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Map Layout Using ArcView GIS 3.2

April 2002

In this exercise you will create a basic thematic map layout using ArcView GIS tographically present the distribution of children ages 0 through 5 in San Francisco in theyear 2000.

You will:

Open an existing ArcView project

Change your legend settings

Create a view frame

Create a legend frame

Create a scale bar

Add a frameline , neatline, title, source, and any notes to your map layout.

What to Do?

Step 1 Open ArcView GIS.

Step 2 Open an existing project.

From the drives pull-down menu navigate to the J drive on the BSS network(\\neptune\data

)

Open the pamuk-urbs493 folder

Open the Census2000 folder

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Now take a look at the Legend Editor. Each class has a different shade ofgrey, starting with a light grey for the lowest data values and getting

progressively dark until the highest data values are represented by black Note

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font settings, because you want to maintain a consistent typeface throughoutyour map.

Click Apply, then click Close to close the window.

Step 5 Open a new layout

Open the project window. Under the Window menu, select children.apr.Click on the Layouts icon on the left-hand side. Click on the New button to

open a new layout. You should now see a blank white sheet with a blue margin

outline and a grid of small dots.

Step 6 Set up your page

Go to the Layout menu and select Page Setup. This opens the PageSetup window. For this layout, we want a landscape orientation, so where itsays Orientation, click the button that shows a page in landscape. We will

also set the Margins . Make sure that the Use printer border box isunchecked, then set a 0.5 inch border on all sides. Click OK to close the

window.

Step 7 Set your layout properties

Go to the Layout menu and select Properties. This opens the Layout

Properties window. Here you can give your layout a name. Choose something

other than Children Under 6, otherwise your Window menu will getconfusing. Also, uncheck the box labeled Snap to Grid. Click OK to close

the window.

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Where it says View, select the View that you want to represent in yourmapped area. Since there is only one in this project, select Children Under 6.

Scale allows you to determine how you will set the scale of your mappedarea. The pull-down menu offers three choices: Automatic, Preserve View

Scale, or User Specified Scale. Automatic is the ArcView default and allowsthe computer to set your scale. Generally speaking, this is not the best choice.

Preserve View Scale uses the scale that is set in your View. If you want tochange the scale, you have to switch from the Layout window to the View

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scale, gets smaller. For example, 1/4 is smaller than 1/2. On a map with a scaleof 1:4, San Francisco will look smaller than if it were on a map with a scale of

1:2. Generally speaking, we use smaller scales when we map larger areas. Aletter-sized map of Africa may use a scale of 1:10,000,000 while a letter-sized

map of Alameda County may use a scale of 1:500,000.

Now take a look at the mapped area, which in our case is San Francisco, within

your View Frame. Can you see the entire city? Is the city too big to fit in yourframe? You may need a smaller scale; increase the number in your

Representative Fraction. Is the city too small? Play around with your scale

until you find a general fit. Generally speaking, you want the mapped area tobe as big as possible while still maintaining space for your legend, scale, and

title.

When youve set the scale, click the OK button to close the View FrameProperties window.

Notice that there are now 8 black squares around your View Frame. Select the

black cursor button on Layout Toolbar. If you bring your cursor over a box, the

cursor will turn into a double-headed arrow. By clicking and dragging on abox, you can adjust the size of your View Frame for a better fit. Notice thatchanging the size of the View Frame does not change the size of your mapped

area (San Francisco).

Step 10 Add a Neatline

A neatline is a thin black line which borders your mapped area. The neatline

should be of hairline width; it should never draw attention to itself by beingheavy or unnecessarily colorful. We will add a neatline by selecting the View

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Step 12 Edit the Legend

We will edit the legend because the default has some elements that we dontneed (Water, Golden Gate Park, and No Children 0-5) and it also doesnt meet

cartographic design principles.

First we will break the legend down into editable parts. Make sure that your

cursor is active, then select the legend to make it active. It should have a blacksquare in each corner. Now go to the Graphics menu and select Simplify.

Simplify turns each element of your legend into a graphic. Zoom in to the

legend using either the Zoom to Selected button or the Zoom In button andclicking and dragging. Click on a blank spot of the page to deselect the legend

elements.

