topic Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 20:58:50 GMT

Here's a new one. I am adding graphic patches to 8.5 x 11" layouts, so my text can be more easily read over linear features like roads. These are little polygons: 1/12" x 1/8" or less. Adding either a polygon or a rectangle, I digitize my small patch, double click to finish it off, and the graphic immediately grows to about 3" x 3". If it is a polygon, no matter what shape I digitize, it reforms and grows to a 4-vertex trapezium of the same size and shape as the last failed polygon did, so there is no resizing it to fit (especially since we can't edit vertices in graphics yet). If I digitize at about 1/8" x 1/8", the polygon I digitize remains the same size and shape as I drew it. I can resize rectangles when they will work for the patch I need, but that is a bother, and really, this should not be a problem!

This makes me think this is a grain problem, but didn't grain tolerance go the way of coverages? I admit being far more savvy with ArcGIS (and Info for that matter) than Pro, so I am still learning the nuances. I have turned off all snapping that I can think of. Can I change the grain tolerance? Other ideas?

Runnning ArcGIS Pro 2.4.1

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

WendyHarrison — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 23:25:33 GMT

Hi Katherine,

Layouts are not my specialty, but I think we can accomplish what you're looking for a different way coming from the text side of things.

If your text is a series of labels you could create a symbol with a background and use that for labeling. See the text symbols topic for help.

Text symbols—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop

You can also create this text symbol for annotation if you wish.

If you're dealing with annotation and you want to use the polygon like a mask so you don't see the road underneath, but do see other features you can run the feature outline masks gp tool to create the polygons and then use those polygons as the masking feature.

this masking topic will help out with that

Mask features—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop

hope this helps

Wendy

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

ThomasColson — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 11:38:36 GMT

Can you provide more detailed steps to reproduce? What tool(s) exactly are you using to create the graphic? I'm dropping lines and polygons in a layout and not seeing that behavior, which suggests there is something specific to your video card that may be causing this. Is your video driver up to date?

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 14:02:44 GMT

Thanks, Wendy. The text is added graphics text, using the insert text tool. I have used html described below for some featureclass-based labels, and am well-versed in masks, halos, text outlines, etc. Maplex is my good friend as well. But these aren't labels or annotation.I have been using text backgrounds with html coding to mask certain areas of the map. I honestly geeked out to how cool it looks, especially with transparency to blur problematic background (like hillshade) to make text clandestinely readable. I am mostly happy with that technique, but I cannot figure out how to change the height of the background. At times, it bleeds into different colors of the background and brings unwanted attention to the technique (to my perfectionist mind). I posted in the html group here to see if there was a code I could use, but have no answer. I eventually resorted to the patching (which is actually easier - if I didn't have the resizing problem - and if there is a chance I have to move the text, better). Very nice that ArcPro now allows transparency in graphics. How to size text background in html Any html ideas?

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 14:11:22 GMT

Thanks, Thomas. I do not doubt my video card - IT and I do not see eye-to-eye on my system requirements. To recreate:

Using either Insert - Graphics-Rectangle tool, or Insert-Graphics-Polygon tool, digitize a polygon roughly 2x the width of a 2pt line, and roughly 1.5 the height of a lowercase Times New Roman 18 pt letter. It does not matter if you are zoomed in to 1000% or to zoomed out to full page (although at full page, it is very difficult to make such a small polygon, so sometimes it seems like it actually works until you realize the polygon is larger than the above dimensions).

Aside: I am trying to match the same color of the background with my patches, but in ArcPro I am not sure how to get the RGB values from a location on a layout. I am resorting to putting it into ArcMap to get those values with the identify tool - much like how I used to resort to command line when I couldn't find a tool in ArcMap8.

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

ThomasColson — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:46:19 GMT

I ran thru your exact steps, and cannot repro. This sounds like a TS case, please let us know the outcome (and if I was right, it's your video card...). For getting colors from your layout, see https://community.esri.com/ideas/14881

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

WendyHarrison — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 17:23:21 GMT

Hi Katherine,

In your post you say that you're using Pro and that you're using graphic text. Graphic text on a map is map annotation and it is not supported in Pro. Can you provide more information so we know where you are?

