geographic information system
(GIS)
Learning Modules for College Level
Module 2
Putting the Mississippi on the Map
Jan Warnke, CEGEP Champlain – St. Lawrence
Christine Boudreau, Educational Technology Consultant
Acknowledgements
The development of GIS Learning Modules for College Level was made possible by the resources
and dedicated support provided by the CCDMD project development team coordinated by Nick
Birks and Véronica Gill. Christine Boudreau developed the initial design and structure of the
modules, and John Buskard of John Abbott College reviewed the final modules. Many thanks to
the numerous people who collaborated in the development of the learning modules.
Jan Warnke
CEGEP Champlain – St. Lawrence
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
Contents
Acknowledgements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Module summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Checklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Approximate duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Learning objectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
I. Introduction to Mapping the Mississippi River basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1) General problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2) Specific problem elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3) Planning the procedure (the method). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
II. Using ArcExplorer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1) Starting the ArcExplorer (AEJEE) program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2) Opening a map project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3) Saving your map project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
III. Putting the procedures into action. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1) Selecting the Map View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2) Identifying and highlighting the Mississippi River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3) Identifying the names of the tributaries of the Mississippi River . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4) Finding a major city on the Mississippi River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
5) Measuring the length of the basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
IV. Mapping it out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
1) Adding map components in Layout View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2) Exporting a map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3) Inserting a map into a PowerPoint presentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
Figures
Figure 1: The AEJEE shortcut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 2: The ArcExplorer (AEJEE) welcome page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Figure 3: Locating a project file in the Data folder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Figure 4: The View window: Map View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Figure 5: The American Midwest river system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 6: Selecting the Query Builder tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Figure 7: Using the Query Builder tool to find the Mississippi River. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Figure 8: The Mississippi River highlighted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Figure 9: Selecting the Map Tips tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Figure 10: Setting Map Tips for the rivers layer by river name. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Figure 11: Activating the cities layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Figure 12: Zooming in on cities at the confluence of the Mississippi River and its tributaries . . . . 18
Figure 13: The Zoom To Scale tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Figure 14: Changing the Zoom To Scale to 1:12,000,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Figure 15: Specifying measurement units for the Measure tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Figure 16: Measuring the distance of the Mississippi River basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Figure 17: Measuring distance with segments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Figure 18: Adjusting the scale bar properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Figure 19: The finished map in Layout View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Figure 20: Specifying the dots per inch resolution of the export image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Figure 21: Exporting the final map image in PNG format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Figure 22: The finished map in a PowerPoint slide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
Module summary
This module is intended to familiarize you with more of the features and procedures in GIS.
The module provides hands-on exploration of the tools that are commonly used to answer a
geographic question. The procedures build a methodology for addressing questions that are
geographic in nature, and are intended to stimulate geographic thinking. In this case, the module
walks you through a series of steps to identify the Mississippi River, describe some geographic
characteristics in its surrounding area and create a map.
Checklist
Before you start this module, make sure you have:
• Installed a version of ArcExplorer – Java Edition for Education (AEJEE)
• An Internet connection (high-speed recommended)
• Access to Google Maps
• Installed Flash Player
• Microsoft PowerPoint presentation software (or the equivalent, like Open Office Impress)
• A location to save the files that you create in this module (with read/write access)
Approximate duration
You can expect to take approximately two hours to complete this module.
Like Module 1, Module 2 is a useful reference. You may want to come back to it to review
elements of the GIS interface.
Learning objectives
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
General objective
• Use GIS to find information about
features
• Produce a map of the Mississippi River,
giving details about the length of its
basin, its tributaries and a major city,
using ArcExplorer (AEJEE)
Specific objectives
• Apply some of the tools introduced in Module 1
• Learn how to perform a query to find line features
(rivers)
• Create a Map Layout and export it in PNG format
• Integrate a map into presentation software
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
I. Introduction to Mapping the Mississippi River basin
1) General problem
The general problem puts the specific problem in context. It identifies the main issues of your
research question and explains the purpose for your geographic analysis and mapping.
