How to create map documents

Owned by Tore Sannes (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Mar 24, 2015
1 min read

A map document is containing the layout for a map to be distributed or printed. The document is saved as an .mxd file type.
The document contains data frames, text boxes, static or dynamic texts, legends, north arrows etc.
The data frames contains the displayed geographical data symbolized as lines, points, symbols and labels. The data storage for the displayed data can be files on a disk or from one or more geodatabases.

Open a new map document

To create a new map document, open the File menu and select New… to open the New Document dialog.
Under My Templates there will be one template named Blank Map.
Under Standard Page Sizes > ISO (A) Page Sizes several templates can be found. For instance, select ISO A3 Landscape and click OK to close the New Document dialog.
The document will be opened with one data frame named Layers in the Table Of Contents.
The new map document can be saved first time to the disk by File > Save. Browse to the correct folder and specify a name for the map document and click Save. The file type will be .mxd.

Layout View and Data View

The map document can be viewed in two modes. In the View menu, find the Layout View and the Data View:

  • Layout View is showing the whole document where all map elements and map data are available.
  • Data View shows the data in the data frame only and not the entire map content. If the map document contains several data frames, the contents of the active data frame will be shown.

Modify the main data frame

When creating the new map document there will be a default data frame named Layers.
By double clicking the text Layers the name of the data frame can be modified. 
Another method is to right-click the Layers and select Properties. In the Data Frame Properties click the General tab. There the name of the data frame can be modified. For instance, type in the text Main Data Frame and click Apply.

Add and display data in the data frame

To add data in the data frame right-click the data frame and select Add Data… to open the Add Data dialog. Browse and select the data from disk or from a geodatabase. It is also convenient to open the Catalog window and locate the data objects directly and drag the data item and drop either into the data frame in the graphics or into the Table Of Contents.
The symbolizing of the data can be set in the Properties dialog for the layer.

Set coordinate system

If no coordinate system is defined before adding data the data frame will get the same system like the first data set. If the coordinates are geographic the data frame will select the same geographic (e.g. WGS84), and if they are in a projection the data's datum and projection will be used (e.g. UTM 34N, WGS84).
To ensure the correct coordinate system, open the Data Frame Properties dialog (right-click and select Properties…) and select the Coordinate System tab. To set a projected coordinate system, click Projected Coordinate Systems + UTM + WGS 1984 + Northern Hemisphere, and select the item WGS 1984 UTM Zone 34N. Click Apply to set the coordinate system. Before leaving the Coordinate System tab it is possible to right-click the WGS 1984 UTM Zone 34N system and select Add To Favorites. Then the system can be found in the Favorites folder over the Geographic Coordinate Systems folder.

Set position and scale

The position of the data frame can be set in the Size and Position tab. Enter the position of the Anchor Point, given in mm from the lower left corner of the map document.
The size of the frame is defined in the Size part of the tab. Set width and height in mm.
The scale of the data frame is set in the Data Frame tab. The Extent can be defined as Automatic, Fixed Scale or Fixed Extent.

  • Automatic will set the scale and extent from zooming and panning inside the map frame.
  • Fixed Scale will lock the data frame to the given scale, for instance 1:1000. Select the scale value from the dropdown menu, or write it as text in the Scale field. The part "1:" can be omitted. When using Fixed Scale it is not possible to zoom in and out of the map frame.
  • Fixed Extent means specify the coordinates for the lower left and upper right corners. The scale is calculated from the given coordinates and the size of the data frame in mm. When using Fixed Extent it is not possible to zoom and pan.

Geographic graticule and Cartesian grid

To apply geographic graticule and/or a projection grid is done in the Grids tab in Data Frame Properties dialog.
The final layout of both the graticule and the grid can be changed after the initial setup.

Geographic graticule

Click the New Grid… button and open the Grids and Graticules Wizard. 
Select Graticule and click Next. 
In the Create graticule dialog, select, for instance, Graticule and labels, and specify Intervals for parallels and meridians and click Next.
In the Axes and labels dialog click text style button for selecting font size and style. After closing the Symbol Selector dialog, click Next.
In the Create a graticule dialog select Place a calibrated border at edge of graticule. Specify the Properties, for instance Fill color is black, Void color is white, Width is 5 points, Interval 72 points and Use double alternating border. Check the Graticule Properties part and use the Store as a fixed grid that updates with changes to the data frame. Click Finish.
To view the Graticule grid click Apply in the Data Frame Properties dialog. 
To edit the Properties of the Graticule, highlight the Graticule in the Grids tab and click the Properties... button. Check the tabs Axes, Labels, Lines and Intervals.

Cartesian grid (UTM grid)

Click the New Grid… button and open the Grids and Graticules Wizard. 
Select Measured Grid and click Next. 
In the Create a measured grid dialog, select, for instance, Grid and labels, and specify Intervals for X Axis and Y Axis and click Next.
In the Axes and labels dialog click text style button for selecting font size and style. After closing the Symbol Selector dialog, click Next.
In the Create a measured grid dialog select Place a border outside the grid. Check the Grid Properties part and use the Store as a fixed grid that updates with changes to the data frame. Click Finish.
To view the Measured Grid click Apply in the Data Frame Properties dialog.
To edit the Properties of the Cartesian grid, highlight the Measured Grid in the Grids tab and click the Properties... button. Check the tabs Axes, Labels, Lines and Intervals.

Create an Index Map

The Index Map is just another data frame. The new frame is created by opening the Insert menu and select Data Frame. The New Data Frame is positioned in the middle of the map layout. By using the mouse the frame can be selected and resized.
Detailed specification for the size, position, coordinate system and scale is set in the Data Frame Properties dialog as discussed above.

Make non geographic boxes in the map

In the map we need to create boxes around texts and other content, like legends etc.
In the Insert menu select the Neatline option.
In the Neatline dialog click Place inside margins. Click the Border and select the style and thickness, for instance 0.5 points. If the i icon is clicked the thickness can be changed to 0.1 points if wanted.
When clicking OK the neatline (box) will be created along the edge of the page area. The box can be resized and moved with the mouse.
When right-clicking the selected frame, the Properties for the neatline (box) can be opened. In the tabs Area, Frame and Size and Position, the properties can be changed. Set the position of the anchor point (default is lower left corner) and the width and height of the box.
When making several identical boxes it is possible to copy and paste the box, and then set the correct position of the anchor point of the new box.
It is also possible to select several boxes and set the lower left corner for the group of boxes.

Insert texts

In the Insert menu select the Text option.
The text is created somewhere in the middle of the map. Locate the Text and move to the wanted position.
When right-clicking the selected text, the Properties for the text can be opened. In the tabs Text and Size and Position, the properties can be changed. Set the position of the anchor point (default is lower left corner) for the text can be specified here.
In the Text tab the text string can be entered. To set the font size and type, click the Change Symbol… button.
When making several texts with identical style is possible by copy and paste the text. Open the Properties by double-clicking the new text or right-click and select Properties. Set the new text string and the correct position for the new text. The position can also be set by moving the text with the mouse.

Dynamic texts

In the Insert menu select the Dynamic Text option, and select between different text content.
The Dynamic text is using information from the map document, like a data frame's scale and coordinate system, current data and time, last saved time etc.
The changing of properties is equal as for a static text.