Creating a New Layout

To insert a new layout within an ArcGIS Pro project, click “New Layout” on the Insert tab within the Main Menu ribbon. Simply clicking the button will create a default layout.

Alternatively, you can choose from several pre-set page options or choose to create a custom layout size through the drop-down menu beneath the New Layout button. Accessing the drop-down and creating and 8.5 x 11-inch (portrait) layout is demonstrated below. (Left-clicks are shown in magenta in the demonstrations.)

This will create a new Layout tab in the project’s View Pane, where you can toggle between views using the tabs at the top of the pane.

Notice in the demonstration below that the options available within the Main Menu ribbon change depending on the view.

Map Frames

The layout begins as a blank page to which we add the elements of the map’s composition. The element containing the map view is called a “map frame.”

Adding a Map Frame to the Layout

To begin, add a “map frame” to the layout through the Map Frame option in the Insert tab on the Main Menu ribbon.

A “map frame” here is a window into one of the maps within your project. In the demonstration below, we only have one Map view within the project, but you may have more. Here, we insert a rectangular map frame based on the current settings of the project’s map view.

adding a rectangular map frame based on the current settings of the “Map” view

a couple other options for the shape of your map frame

If needed, you can choose other shapes for your map frame. In the image below, you can see the options for creating a new map frame.

other shape options for adding a new map frame

Alternatively, you can also reshape an existing map frame.

Activating the Map Frame

When in a Layout View, by default you will interact with the layout itself and the map within the map frame is static.

You can, however, interact with the map and its elements through the Contents pane, just as you would while in the Map view. Still, you cannot pan, zoom, or otherwise reposition the map within the frame. Panning, for example, allows you to pan across the page of the layout rather than panning the layers of your map. (Middle-button clicks are shown in cyan in the demonstration below.)

To interact with the map while in a layout view, you must “activate” the map frame.

There are three ways to activate the map frame within the interface.

You can right-click within the frame on the layout and choose “Activate.” (Right-clicks are shown in yellow in the demonstration below.)
You can right-click on the Map Frame’s name in the Contents panel, and choose “Activate.” (The map frame below has the default name: “Map Frame.”)
You can click the Activate button on the Layout tab of the Main Menu ribbon while the map frame is selected on the layout page.

interacting with the Layout versus interacting with the Map: Activating a Map Frame

Notice that while the Map Frame is activated, you can interact with the layers of the map within the frame without interacting with the page of the layout.

Also notice that the options in the Main Menu ribbon change with the map frame activated, replicating the options you see while in the “map view.”

Map Frame Properties

Access the Map Frame’s properties by right-clicking on the frame’s name in the Contents panel and choosing “Properties.”

This will summon the Map Frame’s Format Options pane, which includes four different sets of options. From left to right, they are

Options: These include the general options such as the frame’s name, which map view it shows, and any alt text you may want or need to provide.
Display Options: This includes the option settings for the position, scale, extents, and rotation of the map within the frame.
Display: Whereas the options above pertained to the map, this menu includes the settings for the frame itself such as its background and border.
Placement: These are the options for specifying the location and size of the frame.

Multiple Map Frames

You can add multiple map frames to a layout by repeating the steps above.

These can be based on the same map view (perhaps creating a “zoomed-in” detail map or a “zoomed-out” reference map) or based on a different map view within the same project.

the Layout View & Map Frames

Creating a New Layout