Exercise 10: Layouts & Graphics

As the new Water Management Specialist for Marathon, you want to print out a map for your boss the utility of ArcView.

Step One – Open the Project.

If necessary, start ArcView. From the File menu, choose Open Project. Double-click the directory folders and navigate to c:\esritrn\arcview\wiscexer. Open the project wiscexer10.apr by clicking on the project name, then clicking OK.

Step 2 – Create a layout in the project

Click on the Project window to make it active. Double-click the Layouts icon to create a new layout.

From the Layout menu, choose Page Setup and change the orientation of the page to Horizontal (landscape), then click OK.

Enlarge the layout by dragging the lower right corner or clicking the maximize button on the upper right side.

Notice that a grid displays on the layout page to help you place map elements on the page. This grid is for display purposes only and will not appear on your printed layout.

Step 3 – Add a view and legend to the layout.

To add the Marathon County view to the layout, you must first add a view frame.

Click on the View Frame tool. It looks like a globe.

Move the cursor into the layout page (it will change into crosshairs). Click and hold the mouse to draw a box about the size of the page. When you let go of the mouse, the View Frame Properties dialog box appears. Click Marathon to select and then click OK.

The map of Marathon County displays in the layout.

If you are not satisfied with the size or placement of the view frame, you can use the pointer tool to select, move or resize it.

To add a legend, you must add a legend frame to the layout. Click and hold down the mouse button on the Frame tool, drag the mouse down and select the Legend Frame tool, then release the mouse button.

As shown below, click and hold down the mouse button, drag the cursor to define the legend frame, then release the mouse button.

The Legend Frame Properties dialog box displays.

To link the legend frame to the view frame, double-click ViewFrame1: Marathon. The legend from the View appears in the layout.

Step 4 – Add a scale bar and north arrow to the layout.

To add a scale bar, click and hold down the mouse button on the Frame tool, drag the mouse down to the Scale Bar Frame tool, then release the mouse button.

As shown below, click and hold the left mouse button, drag the cursor to define the scale bar frame, then release the mouse button.

The Scale Bar properties dialog box appears. To link the scale bar to the view frame, select ViewFrame1: Marathon. Set the units to miles and the interval to 10. ArcView sets the number of Intervals according to the size of the scale bar frame. Set the left divisions to 2. This will create a scale bar in which each division to the right of zero represents ten miles, and each division to the left of zero represents five miles. Click OK.

If you made the scale bar frame too small, you can enlarge it by dragging its frame with the Pointer tool. The scale bar is now added to your layout.

Now you will add a north arrow to you layout.

From the Frame tool, select the North Arrow Frame tool.

Move the cursor into the layout and define the area for the North arrow frame, as shown below.

From the North Arrow Manager, select a North Arrow. Click OK.

Step 5 – Add a title to the layout.

Before adding the title to the layout, you will select the size and font of the title.

From the Window menu, choose Show Symbol Window. Click the Font Palette button to open the Font Palette.

Set the font to Arial, the text size to 36, and the style to Bold.

Close the Font Palette. Click on the Text tool.

Move the cursor into the layout page, and click near the top of the layout to position an insertion point for the text. The Text Properties window appears.

Type in Marathon County for the map’s title. Click OK.

You can use the Pointer tool to better position the title. Please note that however you type in text into the Text Properties box is how it will appear. (So if you type one long sentence, it will be one long sentence.)

Step 6 – Cleaning up the layout

Your layout looks a bit messy and the legend may be difficult for someone to understand.

First use the Pointer tool to resize and place all the components of your layout where they look best.

Next, you need to edit your legend.

Click on the legend using the Pointer tool. Then go to the Graphics menu, and click simplify.

Now each item in the legend has an individual text box so you can edit them.

Double-click on it the legend and rename the items: State Highways, Lakes, Rivers, and Watersheds. You can delete the symbol for the Marathon County Outline.

Step 7 – Create a template from your layout.

You are happy with your map design, so you would like to save it as a template for future maps.

From the Layout menu, select Store as Template. To select an icon for your template, click the Select button. The Icon Manager displays. Scroll through the list of icons and select one you like. Then click OK.

The icon displays in the Template Properties Dialog box. In the Name text box, type County Map as the name of the new template, then click OK.

Now you can use the template to create future maps.

Step 8 – Close the project

Click on the Project window to activate it. From the file menu, choose Close Project. ArcView will ask if you want to save your work. Click No.

END

Wisconsin ArcView Exercise #10 - 03/17/00