This set of instructions will lead you through the steps necessary to create layout for printing a new basemap with your digital geologic data on it everyday for working in the field. The instructions listed here assume that you have already 1) created an ArcView project file with all of your digital geologic data in it, and 2) that you have added the appropriate basemap themes to your project. If you have not ndone step 1), please consult with Nathan or Daniel. If you have not completed step 2), please look here.
To create a format for printing out a basemap each day, you will need to create a new layout in ArcView. Once you have done that, you can add data, grids, scalebars, north arrows or text to the map. These instructions will lead you through all of those steps.
1. First, open your field camp project in ArcView. Before you start creating a new layout, you will need to add some additional functionality to ArcView. This is done with features called extensions. You will need to add an extension called Graticules and Grids. The procedure for adding this extension is shown below:
Now this window will appear:
Save your project file, and this extension will automatically start every time you open your project.
2. Now you can add a new layout to your ArcView project. To do this follow the steps shown below:
3. Now that you have added a layout window, you can put data into the layout. The data in the layout will be whatever is currently shown in your 'View' window. Be sure that your 'View' window shows the area of the map that you want to plot before you proceed with the following steps.
By selecting the 'Live Link' checkbox, the data shown in your layout will change everytime you re-zoom on the View window. However, by selecting a user specified scale, the data will always plot at a scale of 1:12,000. So, if your View window is of a greatly different scale, you may get much more or much less data in the layout window.
4. Now that data is plotted in the layout window, you should add a grid. Follow the steps below:
5. Scale bars, north arrows, and text can be added to the layout through another series of buttons. These buttons are accessed through the add data button, as shown below. The use of all of these buttons is more or less the same. Select a button and you will get a draw arrow. Create a rectangle on the layout, and the feature that you selected (scale bar, north arrow, text) will be drawn inside of that rectangle. The figures below show how to access these features, and what the interactive menus look like for adding the features:
To select a feature:
The scale bar menu:
The north arrow menu:
The text option menu (press the highlighted button below with the 'T' on it):
When you are done with all of this, you can save the layout by saving the project. That way the layout will be there everytime that you come back.
NOTE: If you change the view in the View window, the data in the layout window will change. HOWEVER, the grid will NOT change. This is fine if all you want to use the grid for is a north reference for plotting attitudes. If, on the other hand, you would like to use the grid to compare locations on the map with GPS coordinates, you will have to delete the grid from the layout each time you want to print a new View and add the grid again.