In Module 2, your general problem is to identify the Mississippi River and describe some of the
surrounding geographic features. This is really quite simple. However, this problem statement,
as with most, needs to be narrowed down and focused. What geographic features are you
specifically looking for? No matter what the level of difficulty of your geographic problem, the
question remains: is your research question specific enough to identify the required geographic
information? (Geographic information makes reference to a geographic location. For more on
geographically referenced information, see Module 1, “Geographic References.”)
2) Specific problem elements
So far, you know that you have to identify the Mississippi River. That is sufficient to locate
geographic information. However, you need to identify a few other variables. For example, what
are some of the river’s geographic characteristics and what are some geographic features of the
surrounding area?
In practice, your analysis of the larger geographic problem would require that you to define
the relevant specific elements on your own. Here, in a learning context, you are provided with
elements to be identified:
• One of the river’s geographic characteristics is the length of its basin.
• Some features in its surrounding area are the name of a tributary river and the name of a major
city at a specific geographic location on the Mississippi River.
3) Planning the procedure (the method)
Now you know what you are looking for, but you also need to know how to obtain this information
using ArcExplorer (AEJEE). Here is an overview of the procedure:
1. Select the Map View.
2. Identify and highlight the Mississippi River.
3. Identify the names of its tributaries.
4. Find the name of a city at the confluence of the Mississippi River and one of its tributaries.
5. Measure the length of the basin of the Mississippi River.
Before you start, you will need to perform a few essential actions seen in Module 1: starting your
software program, and opening and saving your map project.
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
II. Using ArcExplorer
A video demonstration showing the actions in this section can be found by clicking on the
following link: Video demonstration Module 2 Section II.
technical CUE
The current instructions are for a Microsoft Windows interface. However, ArcExplorer (AEJEE) works on the Macintosh as well, since it is written in the Java language. The instructions may vary slightly for the Macintosh user. Consult the ArcExplorer (AEJEE) PDF manual
(aejee23.pdf) in the Lessons folder: (Mac folder)/ESRI/AEJEE/Data/Lessons/.
1) Starting the ArcExplorer (AEJEE) program
Open the ArcExplorer (AEJEE) program by clicking on the AEJEE shortcut (Figure 1) or select
AEJEE from the program list (Start/All Programs/AEJEE/AEJEE).
Figure 1:
The AEJEE shortcut
You should see the ArcExplorer (AEJEE) welcome page (Figure 2).
Figure 2:
The ArcExplorer
(AEJEE) window
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
technical CUE
IMPORTANT: Should the software not respond after a reasonable amount of time, you may
have to close it and reopen it. This is a light version of a complete GIS application and occasionally has trouble running.
If closing the software does not work, and you are using a Windows operating system, use
the Windows Task Manager (Control+Alternate+Delete). Select the ArcExplorer (AEJEE)
software in the Applications window and click on End Task. You can then reopen the software and the project. Save your map regularly! (Helpful tips on saving are provided in
“3) Saving your map project”.)
Internet connections: The map project world_gnhd.axl contains a layer (ESRI_relief)
showing shaded relief that requires an Internet connection. If you do not have a high-speed
Internet connection, the project may not open.
2) Opening a map project
Reminder…
A map project is a file that locates and assembles data (points, lines, polygons or areas,
pictures, labels and titles as well as other text) from the Data folder and even from locations
on the Internet.
Click on the File menu and select Open from the drop-down menu. By default, the Data folder
contains a number of project files (they all end with the .axl extension). You will work with the file
called world_gnhd.axl (Figure 3).
Figure 3:
Locating a project file
in the Data folder
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
3) Saving your map project
Before you continue, save the map project under a specific name for Module 2. Make sure to
save it in a location where you can access it later.
Reminder…
To save your map project, open the File menu and select Save As.
Now that you have opened and saved your map project, you will carry out a series of steps to
find and answer a question about the geographic distribution of information. To achieve this, you
will need to use new components and tools in ArcExplorer (AEJEE).
Technical Cue
Throughout the work sessions, use the Save As command frequently to replace the previous version of the same project with the current one. According to some users, the Save
As command, rather than simply Save, appears to maintain the integrity of the project and
keeps ArcExplorer (AEJEE) from slowing down.
