Map Plate Composer
Click the 🖼️ icon in the Tool Ribbon to open the Map Plate Composer. The composer renders the live map canvas into a formatted plate — with title, legend, north arrow, scale bar, and graticule — ready for journal submission, thesis chapters, technical reports, or presentations.
Templates
| Template | Size | Orientation | Best for |
| Manuscript | 6.5 × 9 in | Portrait | Journal submissions |
| Single-column | 3.3 × 4.6 in | Portrait | Narrow-column journal figures |
| Thesis | 8.5 × 11 in | Portrait | Dissertation chapters |
| Report | 8.5 × 11 in | Landscape | Technical reports |
| Presentation 16:9 | 13.33 × 7.5 in | Landscape | Conference slides |
| Presentation 4:3 | 10 × 7.5 in | Landscape | Classic slide format |
| Square | 8 × 8 in | Square | Web / social media |
Select a template from the dropdown — the preview updates immediately.
Map Elements
Each element can be toggled on/off independently:
| Element | Description |
| Title | Main map title — editable text field |
| Subtitle | Secondary line below the title |
| North arrow | Classic N-arrow with white backing disc |
| Scale bar | Physical distance bar labeled in km |
| Legend | Layer list with colour swatches and display names |
| Color ramp | Graduated colour scale card for raster layers — reads the actual colormap and min/max pixel values from the live layer |
| Graticule | Lat/lon grid lines or tick marks with degree labels (e.g. 28°N, 76°E) |
| Attribution | Basemap source credit (required by tile licences) |
| Watermark | Frosted-glass AI-Hydro badge |
| Author / Project | Shown in the plate caption area |
| Notes | Free-form text below the caption |
Color ramp card
The color ramp element reads the actual colormap name and min/max pixel values from the raster cache — the same data source as the live map legend. The exported plate always matches exactly what you see on screen without any manual entry.
Text Options
| Option | Choices |
| Font family | System (default) · Times New Roman · Georgia · Arial · Courier New |
| Alignment | Left · Center · Right (per-element) |
DPI Options
| DPI | Use |
| 72 | Screen display |
| 150 | Draft print |
| 300 | Standard print (most journals) |
| 600 | Archival / high-quality print |
| Format | Notes |
| PNG | Lossless raster at the specified DPI |
| JPEG | Compressed raster — smaller file, slightly lower quality |
| PDF | Raster image embedded in a PDF page at the correct physical size |
| Quick export | Instant PNG of the current canvas without any plate layout — useful for screenshot-style captures |
Preview
- Click Refresh preview to generate the first preview render
- After the first render, the plate auto-refreshes (700 ms debounce) whenever you change any setting — title edits, element toggles, font changes, or DPI changes all trigger an automatic update
- Click Expand to view the full-size preview in a modal overlay; press ESC or click outside to close
Tips
- For journal submission, check the target journal's figure width requirements — use Single-column (3.3 in) or Manuscript (6.5 in) to match the text column width exactly
- Turn off the Watermark for final publication exports
- Include the Color ramp element whenever the map contains a raster — reviewers expect a legend with min/max values
- The Graticule at low zoom levels (whole-basin view) helps orient readers who are unfamiliar with the study region
- Export at 300 dpi PNG for most journals; switch to 600 dpi only if the journal explicitly requires it — file sizes at 600 dpi are significantly larger