Week4 GISCart-3 Maps

This week the basics to designing our maps came easier, finally.  I had more difficulty keeping the cities of Central Mexico in the middle of my frame when I was editing than performing map analysis activities.  It squirmed more than a two year old in a car seat.  Also, battling internet connections made saving each step an absolutely essential event.      

Process Summary  For Map 1- States of Mexico, Reflecting population

1)    Transferred data file Intro2GIS/GISCartography.zip  from R drive to S drive.

2)    Made Week4 folders in S & Personal computer for uploading & archiving later.

3)    Opened ArcCatalog to obtain Metadata, used tips from colleague Andriano to customize metadata.

4)    Back in S drive, extracted files to folder .

5)    Following lab instructions, in ArcCatalog tree opened ArcMap put both programs on same screen then  dragged & dropped world_countries.shp/Mex_boundary.shp/and Americans_Admin.shp into the s drive ArcMap10 with blank new map.

6)    In ArcMap10, under selection (Selection by Attributes) ,  Made first SQL, printed HELP for further reference.   Back in selection created SQL from American_Admin layer  - county name  from Get Unique Value – Mexico  result to select Mexico as single county on map.

7)    Created new layer for Mexican states with EXPORT DATA. In TOC selected Americas_Admin,  data, the Export Data window appeared.  Selected features, this layer’s source data, made output location (Mex_states) on my particular file path.

8)    Labeled features of individual states on Mex States layer. To layer properties, label features in this layer, cntry_name field, selected my type, size, symbol selector- Country 2, size 12. Assigned colors, fill color, outline width. Under symbology, quantities- population, 6 classes, graduated colors.

9)    In layout view, print & paper size, landscape.  Added north arrow, changed scale bar to kilometer, added scale text, title & title boxes.  Put in legend with wizard, adjusted as needed, took out layers not needed, changed layer titles, added frame, gap for x& y.  

10)   Saved file throughout above.  Saved map. Exported to desktop , S drive & on personal computer for uploading.

Process Summary  For Map 2- Boats, Trains & Automobiles- Central Mexico

1)   Used copy of Map 1 as template for Map 2, added layers mex_rails/mex_rivers/mex_roads/mex_urban and turned off Mex_states.

2) From attribute table mex_rivers, symbology, categories, unique values- value field:  rank, added major & primary, unchecked all other.  From here clicked on symbol for both rivers and adjusted size & color.

3) On mex_roads, followed same as 2 above, in value field – Authority- federal, unchecked all, adjusted size and color.

4) From TOC, mex_rails, changed railroad symbol.

5) From TOC, adjusted color for urban areas.

6) Changed labels of layer names, and order in TOC for best viewing, changed color of country colors for best fix.

7) On mex_urban layer, label properties- classes of features, method, SQL population>1million.

Changed scale to 1:5,000,000.   Inserted a legend to see how it looked and what needed adjusting.  Convert labels to annotations. Actually missed page 12 with convert labels, came back to this after completed map when reviewing lab instructions.

8) Inset map from new data frame.  Makes a neat little new box.  Added data, world_countries

Getting to point where central Mexico area was on my map was a challenge. Between internet connection issues, getting zoom to, from and my selection to stay in one place was a challenge.

Having saved document along the way was a hugh help. I eventually closed out map and reopened a saved version to pick up a new start.

9) On new data layer,  to properties, Extent indicators tab, layers was missing on my screen, went back a few steps, found I needed to retype layers in (I had erased it).  Back to layers, selected it, ok.  It became an inset.  (How cool is this.)  Chose a color for the border.

10) Rearranged map for a more pleasing appearance. Adjusted element parts as needed. Saved map as Week4_GISCartCentMexMap2_kfm4.  

Process Summary For Map 3- Raster Elevation of Mexico

1) Made copy of Map 2 to use as base for this one. Removed all layers, except world_countries.

2) Added data mex_elev raster, checked out the symbology of classified and stretched. Dumped this map as base to use.

3) Went back to map1 to use it as base for Map 3.  Removing all layers took out essential elements I could use and save for later.

4) Added mex_elev raster file, moved it to top of layer list. Uncheck those layers that I did not need.  In properties, symbology, chose graduated color scheme that best reflected data. Manually added “mean” division for scheme clarity. 

5) Kept Americas_admin to use for neighboring countries. Relabeled these & chose different background colors. 

6) Adjusted legend as needed as well as other essential elements for presentation.

7) Saved file as Week4_GISCartEleMex_kfm4.