© 2008 CCDMD
GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
III. Putting the procedures into action
A video demonstration showing the actions in this section can be found by clicking on the
following link: Video demonstration Module 2 Section III.
1) Selecting the Map View
Reminder…
By default, the View window is in Map View (Figure 4), used to visualize the data that is being mapped. To verify your view, open the View menu, next to the Edit menu.
Figure 4:
The View window:
Map View
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GIS Learning Module 2 Putting the Mississippi on the Map
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2) Identifying and highlighting the Mississippi River
First, you need to make the rivers layer visible by checking the box to the left of the layer’s name.
Next, you can Zoom and Pan to the American Midwest (Figure 5). That will situate the Great
Lakes at the upper right-hand corner of the map.
Reminder…
The Zoom In and Zoom Out tools will let you move away or move in to see larger or smaller
areas in the View window.
The Pan tool is useful for moving around the map surface at the same scale.
Figure 5:
The American Midwest
river system
Now you need to highlight the Mississippi River so that you can see it on your map and identify
the features close to it. You will use the Query Builder tool to find and highlight the Mississippi
River.
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The Query Builder tool is a fast and precise way of selecting known features. It is one of the
most commonly used tools in the GIS. It can sort through thousands of bits of information to select
exactly what you are looking for if it is contained in the rivers layer’s database (Attribute Table).
To use the Query Builder tool, you have to know the name of the feature you are looking for,
which in this case is the Mississippi River.
Click on the Query Builder button on the menu toolbar (see Figure 6) – it is the button with a
question mark in front of a table.
Figure 6:
Selecting the
Query Builder tool
Reminder…
To use the Query Builder, you first must select a layer in the Table of Contents. Otherwise,
the Query Builder button will be greyed out.
In the Query Builder window, the Select a field box indicates the type of information available
that is attached to the locations being displayed in the selected layer box (Figure 7). Each type of
information constitutes a field or column in the Attribute Table of a layer.
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In the Select a field box, select NAME, since you are looking for a river by its name. The selected
field name will appear in the equation box directly below.
Now you have to specify what type of relationship you want to establish between the field NAME
and the Values listed. In this case, you want the field NAME to be equal to a specific river name.
Select the equal sign (=) on the calculator in the Query Builder. The equal sign should appear
immediately after NAME in the equation box.
Next, identify the specific value that you want for the NAME field. When you selected NAME
from the Select a field box, all the river names appeared in the Values selection box to the right
(Figure 7). Click on Mississippi in the Values selection box and the river name should appear
after the equal sign in the equation box (Figure 7).
Figure 7:
Using the Query
Builder tool to find the
Mississippi River
TECHNICAL CUE
You can type the name of the feature in quotes directly into the equation. However, if your
spelling is incorrect the query will not be effective.
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Finally, click on Execute to query the rivers layer database. The selection of a specific value or
row in a layer database will highlight the selected feature on the map. In this case, the query
will highlight the symbol on the map that indicates the location of the Mississippi River (Figure
8). Notice that the bottom of the Query Builder window contains information pertaining to the
Mississippi from the database.
Figure 8:
The Mississippi
River highlighted
Close the Query Builder when you are done.
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3) Identifying the names of the tributaries of the Mississippi River
Now that you have identified and selected the Mississippi River by using the Query Builder tool,
you can proceed to identify its tributaries (rivers running into the Mississippi River) by using the
Identify tool.
However, if you select the Identify tool to find the names of the tributary rivers of the Mississippi
River, you will have to click individually on each line feature in the rivers layer to find out its
attribute value. In this case, the river names are values or attributes of the river Mississippi found
in the NAME field.
Clicking on line features is a tedious and time-wasting process if you simply want to identify a
specific value of the feature’s attributes. A quick way to identify specific attributes of features is to
use the Map Tips tool. As you move your cursor over the Mississippi River tributary features on
the map, the names of the tributary rivers will appear on the map.
To activate Map Tips, click on the Map Tips button on the toolbar () – it looks like a pointing arrow
on top of a yellow rectangle.
