ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud Blog - Page 5

The ArcGIS Maps for Adobe® team announced its first mapping competition in February 2020. We are pleased to announce that this competition was a great success! Many mapmakers from all over the world participated. The amount, quality, and diversity of the maps that were submitted were incredible, and of these fantastic maps our panel of judges has determined the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners from the multitude of amazing maps. Due to the success of this first competition, we hope to make it an annual event. Follow Maps for Adobe to learn more about this competition and other exciting announcements regarding this mapping tool.

Criteria

The rules for participating were kept very broad, which resulted in a wide variety of creative mapping approaches from participants. The one main criteria that participants needed to follow is that the map had to be created using Maps for Adobe as the designer's primary map-making tool. Each participant could submit up to two (2) maps. For a full list of rules, visit the competition announcement. 

First Place

Where might I see the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo? by Katelin Volkanovski

Map by Katelin Volkanovski

First place winner comes from Australia! Katelin Volkanovski's map depicting the distribution of the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo incorporates graphic design by illustrating the bird for which this map is created along with whimsical waves in the across the ocean. Katelin integrated the same yellow hue of her wonderfully designed birds to show the species' range on the map. Here is what Katelin had to say about the subject in her map:

Australia's Black Cockatoo populations have faced a dramatic decline, and are now a threatened species. This map focuses on the distribution of one of the six Black Cockatoo varieties, the Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo.

Second Place

Daffodils and Homesites of the Eno River by Madalyn Baldwin

This gorgeous map by Madalyn Baldwin highlights the connection humans have to their landscapes through the tender act of planting flowers. This map's creative topographic design, minimal clean design are among the many reasons this map is among the top three. Of this map, Madalyn writes: 

Between the 1750s and the early 1900s, many mills and homes were sited along the Eno River in the piedmont of North Carolina. Today, much of the land surrounding the Eno is conserved as the Eno River State Park, with close to 30 miles of publicly accessible hiking trails. While remnants of some of the historic structures are still visible, in most cases these sites have disappeared into the landscape. But every spring, for a couple of weeks, the history of this river is revealed with vibrant yellow blankets of daffodils. In most cases, the first bulbs were planted by the original homeowners, and over the past 100 - 200 years, the flowers have naturalized and spread, persisting as memories of the people who settled along this river. The daffodils and architectural remnants each tell a unique story of home and garden.

Map by Madalyn Baldwin

Third Place (3-mapper-tie!)

Kananaskis Overview Map by Ian Ladd

Congratulations to Calgary-based cartographer Ian Ladd for this wonderfully designed overview map of Kananaskis, a beautiful wild area located in Alberta, Canada. Evident in Ian's map, Kananaskis is a glaciated mountainous region where visitors may camp, hike, and ski among many other recreational activities. Ian says of this map:

I have been making maps since I was 6 years old, its my passion, hobby, and career. This map is a simple overview map of an area I spend a lot of time skiing, biking, hiking, and exploring! I wanted to really learn ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud and used this as a learning exercise.

Map by Ian Ladd

Arkansas by Noah Walker

This delightfully minimalist monochrome map of Arkansas comes from Noah Walker. Noah chose to illustrate the topography of the western side of his state with simple effective graphic design.The smart label hierarchy is effective, drawing the reader throughout this wonderful map. Noah writes:

A stylized map of the state of Arkansas, my home state, using the old abbreviation format. Designed to showcase the major rivers and mountain ranges of the natural state, as well as major cities. Also depicts the highest elevation in the state, and the location of Hot Springs National Park.

Map by Noah Walker

Kayak Launches in Eastern Talbot County, Maryland by Andrew Bernish

Talented cartographer Andrew Bernish submitted this colorful map of the kayak launches in Eastern Talbot county. The inspiration for Andrew's vibrant design comes from his family. Andrew describes this inspiration below:

I have two small children (ages 2 and 5) and they like to get out in our kayak. I started looking for more public kayak launches near our home in Easton and realized that our county is one of the best places for kayaking. I was inspired to create this map with an eye for my kids as it will hang in their shared bedroom. I used a kids' palette of colors and fonts.

