Producing a complex map using ArcMap's Layout View

Producing a map for publication is a fairly simple process in ArcMap--if you only wish to display a single 'map' without a legend, inset map, etc. However, if you wish to produce a more sophisticated map, things become a bit more complex. A review of the process of generating a more complex map layout is presented below.

ArcMap does make it as easy as possible to produce a publishable map that combines maps, tables and charts, but you do have to think carefully about all of the components and steps required to produce a more complex layout--this is where naming the Data Frames with meaningful names becomes very important. Below, I'll lead you through the process of producing a map that shows two zoomed-in raster maps as well as an inset map, along with a legend, title and attribution.

Recall that in ArcMap the Layout View is where you create publishable maps. It works much like Adobe Illustrator or any other vector drawing program. However, the map layout is a direct representation of the Data View window and the Data Frames (in particular the List by Drawing Order representation)--if you zoom into an area on the Data View window, the image in the Layout view changes accordingly (i.e., they are 'hot linked'). Therefore, it is necessary to have your maps properly laid out in the Data View window before proceeding to the Layout View window (and remember--if you make any changes to the display of the layers in the Data View that could significantly impact your Layout). Hint: Creating a BookMark once you have the map appropriately displayed in the Data View will enable you to quickly go back to the original display should you inadvertently make a modification in the Data View (i.e., when you have identified a portion of the map that clearly shows how different the 500 m resolution raster is from the 100 m resolution raster, zoom into that area and create a bookmark so that you can consistently return to that view).

Your first step is to create a Data View with three Data Frames displayed in a meaningful order. Under Insert, click on Data Frame (twice, in order to add two new data frames to the Table of Contents). Rename the first new data frame (called New Data Frame) to Raster 500, and rename the second one (New Data Frame 2) to Inset Map. You should also rename the original data frame (Layers) to Raster 100. Using meaningful names for the data frames and layers will make things easier in the later steps.

• In the Data Frame Properties window (in the View pull-down menu or double-click on the data frame name) you can change the name of the data frame to something more meaningful.
• If necessary, you can also change the layers' names to something more meaningful--right-mouse click when over the layer name and select Properties / General from the set of choices.
• Note that you have to Activate a Data Frame (right-mouse click) in order to work with the layers in that data frame.

From the first data frame (Raster 100), right-mouse click on the 500 m resolution raster and select Copy. Click on the data frame named Raster 500 and paste the raster file there (Paste Layer). Now, back in the first data frame (Raster 100), right-mouse click on the 1976 polygon file, and select Copy. Click on the third data frame (Inset Map), and paste the polygon file there (Paste Layer). (Illustrated below)

In the first data frame (Raster 100), zoom into an area that will dramatically show how different the 500 m resolution raster is from the 100 m resolution raster. (Create a bookmark.) Right-mouse click on the second data frame (Raster 500), click on Activate, and then (right-mouse click again) on Properties. In the Data Frame Properties window, select the Data Frame tab. If you set the Extent of this frame to match that of the first data frame, then the two maps will be zoomed into the same area (as illustrated in the figure below). Note that the Margin is set to 100%

Once you have the three Data Frames prepared, select Layout View from the View menu. By default, ArcMap creates a layout with a single data frame on it. However, since we have created three Data Frames, in this instance it will create a layout with all three data frames displayed, although not in a cartographically-correct manner. For this map you need to have two equal sized data frames to hold the two maps (the 100 m resolution raster and the 500 m resolution raster), one frame to hold the inset map, another to hold the legend, and a final one for the attribution text (the lab #, course name, your name and student number, the date, the sources of the data). While we will need to add some of those elements individually, ArcMap has a predefined layout that contains most of these elements available.

To create a more complex layout, look for the Change Layout button on the Layout toolbar.

Click on the button (it is the 2nd last right-most button on the layout toolbar), and then select LandscapeModernInset.mxt from the list of Traditional layouts. Click on Next. You will be shown a preview of the view frames (although the preview shows one large frame and three smaller frames, we can adjust the size of the frames later to ensure that the two raster maps are displayed at the same scale). The Data Frame associated with the 100 m resolution data should be associated with the 1^st frame (Raster 100), while the Data Frame associated with the 500 m resolution data should be associated with the 2^nd frame (Raster 500). Click on Finish.

You should see a layout with four blue boxes--the large one containing the 100 m resolution raster, three smaller boxes along the side of the layout (one containing a Legend, one empty, and one containing the 500 m resolution raster), and a title bar across the top of the layout. The Inset Map will appear off the 'page' to the bottom-left. You can move (and resize if necessary) the Inset Map to somewhere appropriate once you have finished manipulating the two raster frames.

Note that when working in the Layout View you must use the Layout toolbar to zoom in, etc.--attempting to use the Data View zoom tool, for example, will not produce any results. Important: Before manipulating the sizes and positions of the view frames, etc., the default page size for the layout you have just created should be set to letter-sized paper--do so by right-mouse clicking outside of the data frame, selecting Page and Print Setup and setting the page size appropriately. Before changing the paper size, however, ensure that you have selected

We can use the Data Frame Properties Size and Position tab of the data frame's properties to ensure that the two frames (the 100 m resolution raster and the 500 m resolution raster) have the same width and height, so that a single bar scale can be used for both maps; ensure that you have indicated "preserve the aspect ratio" before altering the data frame's size. The legend can be placed somewhere appropriate (right-mouse click on the legend in order to access its properties and fix the number of entries present, the font sizes, etc.).

To add the extent indicator to the inset map, right-mouse click on the inset map and select Extent Indicators and then click on one of the raster data frames and click on > to select it (as illustrated below).

You should add a north arrow and scale bar to your layout (all of these elements can be found under the Insert menu when the Layout View is active), add any explanatory text to each layout, and fill in the empty layout frame with the attribution text. You should also title the map appropriately, and fix the legend presentations. You need to ensure that the scale bar used reflects the scale of the appropriate map (since you will have two possible choices for the scale--the smaller inset map and the larger example maps).

Once you have fine-tuned the layout to your satisfaction, save the ArcMap Document (File, Save or Save As), and then print out your map. A very (very!) rough idea of what your final layout should look like is presented below. You should be able to produce a much more attractive map! Note that I have not properly labelled the Inset Map, nor indicated that the bounding box indicates the extent of the other maps. You should include those labels in your maps.