Figure 9:
Selecting the Map
Tips tool
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A Map Tips dialogue box will open with the active layers (Figure 10).
Select the rivers layer in the Layers selection box and the type of information you want in the
Fields selection box – in this case, choose NAME. Now click on OK.
Figure 10:
Setting Map Tips
for the rivers layer
by river name
Now, as you slowly move your mouse cursor over river features, their names will appear. You may
want to Zoom In to see the river name better (it’s the button with the magnifying glass icon and
plus sign).
Identify the major tributaries of the Mississippi River in the Midwest by using Map Tips.
Q: What are the main tributaries of the Mississippi River in the American Midwest?
A: The main tributaries of the Mississippi River in the Midwest are the Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas rivers.
Reminder…
Note the names of the tributaries of the Mississippi River so that you can label them later in
the Map Layout.
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4) Finding a major city on the Mississippi River
The next step will be to identify a major city at the confluence (or meeting point) of the Mississippi
River and one of its major tributaries.
First select the cities layer to activate it and make it visible (Figure 11).
Reminder…
You can select or activate a layer by clicking on its name in the TOC. This allows you to perform other actions specifically related to this layer of information.
Figure 11:
Activating the
cities layer
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Activate the Identify tool on the menu toolbar (it is an i in a circle with a dark background).
The cursor arrow should now show an i in a dark circle. Move the cursor to a confluence of the
Mississippi River and one of its tributaries where it is possible to click on a point that marks the
location of a city. You may want to use the Zoom In tool to clearly show where the tributary rivers
meet the Mississippi River (Figure 12).
Figure 12:
Zooming in on cities
at the confluence
of the Mississippi River
and its tributaries
The Identify Results window will appear on the map if the point symbol for a city is selected with
the cursor. If you do not get results, try again until you get the name of a major city. Hint: the city
you are looking for is at the confluence of the Mississippi river and another major river (Figure 12).
Q: What is the name of the major city at the confluence (or meeting point) of the Mississippi River
and one of its tributaries?
A: The major city is St. Louis, and it is at the confluence of the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers.
Reminder…
Again, note the name of the major city at the confluence of the Mississippi River and one of
its major tributaries so that you can label it later in the Layout View.
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5) Measuring the length of the basin
Knowing a map’s scale is important, since it gives you a sense of its proportion and allows you to
take measurements. To estimate the length of the Mississippi basin, you will measure the distance
from the tip of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, first by using the map scale indicator
and then the Measure tool.
The map scale indicator
Maps are smaller representations (models) of the real world. The scale indicates how much
smaller the map area is in comparison to the real world. The scale is written in the form of a ratio
such as 1:16,000,000 and is shown at the bottom of the View window.
The interpretation of the scale of 1:16,000,000 is that one unit of measure (a centimetre or a
millimetre) on the map represents 16,000,000 of the same measurement units in the real world.
For example, if you used a real ruler and measured a distance of 3 centimetres on a printed
map that had a scale of 1:12,000,000, then you know that the real-world distance would be
3 x 12,000,000 = 36,000,000 centimetres. Since 1 kilometre is 100,000 centimetres, then it is
easy to divide 36,000,000 by 100,000 to find that 3 centimetres on the map represents
3.6 kilometres on the earth’s surface.
The Zoom To Scale tool
To change the map scale so that you have the same map extent in the View window as the
illustrations in the figures presented in this document, use the Zoom To Scale tool in the View
menu (Figure 13). Click on the View menu and select Zoom To Scale (Figure 13).
Figure 13:
The Zoom To Scale tool
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The Zoom To Scale dialogue box will open. Type “12000000” in the scale box and then click
on the magnifying glass to the right of the scale entry window. The map scale will change (the
map will become larger if the scale was previously greater than 12,000,000) and the scale at the
bottom of the View window will indicate the actual scale of the map (Figure 14).
Figure 14:
Changing the
Zoom To Scale to
1:12,000,000
Now you can see the entire length of the Mississippi River from its mouth (the location where the
river empties or flows into another body of water, in this case the Gulf of Mexico) to its head (the
tip or the end opposite to the mouth of the river). The next step will be to measure the distance
from the head of the Mississippi River to its mouth. We will use a simple method of measuring
distance on the map in the View window called the Measure tool.
