topic Re: How can I hide underlying outlines? in Cartography and Maps Questions

How can I hide underlying outlines?

Cathina_Gunn_de_Rosas — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 14:49:26 GMT

I have a dashed outline overlying a line ... I can't turn off the line because I need it elsewhere ... but where they intersect / overlap, I don't want it to "show" beneath my dashes. Can I somehow do that?

The dashed border is a polygon border, as are the line borders. See attached image.

Thank you!

Re: How can I hide underlying outlines?

TimWitt2 — Mon, 15 Jun 2015 14:57:40 GMT

Hey Cathina,

Maybe add a grey solid line under your dashed outline that has the same color as your county polygon?

click your Symbol in the Table of Content -> Edit Symbol -> Outline -> Edit Symbol. In the bottom left click the + sign and add a solid grey line and move it to the bottom. Make it as thick as your dashed line.

Let me know how this looks.

Tim

Re: How can I hide underlying outlines?

JakubSisak — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 13:29:45 GMT

Masking works well but it is an entirely static, but also a non-destructive, solution: buffer the dashed line by a small offset to create a polygon mask. Add the mask polygon feature class to Map (Data Frame) -> Right Click on the Data Frame in the TOC and go to Advanced Drawing Options. In Advanced Drawing Options locate the mask polygon feature class (Masking Layer) and in the Masked Layers check whatever layer you want not to appear. Apply and OK to exit.

Back in the TOC TURN OFF the mask polygon features class you created but DO NOT REMOVE it from the TOC.

Whatever Masked Layers you have checked off on the Masked Layers column of the Advanced Drawing Options will be masked only in those areas where your mask overlaps. This technique is typically used masking contours behind contour elevation annotations without having to break the contour lines or alter the data spatially. This is purely a rendering feature. Performance is very good; i typically mask 1000s of lines and polygons on multiple layers without any issues.

Re: How can I hide underlying outlines?

JamesPierce — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 14:28:31 GMT

Check into Cartographic Representations. Using this withing a FGDB Feature Dataset may be of some help.

Re: How can I hide underlying outlines?

JakubSisak — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 14:43:00 GMT

Can you please elaborate and provide a description of exactly how this can be done with representations Personally, I've struggled to make representations useful especially when not reused down the road as they are they require considerable effort to setup correctly. Subsequently, after I've had all sort of issues when i did not want to use representations on a feature class that already had them setup. They also did not play well on machines that did not have at least a standard license (minimum standard is required for representations)

Re: How can I hide underlying outlines?

JamesPierce — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 16:21:59 GMT

Sounds like this is a one-off map? You may consider converting the dashed outlined polygons to polylines and trimming out the lines you do not want to see. Then underlay the like polygons, shade them, but have them show no outline.

Re: How can I hide underlying outlines?

TimLohnes — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 21:05:34 GMT

I would either do:

1) What Tim Witt said. It would mean having gray outside of your focus area where the rest of the map is yellow/green.

2) Nothing at all. I think it looks fine and those gray county borders still exist, so why hide them.

Re: How can I hide underlying outlines?

ChrisDonohue__GISP — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 21:23:39 GMT

I think James' solution seems to be the best given what you are trying to do. Representations can be very effective, but are often very time-consuming to create, so are usually not worth it for displaying information unless you forsee using it over and over.

Chris Donohue, GISP