Map by Andrew Bernish

Honorable Mentions

The number of participants was much greater that we expected, and for this reason next year's competition will have categories by which the maps can be organized. This year we only were able to choose three among the many amazing maps. Below are some wonderful submissions that we have to show off. 

Puffin breeding habitat throughout the year by Emma Lidbury

Emma Lidbury's map design is always a delight! This map focusing on the locations where Puffins breed is no exception. The simple effective color choice along with the clever postage design elements draw map readers in to learn more about the subject. 

Map by Emma Lidbury

London by Mitch Kazuk

Another talented mapmaker, Mitch Kazuk submitted this map of the greater London area. This lovely map uses an effective label heirarchy to highlight some of the places that are significant to Mitch, and that gorgeous muted blue to show off the River Thames.

Map by Mitch Kazuk

I-10 Closure Map by Andrew Pham

It is clear that Andrew Pham is accustomed to providing information in the form of map- and graphic design. This map has a clean look, effectively informing its readers where to expect upcoming road closures. 

Map by Andrew Pham

I-10 Projects Map by Lalé Moradpour

Caltrans clearly has a staff of talented designers; Our final honorable mention is another from this transportation agency. This map shows a one-lane bridge structure proposal with projects segments symbolized by a yellow-to-red gradient. Lalé Moradpour has chosen to design the base as a sleek dark tone, which allows for the project colors to pop.

Map by Lalé Moradpour

The update is available now on the Esri website. This patch addresses the following issues:

- Extension doesn't load after upgrade from old versions installed via Adobe Exchange or third-party tools.

- Split text on some curved labels after processing AIX file

- Layout title disappears after processing AIX file

Thank you. 

Maps for Adobe CC team. 

ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud v 2.0 is now available! Download now 

Read more to find out about improvements available with this update.

New features:

Integration with ArcGIS Pro Adobe Illustrator Exchange (AIX) file - With the 2.5 release of ArcGIS Pro introduced a new export format, AIX, that works with the Maps for Adobe extension in Illustrator. When you open an AIX file in Illustrator, vector and raster map content from the AIX file are converted by the extension into editable, layered artwork for an improved editing experience. Once opened in Illustrator, the file can be used for graphic design or map finishing workflows and accessed across other Adobe Creative Cloud applications. Upgrade to ArcGIS Pro 2.5.1 and this version 2.0 of Maps for Adobe to get the best experience with this workflow.

Join Lines – This new process allows you to join segmented paths in linear geographic features like roads and railroads to improve the disjointed appearance which can sometimes occur with this type of data.

Redesigned interface for Processes – A new Processes interface allows you to configure and run your favorite processes from directly within the same interface. Use it to run automated processes like Replace Symbols on a map downloaded from the extension or automatically when you sync a new map.

Redesigned interface for Add Layers – A new interface for discovering layers and maps to import and add in the extension allows you to easily filter and search using your most important ArcGIS Libraries.

Import projection from input file - As a Plus or ArcGIS Online user, when you import a shapefile that uses a projection other than Web Mercator, you can choose whether to honor the projection in the shapefile or use the default.

In addition to these new features this update also addresses usability improvements and fixes for issue including:

- Layer with HeatMap renderer not drawing consistently and dropping off when synced (BUG-000125598)

- Blank Sign-in window when starting the extension"

We encourage you download this update and utilize these new capabilities. Please continue the conversations on our forums or contact Esri Technical Support if you encounter any issues. 

Thank you and stay safe. 

Best
ArcGIS Maps for Adobe team

ArcGIS Maps for Adobe CC 1.5.2 update is now available here.

This update addresses the following issues:

- Extension errors with “Requires ArcGIS Online or Plus” when already signed in as an ArcGIS Online user (BUG-000128927).

- Error “Operation not available” keeps reoccurring when complimentary users try to change the dpi.