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The Measure tool
The Measure tool will measure distances on the map in the View window using the measurement
units that you specify.
To activate the Measure tool, click on the Measure button in the menu toolbar (it looks like a ruler,
on the right-hand side of the menu toolbar) and specify the units you want to measure by.
Select Kilometers (Figure 15). Your cursor will become a cross that you can use to select a
starting point.
Figure 15:
Specifying measurement
units for the Measure tool
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Now measure the distance from the tip of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico by clicking
when the crosshairs of the cursor are on a starting point (the tip of the Mississippi River) holding
down the left mouse button and dragging the crosshairs to the second point (the Gulf of Mexico
into which it empties).
Three lines appear as you move the crosshairs of the cursor across the surface of the map and a
summary box listing several numbers will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the View window
(Figure 16).
Technical Cue
You can save and close your map at any time to complete it later. Remember that the project
file uses the data that it stored from the last session saved. Do not change the location of the
data set files used in the map project, because the map project will not be able to find and
assemble them.
Figure 16:
Measuring the distance
of the Mississippi
River basin
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The three lines are as follows:
• The red line is the “Segment” plotted on the map.
• The magenta line is the rhumb line or line of constant angle.
• The blue curved line is the geodesic or great circle route, which is the shortest distance
between any two points on the spherical surface of the earth.
In some cases, the segment may appear to have a shorter distance than the geodesic distance,
due to a different method of calculation. Since this map depicts a spherical surface that is
displayed as a flat surface, the shortest actual distance will be the geodesic or great circle route
(the blue line).
Q: How would you describe the approximate location of the northerly extent of the Mississippi
River basin? Consider the location of major land or water features. You may want to use the
Identify tool to identify the major lake close to the head of the Mississippi River.
A: The head of the Mississippi is close to a large body of water called Lake Superior.
Q: What is the approximate length of the Mississippi River basin as measured by straight-line
distance from its head to its mouth?
A: The basin of the Mississippi River measures approximately 2,081.838 kilometres when using
the geodesic or great circle distance. This is the straight-line distance, sometimes referred to
as the Euclidean distance. The length of the Mississippi River itself is approximately 3,705
kilometres. The difference is due to the river’s considerable meanders.
A more realistic distance can be measured by dividing the Mississippi into several segments that
trace its path more closely. If you consult the Mississippi’s attribute data (see figure 7, section 2),
you’ll notice that its actual length is 3 838,4375 kilometres. The straight-line distance is far from
accurate at 2 082,164 kilometres. To obtain a measure that traces the river’s path more closely,
first use the Measure tool to select the river’s starting initial point. By holding down the mouse,
trace a segment to a point where there is a significant change in the river’s path, then immediately
click and drag another segment to the next change point, and repeat all the way to the mouth of
the river (figure 17). The river’s distance measured this way approaches 2 800 kilometres which is
better, but still far from reality. To be even more precise, you could repeat this procedure by zooming in closely and measuring the river in more detailed segments.
The Measure tool has its limitations, as you’ve noticed, but is still very useful for measuring distances between cities for example.
Reminder…
Again, note the names of the major city at the confluence of the Mississippi River and one of
its major tributaries so that you can label it later in a Map Layout.
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Figure 17:
Measuring distance
with segments
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IV. Mapping it out
A video demonstration showing the actions in this section can be found by clicking on the
following link: Video demonstration Module 2 Section IV.
1) Adding map components in Layout View
The map you see in the project View window is only the view of the data. It is not a final product.
A final map has to be created and exported so that it can be inserted into a PowerPoint or other
presentation medium.
Click on the View menu and select the Layout View. The tools on the toolbar will change.
Reminder…
Always keep in mind what you want to map and the pattern you want to show on the map.
In this case, your map should provide a quick visual reference to locate and identify the
Mississippi River and its tributaries, identify a city at its confluence with an important tributary
and display information about the length of its basin.
