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How to Make a GeoPDF in QGIS

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QGIS, the free desktop GIS, can save your map as a geospatial PDF, often called a GeoPDF. The file opens like any other PDF, but it also carries coordinates, so a map app can show your GPS position on it with no signal. There are two ways to do it, and the right one depends on whether you want a quick export or a finished map sheet.

Which export to use

  • Export the map view when you want what’s on screen, quickly.
  • Export a print layout when you want a finished sheet with a title, legend, scale bar and a set page size. This is usually the better choice for a map you’ll carry.

Menu names can differ a little between QGIS versions.

Export the map view

  1. Zoom the map to the area you want.
  2. Go to Project, then Import/Export, then Export Map to PDF.
  3. Turn on Create Geospatial PDF.
  4. If you’re offered a choice of format, pick the ISO 32000 option (see below).
  5. Save the file.

Export a print layout

  1. Create your layout and add a map to it. Put the map on the first page if you can, because georeference information is taken from a reference map on the first page.
  2. In the layout window, choose Export as PDF from the Layout menu or the toolbar.
  3. In the options that appear, turn on Create Geospatial PDF.
  4. Choose the format if you’re offered one.
  5. Save the file.

The options that matter

  • Format: there are a few variations of geospatial PDF. Choose ISO 32000 if it’s offered, because that’s what most current tools expect. Some apps, including ours, may not read every older format.
  • Include vector feature information: keeps your layers’ feature data in the file. Turn it on if you want that data available in other GIS tools. It isn’t needed just to see your position on the map.
  • Map themes: a layout export can include several map themes, which some readers show as layers you can turn on and off.

Large areas at high resolution make large files. If the PDF is too big for your phone, try a lower export resolution or a smaller area.

Check that it worked

A geospatial PDF looks the same as a plain one in a PDF reader, so you can’t tell by looking. Drop the file into the free GeoPDF checker to see whether it has location data and where it lands on a map. Your file isn’t uploaded.

If it comes back as a plain PDF, export it again and make sure Create Geospatial PDF is on.

Put it on your phone

Copy the file to your phone, then open it in a GeoPDF viewer. In the Cartahaven map app that’s free and needs no account: see using GeoPDF maps offline on your phone.

Have a scan or a plain PDF, and no GIS project behind it? You can skip QGIS and add location to it in your browser by matching a few points to a map.