- Some complimentary users get an invalid authorization code error when emailed code is used for activation.

For more information about the product, please visit help

Thank you. 

Maps for Adobe CC team

The ArcGIS community has long requested the ability to bring maps from ArcGIS Pro into Adobe Illustrator. The ArcGIS Maps for Adobe team has been collaborating with the ArcGIS Pro team to design a supporting workflow.

At ArcGIS Pro 2.5, you can now export a map or layout from ArcGIS Pro to an Adobe Illustrator Exchange (AIX) file format. Then you can use this AIX file with ArcGIS Maps for Adobe 2.0 (beta) version available here to convert a map into layered artwork for use in Illustrator. Once you convert the map, you can style and manipulate the resulting artwork with the graphic editing tools in Illustrator. 

ArcGIS Maps for Adobe 2.0 (Beta) is now available so you can evaluate this new integration and provide us feedback. Please see the requirements below to sign up for the beta program. 

Requirements

- An existing account or ability to create an account with Esri's Early Adopter Community

- Adobe Illustrator CC v23.1 (or later)

- ArcGIS Pro 2.5 (or later)

Stay tuned!

We recently released a patch for ArcGIS Maps for Adobe CC v 1.5 that fixes an issue with ArcGIS Online enterprise logins. If you've experienced issues signing in with an enterprise login provided to you by your company or university, then we recommend upgrading to v1.5.1 to install this patch. The update is available now on the Esri website and on Adobe Exchange.

Note: You can find the Maps for Adobe version number at the bottom of the sign-in and help windows. (To open the help window, click the menu button  and choose Help.)

This patch addresses the following issues:

- Extension doesn't load after signing in with an ArcGIS Online enterprise login

- Mapboards window appears blank after signing in

- Supported versions of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop aren't detected during installation

Thank you. 

Maps for Adobe CC team. 

The map data hosted in Esri’s geospatial cloud is one of the most valuable parts of the ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud extension. It is the data that fuels your designs. In this blog we’ll highlight a number of unique maps and layers that have been configured specifically for use within Adobe. We’ll also mention other generic datasets you might find useful for your mapping projects.

Maps for Adobe has two unique vector basemaps; Vector Street Map and Natural Earth. Both have been designed and configured specifically for use within the extension.

Vector Street Map – This is the most popular map used within the extension. It is great to use if you want editable vector artwork in Illustrator over any part of the world! There is great detail all the way down to the city block level, and even higher levels of detail in most large urban centers around the world. While the focus of this map is on urban locations and features (eg. POIs and roads), it can also be used as a great reference map at smaller scales when you need a map of states, provinces, countries or even the globe. The data used in this map has also been recently updated to the most current versions available: 

Natural Earth – This is the 2^nd most popular map used in the extension, and is another map specifically designed for use within Maps for Adobe. It is based on the free public domain Natural Earth data built through a collaboration of volunteers and supported by the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS). It is a great general purpose vector map, but we’d suggest you use the Vector Street Map if you need city or street level detail. The data is best suited for larger county, regional, or ideally country level maps. Natural Earth has also been updated to the latest version, 4.0 which was released in 2017.

Sometimes having the whole basemap is too much. Adding too many layers to Illustrator can affect file size, performance and introduce unnecessary layer management overhead. To help, we’ve introduced a number of Natural Earth layers grouped by theme. These are Populated Places, Transportation, Boundaries, Hydrography, Bathymetry and Grids and Graticules. You can find these layers in the ‘Add Layers’ dialog under ‘Browse from ArcGIS Location > Maps for Creative Cloud > Natural Earth’.

 USGS – We have added a number of valuable layers from The National Map (TNM) provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The data is current up to 2016 at the national level, and includes such layers as trails, physical, structural and cultural points in addition to Federal and Native American lands, plus a woodland layer representing tree coverage for the country.