Map components
A good map should include a title, an author, the source of data used to create the map, the date
the map was produced, a graphic scale, a legend, a map inset or overview map (if needed) and
possibly one or more notes explaining the pattern (Figure 18).
To enter text, click on the A text button on the menu toolbar and then right-click the text box and
select Properties to enter text and format it. Create a different text box for each of the following
map components:
• Title
The title announces what you are showing or demonstrating with the map. In this case, it is
“The City of St. Louis in the Mississippi River Basin.”
Write your text in the box and select a format appropriate for the title (bold, possibly 12-point
or 14-point font size, and centred on one or two lines).
If applicable, the title also may include the geographic units used (by country or city) and the
year of the data. The title is generally positioned in a very visible location, like the top or bottom of the map (Figure 18).
• Map scale bar
The scale that your map is drawn to can be displayed in a graphic form so that the reader
can approximate distances on the map. Click on the map in the layout to select it and
activate the map editing toolbar. Then select the Add map scale tool. Select the choice of
graphic scale and click on OK so that the scale bar will be drawn on the map. Right-click the
scale bar and select the Properties to make adjustments. In the Scale dialogue box, choose
Adjust number of divisions from the When resizing… drop-down menu and then indicate
a round number like 500 in the Division value box that appears above. Under the Units
dialogue box, choose Kilometers as Division Units and set the Label Position to below
bar. Click on OK (Figure 18).
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Figure 18:
Adjusting the scale
bar properties
• Legend
The map legend describes the meaning of the symbols used in the map. The legend is
created from the elements of the Table of Contents. Select the map and then select the
Add legend tool to insert a legend. Once the legend is inserted, right-click on it to select the
properties to adjust the features you want displayed and the colour of the background. Position the legend in a location near the map content, but not on top of it (Figure 19).
• Data source, author and date
Use the Add text tool to label the data source, author and credits. For the data source, you
can write “Data source: ESRI.” Remember to include the date and the name of the author of
the map (you!). Data source, date and author should be placed in the lower left-hand corner
(Figure 18).
• Labels
The features of the map should be labelled to identify them. Though there is a labelling function in the layer Properties window, it serves to label all features in a specific category of
existing data. We will use the text tool in Layout View to manually label the features of interest on the map. The Mississippi River, its tributaries, the city of St. Louis and Lake Superior
have to be labelled. You should also label the USA and Canada using a different sized font
(Figure 19).
Note:
As a general rule, there is a hierarchy in the size and case of the letters used. For example,
the names of countries will be large, bolded and uppercase. The names of provinces or
states would be relatively smaller. The names of cities would again be smaller (capitals are
often underlined) and in sentence case (upper and lower case letters). For hydrography,
names would be written in italics and would follow the path of the flow of water (in this case
a river or tributary).
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• Explanatory notes
Explanatory notes are kept separate from the data source and credits. The notes help explain what is being shown on the map. Remember, a map is a complete document that is explaining something to the readers, so the text should help the readers understand what they
are looking at. Examine the map that you have created and give it a brief explanation: what
is being shown on the map? Is the pattern scattered or clustered? Click on the text tool and
write your answer, and then locate it so that it is visible but not blocking the view of the map.
• North arrow
Insert a north arrow by selecting the Add north arrow tool. Adjust the location on the map
so that it is visible but does not interfere with the interpretation of the content. Select a
simple design and adjust the size by dragging diagonally on a corner of the north arrow
object. The north arrow tool can be adjusted by selecting it, right-clicking to open the North
Arrow Element Properties window, entering a rotation angle and clicking on Apply to see if it
aligns to the North with the grid.
• Page setup
It is often necessary to define the orientation of the map. To set the orientation to portrait or
landscape, right-click your mouse and then click on Page Setup…. The page layout should
be in Landscape orientation by default in both the Map Size and Printer Setup columns.
Changing the Orientation to Portrait in both columns is useful if the feature on the map is
better viewed in a vertical orientation. For now, leave the settings as is.
Figure 19:
The finished map in
Layout View
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2) Exporting a map
First, make sure you have a map folder to store the images and map projects that you are working
on. If you have not already created a map folder to hold map projects and map images, create
one before exporting the map image.
