Introduction to
Geographic Information Systems in Forest Resources |
Exercise: Map Layouts
Objectives:
- Create a map using ArcView's Layout document.
- Add various elements to the map layout.
- Open a new project
- Create a view
- Create a summary table from a theme table
- Create a chart
- Create a layout
- Alter layout properties
- Add elements to the layout
View
Chart
Text
Graphic
Scalebar
Legend
North Arrow
- Save the layout as a template
- Print the layout
- Get more practice
Open a new project
- Start ArcView with the Startup project.
Create a view
- Create a new view and add several themes (use vector and/or raster data
sources; use multiple vector data types - polygon, line, point).
- Alter the legends and/or selections from the themes.
- Add text labels for one or more of the themes.
Your view does not need to match this one, in either content or spatial extent,
but this just serves as an example.
Create a summary table from a theme table.
- For one of the themes, open the theme table.
- Create a summary table for one of the items in the table.
- In this example, a summary table is created for the lengths of different
types of roads.
- A selection is made to include in the chart only records that are wanted.
Create a chart
- Create a chart from the summary table.
- Alter the chart elements and properties so that the chart is formatted the
way you want it.
Create a layout
- From the Project Window, create a new layout.
- Rename the layout with Layout > Properties.
- The new layout will not contain any elements.
Alter layout properties
- With the Layout Properties dialog, also change the grid spacing,
so that you will have more control over placement of individual elements.
- Open Layout > Page Setup to change the page Orientation
to landscape and the Output Resolution to High.
Add elements to the layout
- View
Add a view frame to the layout by using the View Frame tool
, and dragging a rectangular area on the
layout. View frames are resizeable, but the X and Y proportions cannot be
altered, so if the proportions are incorrect, delete the frame and start over.
Link the view frame to the existing view you have created by selecting the
View in the View Frame Properties dialog. Make sure that Live
Link is checked, and set the Scale to Automatic, along with
the other Extent, Display, and Quality choices shown:
This adds the contents of the view to the view frame.
- Chart
Using the Chart Frame tool, place a chart in the layout. Link back
to the chart created in previously. If the chart frame appears grayed out
in the layout, resize the chart document to make it smaller.
- Text
Using the Text tool, add a title to the layout.
With the Text tool active, click on the layout, then type in the text
you want to appear.
Alter Horizontal Alignment, Vertical Spacing, and Rotation
Angle if you wish.
If the text appears on the layout in a font that is too small, or in a font
different from the one you want, select the text with the Select tool
, and open the Font
Palette (Windows > Show Symbol Window) to change the size and/or
style. Also use the Select tool to reposition the text on the layout.
- Graphic
Save to a local drive either the CFR logo 
or the
FE logo 
. To save, right-click on the
image and use the menu choice to save the image as a file.
Using the Picture Frame tool, select a rectangular area to place a
graphics file. Once the area is selected, navigate to the disk location of
the file, and it will be placed in the layout.
- Scalebar
Place a scalebar on the layout using the Scalebar Frame tool. Link
the scalebar with the view you already placed in the layout.
You may notice that the scalebar is grayed out, with a message Unknown
Units: View (where View is the name of the view that is placed in the
layout). If this is the case, alter View > Properties to set map
units. The scalebar will then reflect the correct units.
- Legend
Add a legend using the Legend Frame tool, linking it to the view that
is in the layout.
If you turn a theme off in the view, it will be deleted from the legend frame.
Give this a try.
Alter the legend by choosing Graphics > Simplify from the menu.
Once the legend is simplified and changed, it cannot be linked back to the
view.
Select some of the elements in the legend and reposition them. You may wish
to delete other legend elements.
Once you have made the edits that you want, select all of the legend graphics
and choose Graphics > Group.
- North Arrow
Now add a north arrow to the layout.
Alter the Font Palette (Windows > Show Symbol Window) to
use the font and size you want on the north arrow.
Use the North Arrow Frame tool to drag a rectangular area, and select
the north arrow symbol you want.
- Table
Add a Table Frame to the layout.
Drag a rectangular area in which the table frame will sit.
Select the table from the project to represent in the table frame.
In order to see the table in the layout, the table must be open in the project.
The visible area of the table document will be shown in the table frame.
- Metadata text
Add some descriptive text, such as the date, map creator, coordinates, etc.
Use the Text tool, and a somewhat small font.
Avoid the temptation of the novice to place your name in big, bold letters.
This looks generally unprofessional and egotistical.
Note that this is at the lower left of the layout, zoomed in quite a bit.
- Neatline
Finally, add a neatline around the entire set of elements. You are done.
Save the layout as a template
- Once the layout is complete, select Layout > Store as Template.
Give the template a name.
- If you want, you can also change the icon. Icons can be loaded from any
supported graphics file.
- To use the template, create a new layout and select Layout > Use Template.
A the new layout will automatically contain the elements saved in the template.
Elements will need to be altered for customization. If the documents are not
contained in the current project, the frames will link to empty views, etc.
In order to "fill" the empty frames, alter their properites to establish
the link with the source documents.
Print the layout
- From the File menu, select Print.
- This will allow you to select a printer and its properties (Setup
button).
- You can also choose to Print To File to create a file that can be
saved and then spooled to a printer later.
- Set the resolution to match the printer you are using.
- Depending on the printer type, use one of the three provided Postscript
Interfaces. Attempt using ArcView Enhanced, and if this fails,
work your way down the list.
- In addition to printing, you can save the layout as
a graphics file. Select File > Export and choose the output format
and path and file name. This will create a stand-alone graphics file that
can be used in other documents or presentations.
Windows metafiles generally create the best output, but there have been problems
with WMF files "breaking" when being moved across different platforms.
The bitmapped images are more reliable, but result in generally lower quality
images. You should also choose export file formats based on the application
to which you will be importing .
- Select a Type of file and disk location and click the OK button.
After the file processes, you will have a stand-alone graphics file. Here
is the Windows metafile placed in a Word document.
Get more practice
- Experiment with creating more layouts, using data in the CD:\esridata
directory.
- Create several maps of the same basic data, but with a few different audiences
in mind, or with different objectives for communication.
Syllabus