'm happy to take bug reports and feature requests via GitHub issues, or you can email me directly.