Geography 281 Map Making with GIS Project Six: Labeling Map Features

Transcription

1 Geography 281 Map Making with GIS Project Six: Labeling Map Features In this activity, you will explore techniques for adding text to maps. As discussed in lecture, there are two aspects to using text in maps: appearance and placement. Changing text appearance through the modification of type style (serif or sans serif), type weight (bold or regular), type size, and type form (spacing, italic text, upper case lettering, etc) helps to convey quantitative and qualitative data as well as enhance the look of the map. Following the guidelines for text placement will help clarify the data being presented. As you work through this activity, keep the following cartographic principles in mind: Thematic maps aren't reference maps - only label features that help the reader understand your map patterns. Use only two font styles and use them consistently throughout your map. Use one font style for physical features, another font style for cultural features. Keep labels inside or close to the features they reference. Avoid crowding labels or leaving too much empty space on your map. Don't overlap land/water boundaries or outer map boundary. Use double-line text or abbreviations when working with excessively long labels. Use masks around labels to hide line symbols and boundaries that bisect labels. Match type orientation to the orientation of the map. Never make the map reader turn the map upside down. When possible, place text for points, lines and polygons in the following positions: o Points- upper right or upper left o Lines- above rivers or centered on roads o Polygons- center position Use grey text for less important labels. Open the preset map document file for Project 6 Unlike the past several projects, you will use a preset map file for Project 6: From the menu, choose File Open. Navigate to c:\temp\proj6\mapdocuments. Highlight the Proj6.mxd file name and press Open. The default map includes Orange County freeways, Orange County cities, Orange County outline and Southern California county outline layers. Labeling a polygon layer using the dynamic labeling function ArcMap provides a quick and easy way to label a large number of features using a value such as the feature name taken from the attribute file. This procedure writes a value from a field in the attribute table to a point inside or near a geographic feature. Labeling map features based on these principles is a slow, complex process that involves several different ArcMap techniques: New Text tool Dynamic label function New Splined Text tool Text masking (halo) Label conversion to annotation Text editing The data needed for proj6 is located in the \\Geogsrv\data\geog281\proj6\data directory. Project 6 files: Description: Feature Type: countybkg shapefile Southern California County map polygon noccities shapefile North Orange County Cities polygon occities shapefile Orange County Cities polygon occounty shapefile Orange County map polygon ocfwys shapefile Orange County Freeways line In the first part of the activity you'll work through the steps and decisions for labeling a map showing the location of Orange County cities relative to the Pacific Ocean and Santa Ana Mountains. In the second part, you'll create a labeled map of northern Orange County cities and freeways. First, define the label properties for the layer: Right-click on the Cities layer and choose Properties. Click on the Labels tab. Next to Method choose Label all the features the same way. Next to Label Field choose CITYNAME. Since cities are cultural features, you should select a Sans-Serif font:. Under Text Symbol set font to Arial, the size to 8, and the color to Black. Select the Label Features in this layer checkbox. Press OK. Page 1 of 9 Page 2 of 9

2 Editing city labels by converting them to annotation Dynamic labeling provides a first approximation of where the labels should be placed. However, some editing is usually necessary. In this case, you want to delete unnecessary labels, correct for crowded or overlapping labels, and correct for labels that cross freeways, the county boundary or the coast. (You won t have to worry about labels that cross city boundaries - when you're finished labeling the cities you'll make the boundaries invisible and just use the names as location information.) Because labels are dynamically linked to your layer, you can t edit them directly in their present form. Instead, you convert them to what is called annotation. Annotation turns dynamic labels into text elements that can be individually modified using standard graphic tools. Right-click on Cities and choose Convert Labels to Annotation. Under Store Annotation, click on In the map. Press Convert. Click on the Select Elements tool. Click on the La Palma label. With the label highlighted, press the Delete key. Repeat the operation for the Los Alamitos label. Press the Go Back to Previous Extent button. Zoom in on Villa Park and then on Laguna Woods and delete their names. Move labels that overlap freeways, county boundaries or the coast Zoom in on the northwest corner of the county Select and drag the label for La Habra so that it fits entirely within the county (it s OK if it slightly overlaps an adjacent city since you will be turning off the city boundaries when you are finished). Pan down to Placentia and move the label so it doesn t overlap the freeway. Pan around the entire map and reposition other labels where necessary. When you want to restore the full view, right-click on Orange County in the Layer List and choose Zoom to Layer. Modify a label If a city name is clearly too long to fit in the available space you can break it into two lines or use an abbreviation: Breaking a label into two lines: o If the name has two or more words (for example, Dana Point), break the label into two lines by double-clicking on the label, placing the cursor between two words and pressing enter. o If the name is one long word (for example, Westminster) insert a hyphen and break the name to the right of the hyphen. o If a label is still too long (for example, Rancho Santa Margarita), replace it with an abbreviation (Rch. Sta Marg) and also break it into more than one line if necessary. Hiding a line symbol where it crosses under text text masking Sometimes you just can't avoid crossing a linear feature with text. In that case, you should surround the text with a solid mask (box) the same color as the background so that the linear feature "disappears" behind the text. Try this with the Westminster label: Your city names are no longer dynamically linked to the Cities layer; they won t be automatically updated if you change the city name information in the attribute table. Nor will they be updated if you modify the label properties in the layer property form. They are simply text elements attached to the Cities layer. Each label is now a text element and must be modified individually. Delete less important feature labels Now it s time to begin editing your city names. We ll begin with names that are crowded close together. One way to deal with overcrowding is to identify only the more important features. On this map you can delete the names for Orange County's smallest cities: Villa Park, Los Alamitos, La Palma and Laguna Woods. Use the Select Elements tool to select the Westminster text label. If you haven't already inserted a hyphen and broken it into West- and minster, do that now. Move the label so that it is bisected by the diagonal line of the San Diego Freeway. Double-click on the Westminster to bring up its Properties. Click on Change Symbol. Zoom in on the western-most part of Orange County. Page 3 of 9 Page 4 of 9

