Tag Archives: ArcGIS Methods
Symbolizing roads with cased line symbols (part 1 of 3)
By Charlie Frye, Esri Chief Cartographer
This is the first of three parts that cover how to symbolize roads with cased line symbols. This first part will cover how to symbolize road centerline data so that the symbols look good, the second part will cover data modeling and symbolizing underpass/overpass relationships, and the third part will deal with symbolizing cul-de-sacs versus dead-end streets. The primary inspiration for this task is the design of the USGS 1:24,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps. To the left is an example from the 1952 Manchester, New Hampshire map. Continue reading
Creating street name indexes
By Charlie Frye, Esri Chief Cartographer
We received a suggestion to write a blog entry on this topic from Anna Schwabedal, who is a technical sales representative for Esri Germany. Anna gave us a rough idea of how this works and I was able to use that when this topic came up through Ask a Cartographer recently, and I’ve worked on it a bit since then in order to write this. Continue reading
Creating lists or stacks of marker symbols with cartographic representations
By Peter Kasianchuk, Mapping Center Cartographer
A number of maps, particularly those geared towards outdoor tourism, rely on a convention that uses standard icons to list the services or amenities that are available at some place on the map. Using cartographic representations simplifies what used to be a rather unwieldy task from the perspectives of data modeling, data management, and symbology. Continue reading
Tips for editing your style files with Microsoft Access
By Charlie Frye, Esri Chief Cartographer
The style files that are installed with ArcMap are actually Microsoft Access databases, the file extension was changed from .mdb to .style. Based on this knowledge, we’ll describe a few useful things you can do to edit your style files using Microsoft Access. These tasks are either not possible or a bit tedious to accomplish easily in ArcMap.
First you’ll need to open your style with Microsoft Access. To do that, launch Microsoft Access, from the file menu choose Open, and in the File Name box, type “*.style”. Then browse to where your styles are located. Choose a style file and open it. Continue reading
Create representation markers from marker symbols in existing style files
By Charlie Frye, Esri Chief Cartographer
A number of you have written in to Ask a Cartographer wishing to know how to convert your font-based or EMF-based marker symbols to representation markers. Representation markers (introduced in ArcGIS 9.2) have a number of advantages over font- or graphics-based markers. For example, you can create or edit their artwork while working in ArcMap or ArcCatalog, and they can be used the geoprocessing framework. One geoprocessing tool engineered to work with cartographic representations which you might find particularly useful is the Detect Graphic Conflict tool, which tells you where the symbols on your map overlap one another. But first, many of you may need to convert a significant number of markers into representation markers. Continue reading
Symbolizing PLSS lines with the Cut Curve geometric effect
By Aileen Buckley, Mapping Center Lead
In the United States, the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is a way of subdividing land. The USGS topographic map symbols for displaying PLSS data are an excellent way to symbolize PLSS data on not only topographic maps, but because the topographic symbols are so well recognized, the same symbols can be used on many other kinds of maps. In the image to the left, the “plus” marker symbol shows where a found corner is located, however, if no corner has been found, then no marker should be shown, leaving a gap that signifies the doubtful location of the corner. Next we will describe how to use cartographic representations to symbolize township, range, or section lines to leave a gap at the corners, allowing corners to be added (as point features) or gaps to be shown. Continue reading
How to get consistent quality of vectors when exporting to AI format
By Michael Law, Esri Product Engineer
Exporting to an external graphics package like Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand from the ArcMap environment can have its challenges. One positive aspect of exporting is the ability to make certain that CMYK values are retained for proper print color reproduction. Some of the challenges you may face after export are inconsistent vector line widths, irregular polygon shapes, and something our programmers call polygon dicing. Continue reading
Creating dash-dot symbols for polygon outlines
By Charlie Frye, Esri Chief Cartographer
Dash-dot line symbols for polygon outlines should be displayed in a way that consistently shows the pattern of dashes and dots and clearly shows the shape of the polygon. In ArcGIS, a multi-layer line symbol is required. One layer is a cartographic line symbol with a dash pattern. The second is a marker line symbol that shows a marker (the dot) with a complementary pattern to the dashes. Continue reading
Using feature weight rankings to avoid placing labels on major streets
By Charlie Frye, Esri Chief Cartographer
Notice in the first graphic below that the labels for “CAJON ST” and “CLIFTON CT” are placed over of major streets in a way that makes them difficult to read. This graphic is derived from my recent blog entry on the Maplex Street Placement option, and I was using the Street Placement option, but that left me with this problem. Well, this happened because I didn’t tell the Maplex Label Engine to treat the major streets differently. Continue reading
Tips for exporting to Adobe Illustrator format (AI) so CYMK colors are maintained
By Michael Law, Esri Product Engineer
For many GIS users and cartographers, the use of external graphics software is a common step in his or her workflow and production of print quality maps. One of ArcMap’s more popular export formats is the Adobe Illustrator (AI) export because of its wide compatibility with a number of graphics software packages. This export format was first made available in ArcGIS 8.1 Service Pack 1 and has been popular ever since. The ArcMap AI exporter has been fully tested to work in Adobe Illustrator CS and CS2. It is currently being tested in CS3 with good initial results. Continue reading