 We have also made all the USGS contours (elevation lines) for the entire country available. Cartographers and designers alike love contours for the aesthetic they can bring to a map! The USGS uses digital methods and sources to construct this data, however much of the national coverage is derived from paper topographic maps that may be decades old. This is usually not an issue though, as contours typically do not change much over time. It is also important to note that the contour density and interval may change at historic map sheet extents.  The contour layer is best used at larger scales (1:24,000 to 1:100,000, like the old paper topographic maps) as they can be pretty detailed. Due to the density of this data, larger maps with small scales can add thousands of lines to your map, possibly resulting in degraded performance when drawing and downloading. So remember, with great (data) power comes great (map) responsibility

You can find the USGS layers in the ‘Add Layers’ dialog under ‘Browse from ArcGIS Location > Maps for Creative Cloud > USGS’.

 OSM – OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project intended to create a free editable map of the world. It is wildly popular because of its high level of detail, global coverage and the fact that it can be edited by anybody in near real time. Esri has released 3 of the most used OSM layers as dynamic vector layers into ArcGIS Online. You can find building footprints, roads and points of interest layers from the ‘Add Layers’ dialog under ‘Browse from ArcGIS Location > Maps for Creative Cloud > OpenStreetMap’.

These layers are highly detailed and best suited for larger scale maps, from city level down to individual buildings (approximately from 1:72,000 to 1:1,000). In many areas it is the most detailed urban data available, but since it is crowd-sourced content there are inconsistence in coverage and attributes. Despite this, OSM is typically the best source of data for many developing parts of the world. Due to the complexity of the OSM data, doing things like changing the layer style or setting up labels can take some time. You will also get cleaner, more accurate vectors in Illustrator if you increase the DPI above the 96 DPI default. This may result in longer sync times so you will need to have a little patience, but it will be well worth it. Expect to see more OSM layers and options coming in the future. 

You can find the OSM layers in the ‘Add Layers’ dialog under ‘Browse from ArcGIS Location > Maps for Creative Cloud > OpenStreetMap’.

Business Locations – This layer of business locations is extracted from a comprehensive list of businesses licensed from InfoGroup. The layer contains data for more than 13 million U.S. businesses, and it can be styled based on business name (CONAME) or by North American Industry Classification (NAICS) code.

Tapestry – This is Esri's geodemographic market segmentation system which classifies U.S. neighborhoods into 67 segments based on their socioeconomic and demographic composition. For a broader view of markets, segments are grouped into 14 LifeMode Summary Groups that reflect lifestyles/life stages and 6 Urbanization Summary Groups that show levels of affluence and population density. The 2017 version of this layer was the 3^rd most popular layer used in Maps for Adobe. There is a new layer out for 2018, and you can access it by entering it’s URL into the ‘Add Layers’ dialog:

https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=2de5ed56740947759e0f53d6330e0a84

Political Map – This is a simple world political map showing global country and US state boundaries, and it is also one of the most popular maps used within the Maps for Adobe extension. Because the data is less detailed than other layers, it is great for making overview maps. The default style shows each country with a unique color, however that can be easily changed to a single symbol if you are looking for something a little more muted.

There is a great collection of content available within ArcGIS Online and it is constantly growing with contributions from Esri, our business partners, and our users. If you are looking for something but cannot find it, please let us know.

We recently hosted our "Ask Anything Q&A" Webcast in which we answered some much desired questions from our users. The video is now up on YouTube but can be found on all social accounts just by searching @mapsforadobe! http://p.ctx.ly/r/989n 

Data:

How do I access third-party data to incorporate into my maps ?

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/compile-maps/adding-content.htm

How do I load in-house project data generated by our GIS team ?

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/install/configure-online-organization.htm

https://youtu.be/oGgEq8m2xKU?list=PLGZUzt4E4O2K7MQjlQkM8D6z3E6DKkiOx

or

 if only a small number of maps/layers you can add/reference them by ArcGIS Online item URL in the Add             Map/Layer dialog:

I'd like to see more vector based maps

There are 2 vector base maps today (Vector Street Map and Natural Earth), we plan to support more in upcoming releases.

