topic Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 19:42:26 GMT

I currently have a feature layer with 400+ items (lines drawn on a world map representing submarine telecommunications cables around the world) and I need to spit out a map for each individual line on an 8.5" x 11" page. The selected cable line itself and all the respective labeling also need to fit within specific margins on the page to account for things like title and status bars.

My current layout looks like this:

I need the selected element to be framed within the guide lines, but the map frame needs to take up the currently indicated space. The final map output (with the information added for the publication) looks like this:

Eventually I would like to automate this entire process but for now I would like to speed up the map portion by setting a "Zoom to Selected" constraint within the layout guides. Is this possible?

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

JustinJohnston — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:06:28 GMT

Update: You actually might just try "Best Fit Extent" when making your map series. Create a spatial map series—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

If it were me, I would try adding a calculated field called "Zoom" or "Scale Field" for the items/lines and I would do a calculation based on the length of the line, the size of the map frame, and roundup to nearest 1000 or something to make it a round number. Then I would just use Map Series for the layout that is based on the lines, and for Map Extent, I would "Use Scale from Field" and point to your calculated field. It might get a little funky if lines are on angles rather than north south since the zoom is based on length alone, but might get you close. Once you have it, you can scan through the map series and manually edit the attribute table to change Zoom or Scale Field to what you think looks good and rerun the map series on the updated field.

Cheers,

Justin

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:07:05 GMT

Hi Justin,

Thank you for the detailed reply - however I think you might need to break it down a bit further for me. I'm not a true GIS professional so I'm not sure how to do some of the things you mentioned.

I can add fields and set up calculated fields, though I'm not sure what the expression would be to do what you suggest.

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

JustinJohnston — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:14:52 GMT

You start by making a layout. Add a map frame to the layout that points to the map that has all of your "items". I expect those items are a single feature class with lots of independent line records. Before making a calculate field, I would try the "Best Fit Extent" option when making a map series. That goes something like this.

1. Open the layout with the map frame pointing to the map that has your items

2. In the Layout ribbon, Page Setup Group, there is something called "Map Series", click that to open the Map Series wizard

3. For the Index Layer, point it to your feature class that has your items/lines

4. I assume each of your lines has its own name, so point to that for the Name Field and Sort Field. If you don't have names for your lines, then just point to the ID for the records.

5. Then scroll down a bit and click "Map Extent"

6. Select the radio button for "Best Fit Extent". I suspect the default settings might work for you. so after that

7. Click OK

8. Observe magic happening as 400+ map pages are created.

Cheers,

Justin

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 20:22:41 GMT

Oh wow, the Best Fit Extent gets me about 90% of the way there. As of right now, I can either have ALL the lines showing up or manually have to go through each map in the series and enable the display filter to show the single element that I need. Is there a way to automate this as well?

Additionally, I'd like to have another layer present in the map filtered through an expression for each map in the series. We have 800+ landings (cities, basically) marked for all the cable systems but each individual map should only show that single cable system's landings. I have set up filter expressions for all the systems so all I have to do is load the filter, apply it then have all my landings present.

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

JustinJohnston — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 21:54:22 GMT

Hi Kieran,

Update: Maybe you can find your answer here: Page queries in a spatial map series—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

I haven't done it myself, so you will be learning on your own with this. Let me know if you get it to work!

Cheers,

Justin

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 23:51:29 GMT

Justin, thanks so much - this looks like it will get me on the right track!

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

TomBole — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 13:43:31 GMT

Hi Kieran,

If you're new to Map Series I would suggest taking a look at the following help topic - Map Series.

Thanks to Justin for providing very useful info on Map Series. Hopefully this help you get to where you want to go.

Tom

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:29:10 GMT

Justin - this was absolutely the right answer! I just had to add a join to my cable landings table that associates landings with their cable systems (which was in a table I created already for other purposes) and using the Page Queries everything is filtering and displaying properly.

The final hurdle I have to overcome is that a handful of cable systems that cross the Pacific are unfortunately not framed properly. See below:

Obviously, I would prefer the map series to frame it so that the cable isn't split like this. If there is not an easy way to do that, it's not really a big deal as I would have still cut down my manual workload by....about 90%.

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

TomBole — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 15:58:58 GMT

Hi Kieran,

You can do this if your map's coordinate system is in either a geographic coordinate systems and cylindrical projected coordinate systems. For more information on this see the section Allow panning across the international date line in maps in the help topic Specify a coordinate system.

Here is where you'll find the checkbox under the Coordinate Systems tab of Map Properties.

Hope this helps,

Tom

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

JustinJohnston — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 16:17:14 GMT

Glad it worked for you! I think Tom has the solution to the splitting dateline issue already below. Let me know if you need help again!

Cheers,

Justin Johnston

Big Pine Consultants LLC

www.bigpineconsultants.com

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Thu, 11 Feb 2021 16:45:48 GMT

Hm, unfortunately I had this checked already. I wonder if it's because all the Transpacific lines have a break in the middle at the date line. I had to draw them this way initially because every time I tried to draw lines that crossed the date line there was an issue where the line would wrap all the way around the world instead of just crossing the line.

I will probably have to redraw some of these lines if I can avoid that wrap-around behavior but for now I can just output those handful of Transpacific maps manually.

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 18:13:50 GMT

Hi Justin, sorry to ping you again but I'm really stuck on the issue of cable systems traversing the Pacific. I had thought that manually framing the map for individual items in the Map Series would allow me to frame those specific systems the way I wanted, but they are still being output based of the automatic map series.

Is there a way to set custom extents for individual parts of a Map Series? You had also mentioned making some kind of calculation to determine extent and scale and put that value into a field. That might have to be the answer. I'm somewhat comfortable with Python if needed.

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Fri, 19 Feb 2021 18:51:25 GMT

Nevermind, I was able to make a custom coordinate system using my current projection and altering where the Prime Meridian is placed. Once that is applied, I can simply export the Pacific systems individually!

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

JustinJohnston — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 21:01:35 GMT

Sorry it took a bit to get back to see this! Glad you figured out a plan to get it to the finish line! It should not have required a custom projection, but if it worked, that is great! I have never had to deal with things across the date line myself. I would have wanted to confirm your projection and that the checkbox was checked, which it sounds like you already had done that. After that, I probably would have redrawn the lines to not break at the date line to see if they come into the map series correctly. After that I would have been out of ideas and would have started pinging ESRI directly.

Cheers,

Justin

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

TomBole — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 21:06:13 GMT

Thanks Justin. My advice would have been the same. Thanks for helping out!

Re: Zoom to Selected Feature within Layout Guides

KieranClark — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 14:44:04 GMT

Yeah, I think I will need to redraw all the lines that currently cross the Pacific. They do currently break at the date line. Now that the publication I was worried about is published and won't have a new version for another 3 months, I'll have the time to try to sort this out properly.

Thanks again for all your help!