diff --git a/man/figures/shiny_plot.jpg b/man/figures/shiny_plot.jpg
index f9d84f8e..8abd32ef 100644
Binary files a/man/figures/shiny_plot.jpg and b/man/figures/shiny_plot.jpg differ
diff --git a/man/figures/shiny_view.jpg b/man/figures/shiny_view.jpg
index a91758d5..756970a1 100644
Binary files a/man/figures/shiny_view.jpg and b/man/figures/shiny_view.jpg differ
diff --git a/vignettes/adv_shiny.Rmd b/vignettes/adv_shiny.Rmd
index 2c18f9c2..c5122448 100644
--- a/vignettes/adv_shiny.Rmd
+++ b/vignettes/adv_shiny.Rmd
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ knitr::knit_hooks$set(output = function(x, options) {
 
 ```{r, echo = FALSE, message = FALSE}
 library(tmap)
-tmap_options(scale = 1.5) # to make high-res screenshots
+tmap_options(scale = 2) # to make high-res screenshots
 # for the screenshots, height was set to 1200
 ```
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ NLD_vars <- setdiff(names(NLD_dist), c("code", "name"))
 tmap_mode("plot")
 shinyApp(
   ui = fluidPage(
-    tmapOutput("map", height = "1200px"),
+    tmapOutput("map", height = "1000px"),
     selectInput("var", "Variable", NLD_vars)
   ),
   server <- function(input, output, session) {
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ NLD_prov_4326 = st_transform(NLD_prov, 4326)
 ```{r, eval = FALSE}
 shinyApp(
   ui = fluidPage(
-    tmapOutput("map", height = "1200px"),
+    tmapOutput("map", height = "1000px"),
     selectInput("var", "Variable", NLD_vars)
 ),
 server <- function(input, output, session) {
diff --git a/vignettes/basics_layout.Rmd b/vignettes/basics_layout.Rmd
index 399440eb..1e25ebcd 100644
--- a/vignettes/basics_layout.Rmd
+++ b/vignettes/basics_layout.Rmd
@@ -49,6 +49,103 @@ library(tmap)
 tmap_options(scale = 0.75)
 ```
 
+## What is layout?
 
+With layout we mean all aspects of how the plot looks like, except for 
+
+* specifications of data-driven [visual variables](https://r-tmap.github.io/tmap/articles/basics_vv).
+* the layout of [legends](https://r-tmap.github.io/tmap/articles/basics_legends#layout)
+* the layout ovf [map components](https://r-tmap.github.io/tmap/articles/basics_components)
+
+What is left? Background colors, frames, panels, fonts, margins, etc.
+
+All these layout options can be changed via `tm_layout()`. The large number of arguments can be overwhelming. These also include all the default settings of legends and map components. See in-depth vignette on [tmap options](https://r-tmap.github.io/tmap/articles/adv_options).
+
+In this vignette, we'll cover the most important layout settings. First, let's create a map:
+
+```{r}
+tm = tm_shape(World, crs = "+proj=eqearth") + tm_polygons("HPI", fill.scale = tm_scale_intervals(values = "pu_gn"))
+```
+
+
+## Background colors
+
+The background colors inside and outside the map frame are specified as follows:
+
+```{r, fig.height=3.5}
+tm + tm_layout(
+  bg.color = "skyblue",
+  outer.bg.color = "gold")
+```
+
+## Frame
+
+The map frame can be disabled by setting `frame = FALSE`:
+
+```{r, fig.height=3.5}
+tm + tm_layout(
+  bg.color = "grey90",
+  frame = FALSE)
+```
+
+In that case, the background color of the whole area is determined by `bg.color` and not by `outer.bg.color` anymore.
+
+```{r, fig.height=3.5}
+tm + tm_layout(
+  bg.color = "skyblue",
+  earth_boundary = TRUE,
+  outer.bg.color = "gold",
+  space.color = "darkblue")
+```
+
+## Earth boundaries
+
+For certain [map projections](https://r-tmap.github.io/tmap/articles/foundations_crs), including the used one, we can infer the 'earth boundaries'. We can enable them with the option `earth_boundary`. The background color outside of the earth boundaries (and inside the map frame if specified) are determined by `space.color`.
+
+For this type of map, it makes sense to disable the map frame, and place the legend in the corner of the map, perhaps even with a bit of overlap.
+
+```{r, fig.height=3.5}
+tm_shape(World, crs = "+proj=eqearth") + 
+  tm_polygons(
+    fill = "HPI", 
+    fill.scale = tm_scale_intervals(values = "pu_gn"),
+    fill.legend = tm_legend(position = c("left", "bottom"))) +
+tm_layout(bg.color = "skyblue",
+  earth_boundary = TRUE,
+  frame = FALSE,
+  space.color = "white")
+```
+
+## Panels
+
+To change the appearance of panels the options with the prefix `panel.` are usd:
+
+```{r, fig.height = 7}
+tm_shape(World, crs = "+proj=eqearth") +
+  tm_polygons(c("well_being", "footprint")) +
+tm_layout(panel.label.bg.color = "gold",
+		  panel.label.size = 2,
+		  panel.label.height = 3)	
+```
+
+Panels can be disabled using `panel.show = FALSE`:
+
+```{r, fig.height = 7}
+tm_shape(World, crs = "+proj=eqearth") +
+  tm_polygons(c("well_being", "footprint")) +
+tm_layout(panel.show = FALSE)	
+```
+
+## Margins
+
+Margins can be set with `inner.margins`, `outer.margins`, `meta.margins`. 
+
+```{r, fig.height = 3.5}
+tm +
+  tm_layout(inner.margins = c(0, 0, 0.02, 0.02))	
+```
+
+The four numbers are the margins for bottom, left, top, and right respectively. The units are relative to the map frame, so 0.02 means (about) 2 percent of the frame height.
+
+Setting the margins is quite complex because it depends on the aspect ratios (width/height) of the spatial object and the graphics device. See [in-depth vignette](https://r-tmap.github.io/tmap/articles/adv_margins).
 
-### To do
diff --git a/vignettes/basics_legends.Rmd b/vignettes/basics_legends.Rmd
index c3ff5558..c5bd262c 100644
--- a/vignettes/basics_legends.Rmd
+++ b/vignettes/basics_legends.Rmd
@@ -132,3 +132,23 @@ s +
     size = c(1, 2, 4), 
     labels = c("Small", "Medium", "Large"))
 ```
+
+
+## Layout 
+
+The layout of the (standard) legends can be changed via the other arguments in `tm_legend()`.
+
+```{r, fig.height = 3.5}
+s +
+  tm_polygons(
+  	fill = "HPI",
+    fill.legend = 
+      tm_legend(
+        title = "Happy Planet Index",
+        item.height = 1.5,
+        item.width = 3,
+        item.r = 0, 
+        item.space = 0.5, 
+        item.na.space = 1, 
+        title.align = "center"))
+```