3 Click on Edit Symbol. Click the Mask tab. Set the Style to Halo. Click Symbol. Set the Fill Color to Yucca Yellow (the same as the Orange County layer). Set the Outline Color to No Color. Press OK several times to restore the map. Labeling physical features To complete the labeling of your map, you should add text indicating the locations of the Pacific Ocean and the Santa Ana Mountains. Let s start with the mountains. Add text using new text tool Since there is no layer feature for the Santa Ana Mountains, you need to add text using the New Text tool. If you do not see the Draw toolbar, you will need to make it visible. Select the Customize Menu at the top of the program. Select Toolbars and then click on Draw if it does NOT already have a checkmark next to it. This makes the Draw toolbar visible. Click on the New Text tool. Click on the blank portion of Orange County between Tustin and the Riverside County boundary. Type in Santa Ana Mountains and press Enter. Note that the text remains highlighted and the tool automatically reverts to the Select Elements tool. Double-click on the Santa Ana Mountains text you just added to the map. Press Change Symbol. Since this is a physical feature, you should use a Serif font: set the Symbol font Times New Roman, the size to 12, and the color to Black. Angle text and add spacing Because of the general NW-SE trend of mountains, it makes sense to angle your text so it more accurately reflects the location of the mountains. You should also spread out the lettering and make it stand out more clearly. Double-click on the Santa Ana Mountains text. Set the Angle to 310. Set the Character Spacing to 30. Click on Change Symbol and set the Style to Bold. Press OK, then drag the text so it is occupies the blank portion of Orange County close (but not too close) to the Riverside County line. Splined text The New Splined Test tool allows you add text to a map along a gently curving line. It is useful for annotating roads, river, and similar curving features. For this map, you will add splined text that identifies the Pacific Ocean. Press the arrow next to the New Text tool and choose the Splined Text to create a broad curved shape that roughly parallels the coast: option. Now use three mouse clicks Note how the freeway symbol is hidden and doesn't conflict with the legibility of the text. Finally, you can hide the city boundaries since you are using text not boundaries lines to convey information about the location of the cities. Click once offshore from Huntington Beach. Click once offshore from the headland southeast of Newport Beach. Double-click offshore from Laguna Beach. Enter Pacific Ocean in the popup box. Double-click on the new text and set the Character Spacing to 50. Press the Change Symbol button and set the Font to Times New Roman, the Size to 12, and the Style to Italic. If you don t like the appearance of the splined text, click to highlight it, delete it, and try again. Save proj6.mxd when you are satisfied with your modifications. In the Symbology section of the Properties for the Cities layer, set the Outline Color of the Fill Symbol to No Color. Page 5 of 9 Page 6 of 9

4 On your own Turn off the Cities layer and add the North Orange County cities layer (noccities.shp) to the map. Zoom in on the new cities and use the labeling and text manipulation tools to identify cities and freeways (use highway symbol shields with route numbers, instead of freeway names). Create an appropriate Layout View for your finished map and save the results in the Proj6a.mxd file. Have the instructor or lab assistant check your work. To use highway symbol shield instead of route names: Open the attribute table for the Freeways layer. Notice the field called Class. It differentiates Interstates from Freeways and Expressways. Also note the field called Sign2- these are the highway numbers that you will use to label the freeways. Close the attribute table and open the property layer for Freeways. Go to the Labels tab. Under Method- select Define classes of features and label each class differently. Click on Add Now you have a class that will label Interstates differently from any other Freeway. Next, you need to tell the computer how you want the Interstates labeled. Change the Label Field to SIGN2. Click on Symbol to select the Interstate Shield symbol. Scroll down until you see the U.S. Interstate HWY symbol, select it. Change the Size of the text to 5. Click on OK. Checkmark the Label features in this layer and then click on Apply to see how the symbol looks. On the Enter New Class Name dialog, type Interstates and OK. Click on SQL Query. Create a simple query where CLASS = Urban Interstate. Click OK. Page 7 of 9 Page 8 of 9

5 You may notice that the symbols are too big and that they are displayed at an angle. To adjust the symbols, complete the following steps. Click on Symbol again. Edit Symbol Click on Advanced Text tab Text Background Properties Adjust the Size to 15. Click on OK four times to exit the property form. If you are satisfied with the symbol and text size, move on to creating a category for freeways. If you are not satisfied, retrace your steps and change the font size and/or the symbol size. To create a category for the Freeways, retrace your steps, but change the SQl Query and symbol. Once all freeway symbols are set up. Convert your Freeway layer text to annotation and adjust the angle and position. To Export Proj6a to a PDF file: While in the Layout View, select File from the Main Menu bar. Then select Export Map Set Save As Type to PDF Set File Name to YourName_Proj6a Page 9 of 9