As previously stated, we dont need Water, Golden Gate Park, and NoChildren 0-5, so we will select them (making sure to include the whiterectangles on the left) and delete them.

Now we will redesign the Percentage Children 0-5 legend. First we will adjustthe shaded rectangles on the left. Arrange the rectangles so that they aretouching one on top of the other. We do this because our data values arecontinuous. If the data values were discrete, then our rectangles would be

separate.

Next, arrange the data labels so that they are vertically aligned along thehyphen.

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Finally, we will vertically align the data labels to their rectangles. Imagine a

line running lengthwise through the center of the rectangle. You want to alignthe data labels so that the line runs lengthwise through the center of the data

labels as well. Note that you may have to enlarge your rectangles in order forthe numbers not to appear crowded. You can do this by selecting all of therectangles, then selecting Group on the Graphics menu. Enlarge by clicking

and dragging on one of the corner black squares. When youre done, you canungroup the rectangles by selecting Ungroup on the Graphics menu.

Step 13 The Legend Title

Now we will give the legend a title that tells the reader something about the

data that we are presenting. Usually its a good idea to use the legend title tospecify the unit of measurement and/or enumeration area. You can also givethe legend a subtitle for additional information. In this case, our legend is

titled, Percentage of Total Population, and subtitled by census block.

Center the titles above the legend.

Step 14 Place the Legend

Center the legend horizontally between the mapped area and the right margin.Center the legend vertically relative to the height of your mapped area.

Step 15 Create a Scale Bar

Select the Scale Tool from among the Frame Tools buttons. Click and drag an

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window. In the notes, we write any additional information not provided in thelegend but which the reader needs to interpret our map. In this case, we will

note that white areas indicate that no children ages 0 through 5 are present(Note: White areas indicate no children ages 0 through 5.) Double space

after your note.

For the source, we include the sources of our data as well as the sources that

we used for our base map. Our data source is Census 2000 Summary File 1.Our base map is a 2000 TIGER/Line file. Cite your source as completely as

possible using a standard format. Double space again and write your name and

the date.

Center align the text and vertically space it 0.85 lines. Click OK. Your textprobably runs way off the page. Since the text properties does not have word

wrap, you will have to add carriage returns in order to fit the text into the spacebetween the mapped area and the right margin. Double click on the text box tobring the Text Properties window back and add carriage returns.

Your notes and source are far less important than your legend, so we want touse a type size that is smaller than what we used for our legend. With the notesand source selected, open the Symbol Windowby selecting Show SymbolWindow under the Window menu. Under the Font Palette, select a type

size that is smaller than the one used in the legend, but large enough to read.Close the Symbol Window when you are done.

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Finally, center the text within the space below the legend.

Step 17 Add your Title

Again using the Text Tool, we will give our map a title. Your title shouldinform the reader about the subject of the map without being too wordy. The

title should also be prominent without being too large. Use the SymbolWindow to change the type size. Center the title in the space above the

mapped area and across the entire width of the page.

Step 18 Add a Frameline

The frameline goes around the entire map and brings all of the map elements

together. Click on the neatline button. In the Neatline Settings window, selectInset from Margins and set the inset at 0. Select the single line border and aline width of 0.25 points. Click OK.

Step 19 Add Figure-to-Ground

Figure-to-ground is a shading device used to direct the readers attention.Basically, you want the object of the readers attention to be lighter in shade

than the space surrounding it. In our case, we want the mapped area to be alighter shade than the area where our title, legend, etc. are. Make the frameline

active and open the Symbol Window. Our frameline will have a fill, so in theFill Palette (the button with the bucket), select the solid black rectangle. Nowselect the Color Palette (the button with the paint brush) and click on the

button labeled Custom. This opens up a color mixer. Set the Value to 200and click OK. Your frameline should have a shade of grey that is darker than

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Step 20 Test print your map

The second to last step is to test print your map. What you see on the screen isnot necessarily what you will get out of the printer. You may have to go back

and forth between your computer and the printer before you find the perfect

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Step 21 Print your final map!

G old e n Ga tePa rk

Ch ildren Ag e s 0 thro ug