North arrow won't stay centered when data frame rotation changes

[BrentEdwards]

Even when using seemingly symmetrical north arrow symbols like ESRI North 74, the symbol will not stay centered as the data frame rotation changes. It seems as though the anchor point of the symbol is not centered and I am not aware of any way to change the position of the anchor point.

This behavior can be observed by following the steps below:

1) Insert a north arrow into a data frame (ex. ESRI North 74) and apply a frame with a visible outline to the north arrow

2) Rotate the data frame and observe the frame size changes as the data frame is rotated

This is very annoying when many maps are generated based on a common template/north arrow and varying map rotations are used to optimize space in the page layout. For example, say that you want to generate a map series of hundreds of maps with varying rotation based on the index layer using data driven pages. The north arrow shifts as the rotation angle changes.

Does anyone have a solution to this problem? Would a custom north arrow solve this problem? I am hesitant to create my own custom north arrows as this compromises the compatibility/portability of template MXDs.

Cheers!

[JimCousins]

Select the North arrow >> Properties >> Size and Position. Under the Anchor Point Graphic, choose the center point, and rotation should behave as you need.
Best Regards,
Jim

[BrentEdwards]

Select the North arrow >> Properties >> Size and Position. Under the Anchor Point Graphic, choose the center point, and rotation should behave as you need.
Best Regards,
Jim

Excellent! That works perfectly. I was unaware that the anchor point of graphics could be modified via the "Size and Position" dialogue.

The only strange thing is that the frame size also changes when as the object is rotated - even with round north arrows.

[JimCousins]

I expect that every element is tracked by a lower left and an upper right. When you rotate this rectangle, it changes the min / max values associated with the element.
Regards,
Jim

[Sean_Wray]

I am also having a similar problem (10.8) with data driven pages where each page is a different data frame rotation.  My north arrow symbol has a center anchor. It stays in the right place, but now it shrinks as it rotates! So every page it gets smaller.

Suggestions?

[BrentEdwards]

I expect that every element is tracked by a lower left and an upper right. When you rotate this rectangle, it changes the min / max values associated with the element.
Regards,
Jim

Yeah, it seems like the pre-rotation bounding rectangle is rotated and then used to create the new bounding rectangle once the rotation is applied. A separate graphic object must be used if a frame and/or background are needed for the north arrow in order to ensure that the frame/background remain unchanged as the north arrow is rotated.

Thanks again for your tip! We no longer have the to deal with re-positioning wandering north arrows in our map templates when rotations are applied.

[DanielAmrine]

All,

I am using Data Driven Pages and it still "wanders" as the data frame rotates from page to page.

I have set the anchor point to the center but it still changes position.

Dan

[DanAllen]

I am also having the same problem (10.3.1) with data driven pages using a strip index where each page is a different data frame rotation.  My north arrow symbol has a center anchor, but its position wanders all over the page instead of simply rotating around the center anchor point.

Suggestions?

Dan