Mapping Center

Something we didn't exactly predict when we originally designed Mapping Center was how useful you would find the Ask a Cartographer page. It wasn't long before we realized that, in response to your questions, we were answering with lots of tips and tricks, ideas for workflows, and a some FAQs that we thought would be helpful to share. Read More...

This question comes in fairly regularly at Ask A Cartographer, so I felt it was time to add a brief blog to use for future queries.  This issue is a common one, and is the topic of a Knowledge Base article that describes the basic steps needed to solve the problem.  The value added here is a bit more discussion as to why this is a necessary workflow. Read More...

We would like your input on how you use cartographic representations.  Why? Well, we'd like to know a bit more about whether and how you use them in order to better write about them on Mapping Center. Given your input we hope to provide relevant examples and write our content at the best level for the largest portion of our audience. The survey is only twelve questions and should take less than five minutes to complete. Read More...

  There are some general guidelines you can follow regarding size of symbols on a map.  The key is legibility - that is, ability to be seen AND recognized.  Legibility can be affected by: size of symbols and type, Contrasting colors and shapes, Familiarity, Perfect vision and perfect viewing conditions

In relation to size in particular, the ability of an object to been seen from a distance relates to what is called the visual angle – or “a size that subtends one minute of angle (1/60th of a degree) at the eye”.  This is the angle between the light rays from the two ends of the viewed object as they hit the eye, as shown in the figure below. It is usually measured in degrees. Read More...

A question was posed on Ask a Cartographer about using representation rules that you have saved in a style in another map on a different layer.  The online help for this topic didn't provide much assistance. The topic on organizing representation rules in a style explained how to load the rules in to a new layer, but it didn't explain how to make use of them, i.e., how to make the features with the newly loaded rule. Read More...

Depicting natural areas such as vegetation or complex hydrography such as swamps and estuaries can be accomplished by merely using solid green fill and blue fill symbols. However, such symbols are arguably bland, and certainly do not convey relative density, ruggedness, or texture. Read More...