Are you doing this in the layout? on the "glass" overtop of the map frame? If you send a screenshot of where you're doing this work we'll have a better idea of what's going on.

thanks

Wendy

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 18:20:04 GMT

Sure. I may be using incorrect terminology: This is text I added using Insert-Text on the ribbon. This is in the layout. These pieces of text are things like the Title, and labels that are easier to just add instead of fine-tuning the label engine.

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 18:22:05 GMT

I tend to agree it is in my computer. Sigh.

Regarding Eye Dropper: dead useful in ArcMap, but I cannot find it or an equivalent in ArcPro. I did upvote the suggestion in the link you gave, though!

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

WendyHarrison — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 20:37:26 GMT

Hi Katherine,

Titles and descriptive text are great on the layout. For labels that are marking things actually on the map we don't recommend this workflow. One slight pan or zoom to the map and all your text is rendered useless. It would be better to create an annotation feature class for these text features if you don't want to do them with labels.

For the text that you have on the layout you can modify the text symbol to include a rectangular background instead of putting a polygon behind the text. Use the Background Callout but don't turn on the accent bar or the leader line. that will leave you with a nice rectangle behind the text. Easy to move around as well as it is all one feature.

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 20:51:15 GMT

I agree on using labels and annotation whenever possible. Sometimes, though, it takes more manipulation of the labeling engine parameters than it is worth, so adding text is most efficient. As for accidental panning - that's what bookmarks are for!

As for callouts, same problem as with backgrounds (as discussed in the messages with Thomas Colson, below) - I cannot figure out how to change the height of the background. Do you know of an html command that I can specify height on background?

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

WendyHarrison — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 20:54:34 GMT

to change the height of the background it's just the margins that need to be edited. in the image above see the left margin, right margin, top margin & bottom margin. they default at 5pt but you can make them as large as you want

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

WendyHarrison — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 20:56:28 GMT

just as i clicked reply i thought of our new background tag. it's a formatting tag that adds a background

see an example of how to set up here

Airport signs—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 21:10:40 GMT

I hate to be contrary, but I did try that and it had no effect on my background.

For future use, if I ever get a chance to exorcise my machine so my polygons work and background margins work, this will be of use, so I thank your efforts. As I mentioned before, I've been using the html tags for my text, as I want to blend the background of the text with the background of the map to make it not obvious, and the html lets me do that letter by letter. I think it looks really nice (snip of example below). I just wish there was html code that I could change the height/margins of html-coded background.

But for this particular problem, I really just need to make tiny polygons. Thomas suggested it is my video card, which makes sense as he cannot reproduce my error, and no one else in all the internet has posted this odd problem of mine.

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

WendyHarrison — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 21:32:18 GMT

Using the background tag I can make the background transparent and different colours for different letters

because they work with the background callout i can control the top and bottom margins. i put them to 50pts to make them quite noticeable

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

Anonymous User — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 21:41:57 GMT

Yes, very similar to what I do, except I use the <BGD> tag directly in the text.

<BGD red="245" green="245" blue="231" alpha="60" >RECLAMA</BGD><BGD red="173" green="234" blue="188" alpha="60" >T</BGD><BGD red="245" green="245" blue="231" alpha="60" >IO</BGD><BGD red="173" green="234" blue="188" alpha="60" >N</BGD>

However, I still can't get the background margins smaller than 0 point. That is what I really want to do with the background. Since I can't, I need the tiny polygons.

Also, is there an option for ArcMap's eye dropper in ArcPro?

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

WendyHarrison — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 21:52:22 GMT

At the moment there isn't an eye dropper. i took a quick look online and there are lots of free "eye dropper" websites that you can use real quick to get the rgb values

use the system snipping tool to grab a screenshot of your imagery, load it up to the site and then grab your colour. it will keep you going until Pro has a way to do it.

Re: Adding graphics in ArcPro, but they grow ~24x the size I digitized them when I finish

KoryKramer — Fri, 06 Sep 2019 13:46:09 GMT

I'm sure an eye dropper tool will be coming to Pro at some point. Here is where that request is being tracked: ArcGIS Pro - Eye Dropper Tool

Note my August 15th comment:

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