In the File menu, select Export to Image. First, a small dialogue box will show up on the screen
asking for the number of dots per inch you want for the image of the map. A good resolution for
use in presentation software is 96 DPI. Write “96” in the box and click on OK (Figure 20).
Figure 20:
Specifying the dots
per inch resolution
of the export image
Next, a dialogue box with your map image in it will appear (Figure 21). Look it over to make sure
all the elements of the map layout are there:
• The Mississippi River
• Its tributaries
• The city at the confluence of the Mississippi River and one of its major tributaries
• Title
• Legend
• Credits (author, date, data source)
• Explanatory notes
• Map scale bar
• North arrow
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TECHNICAL CUE
If you realize some elements of information are missing from your map layout, then back
up a few steps. Remember that once you close your project, the layout of your map will be
lost! If you realize at this point that some elements of information are missing from your map,
then back up a few steps. The Map View can be saved but not the layout, so make sure you
have enough time to produce your map: keep the map simple and focus on the principal
information you want to communicate.
If you want, you can adjust the width and height by using the scroll bars next to the width and
height boxes. Note that the units are in pixels and you will see the results once the map is inserted
in a document. The default size is usually sufficient. You can also resize the finished image
somewhat without losing quality in the final document. Click on Update to register any changes.
You will also note four little tools in the upper left-hand corner of the Export window. This allows
you to adjust the size of the map in the window for you to see it more clearly. It does not change
the output in any way. You can zoom in, zoom out, zoom to full extent or zoom to the normal size
the map would appear (1:1).
To finish the export to image, click on Export. In the Export dialogue box that will appear, type in
a name and find a location where you want to save the image. Select PNG format from the Files
of type menu, since this format transfers easily to a variety of media. Click on Save (Figure 21).
Figure 21:
Exporting the final map
image in PNG format
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TECHNICAL CUE
PNG means “Portable Networks Graphics” format. PNG is one of the best formats for storing
images of maps to be used in other programs.
A small PNG Color Option box will appear. Choose Same as source and click on OK.
TECHNICAL CUE
Do not close your ArcExplorer (AEJEE) project until you have inserted the PNG image into
your presentation software. If you have to make changes, the Layout View will not be lost as
long as the project has not been closed. Wait until you have successfully inserted your map
in presentation software before closing it. This way, it will be easier to re-export your map, if
necessary.
The map image that you have created can be inserted in a PowerPoint, MS Word or other
application.
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3) Inserting a map into a PowerPoint presentation
Open a PowerPoint document and insert a blank slide (unless it’s there by default). Insert the map
by selecting the Insert menu and selecting Picture from the drop-down menu and then From File
to insert the map you just saved (Figure 22).
Figure 22:
The finished map in a
PowerPoint slide
At a resolution of 96 dpi, the picture of the map in PNG format should fit perfectly on the slide.
Once the map image is inserted into the presentation software, you can add other text or
highlights to explain what you mapped (e.g., a definition of the mapped variable or a highlight of
an area of interest).
Save the presentation slide (open the File menu and select Save As) with your map at another
location for later use.
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Conclusion
In Module 1, you were introduced to the main components and tools that make up ArcExplorer
(AEJEE). In Module 2, you employed some of these tools and learned new ones to produce a
map of the Mississippi River using ArcExplorer (AEJEE).
In this map, you geographically represented:
• The Mississippi River
• Its three tributary rivers: Ohio, Missouri and Arkansas rivers
• A major city, the City of St. Louis, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers
In order to achieve this, you found and selected the Mississippi River with the Query Builder,
used the Map Tips tool to identify its tributaries, relied on the Identify tool to locate the major city
and used the Measure tool to estimate the length of its basin. Finally, you created a Map Layout
using the editing tools, exported your map as an image in PNG format and integrated it into
presentation software.
In Module 3, you will explore new tools, such as buffers and exporting of a CSV file. You will see
how mapping enables us to understand a problem or issue in a manner that no ordinary data
table can.
When you are ready, you can move on to the next module. See you there!
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