Utilizing the ArcMap Draw Toolbar
Creating and editing graphic elements can become very time consuming within ArcMap; however, there is a valuable help called the Draw Toolbar. The tools within this toolbar will help you save time and become more productive with your work. Your cartographic productions will benefit from these tools.
Learn how to quickly change an element’s properties without accessing the properties dialog. Discover new techniques to manipulate each element and even convert them to a feature class. Do more now by watching this video!
This video covers the following areas:
- Draw Menu
- Select Elements
- Rotate Elements
- Zoom to Elements
- Add Elements
- Change Element Size
- Change Element Color
- Change Annotation Font
Stop wasting your valuable time and learn a new tip today!
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Download the video to your computer: ArcMap Draw Toolbar
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ArcMap Annotation Properties
January 4, 2009 by Timothy
Filed under ArcGIS, Cartography, GIS Tips
Map annotation that is created either through the annotation tool or by creating annotation by converting dynamic labels can be edited further beyond just the font and placement.
For example if you change the scale of the annotation, it will not adjust. You can delete the annotation and recreate it. However, there is an easier way!
To change the reference scale of map annotation:
1. Right click on the data frame in the Table of Contents.
2. Choose Properties…
3. Go to the Annotation Group tab.
Notice that this is the where annotation is managed when you convert it from labels to be stored in the map. Annotation that is created manually through the annotation tool is also managed here.
Under this tab you can turn annotation on and off.
4. Highlight the annotation group to be changed.
5. Click Properties…
6. Change the reference scale to the proper setting.
Under properties you can change:
- annotation name
- associated layer
- reference scale
- visibility scale
7. Click OK to confirm changes.
The reference scale has now been updated to the correct scale, and the annotation shows correctly.
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Create ArcMap Annotation
January 4, 2009 by Timothy
Filed under ArcGIS, Cartography, GIS Tips
Annotation is a valuable resource for creating labels. Annotation can be created in two ways: either manually through the labeling tool or by converting the dynamic labels into annotation. The later is a big time saver when creating a lot of labels.
When creating labels through conversion, you are given the option to save the annotation in a geodatabase or the map document. If you will be using the annotation in another map project then use the geodatabase option. Otherwise, saving in the map would be fine. When you convert to annotation, the labels are created at the current scale.
1. Set desired font and layout.
2. Turn on labels.
3. Right click on layer to have labels converted.
4. Set annotation settings.
5. Select storage type and which features to create annotation for.
Notice the reference scale on the top right. This is the scale at which the annotation will be view correctly. Learn how to change this in the ArcMap Annotation Properties.
6. Click Convert.
The labels have now been converted to annotation. You can select the text and change its location along with other properties as well.
One thing to note with annotation is that if you change the scale, the annotation does not adjust. You can delete the annotation and recreate it using the previous steps. However, there is an easier way by following the steps in the ArcMap Annotation Properties post! You can also learn how to turn on/off map annotation without having to delete it.
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ArcMap Interface Tutorial
ArcMap can be very overwhelming to the new user. Understanding what each feature does and how it applies is important. Here are some of the areas that are covered in this tutorial video.
Data View
- Add Data
- Scale
- Toolbars
- Data Frame
- Layers
- Zoom
- Pan
- Selection
- Identify
Page Layout
- Data Frame
- Title
- North Arrow
- Scale Bar/Text
Note: Videos are broadcast through youtube.com. Some browsers may block this content.
Download the video to your computer: ArcMap Interface
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