How to create maps with higher detail level similar to using open street map (OSM) ?

            We plan on supporting (more) OSM content in the future. Right now, there are 3 OSM layers (in beta mode for             testing) you can try:

https://www.arcgis.com/home/group.html?id=d8d1d3d7143b4404b5666303873d70c2

Install, Performance & UX:

It's powerful and has been very useful, but can be complicated and intimidating for new users

            We are making updates to UI/UX for the next release which we hope will make the extension easier to use

Provide more stability, seems to runs slow on PC

            There is should not be any difference between running on different OSs (demo was on a PC), however if you are             seeing issues, please reach out to us we’d like to help troubleshoot the issue.

I have problems installing and registering extension

            There sometimes can be install issues if you are using an Adobe Team or Enterprise account login. We are             working with Adobe to resolve this issue. In the meantime, if you do run into any issues please reach out to us to             help to troubleshoot and get it working for you.

Esri’s ArcGIS Platform:

My corporation is moving our GIS/Esri services to on premise (vs. cloud-based/ArcGIS Online), when will this be supported ?

With the current release we only support ArcGIS Online, we do plan to support on-premise deployments in a future release.

Are there plans to build Adobe tools into Esri's platform? Like an Adobe plugin for ArcMap/ArcGIS Pro ?

No, however we plan on supporting reading map exports from ArcGIS Pro in a future release.

Layers, styling & 3D:

Is there any way we can apply styles in one single click ?

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/sync-content/processes.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_DD5B9749992243148...

https://youtu.be/dDJumDtUkNg?list=PLGZUzt4E4O2K7MQjlQkM8D6z3E6DKkiOx

https://youtu.be/CwSj1ajy8SE?list=PLGZUzt4E4O2K7MQjlQkM8D6z3E6DKkiOx

Contiguous lines for roads and rivers as opposed to short segments. eg…different levels of roads and rivers

            This varies on the source data layer/contributor. However most can be improved in Illustrator using the Path >             Join based on layer/sub-layer (symbols)

Can we control the fonts (and other styling) on the maps before sync ?

You have limited control over some the styling options in the extension, as most design/aesthetic workflows are best done in Illustrator after the map has been downloaded (sync’ed). You should use the extension to set layers, sub-layers and unique symbols based on data information and attributes - “data visualization” workflows should be the focus inside the extension before sync.

How to you create 3D visualizations with this tool or other Adobe or Esri products ?

            Not specifically with the extension. There are other, more focused 3D applications and tools within Adobe and             Esri for 3D design.

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/help/mapping/layer-properties/what-is-a-scene-layer-.htm

            https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/esri-cityengine/overview

Other:

Are there detailed instructions on how to use the extension ?

YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGZUzt4E4O2K7MQjlQkM8D6z3E6DKkiOx

Online Doc:  http://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/

What can you do with the extension in Photoshop ?

            https://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/sync-content/differences-sync-illustrator-photoshop.htm

Is there a student option ?

            No, but there is the “free”/complimentary access that can be used by students

https://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/install/sign-in.htm

https://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/install/functionality-matrix.htm

How do I credit Esri/ArcGIS Maps ?

https://doc.arcgis.com/en/arcgis-online/reference/static-maps.htm

When you sync a map, the data credits (as text) are provided on an artwork layer with the suffix “copyright”

What features are planned for next release ? When will it be available ?

Improved UI/ UX

Tabbed mapboards

Improved icons and layout

Updates to vector street map & Natural Earth maps

New Natural Earth and USGS layers

Open Street Map (beta) layers

Add demographic attributes to exiting data *

Legend (map key) builder

Control layers that sync

Add more than 50 Places

Travel times

Geographic offsets (buffers)

            Next release is planned for the summer of 2019.

Is there a way to merge multiple maps into one ?

You can sync data into Illustrator more than once. If you have complimentary access, you can only do this for the current session of Illustrator. With an ArcGIS Online account, you can “Save the map as part of an Illustrator or Photoshop document for future session modifications.” and sync those changes

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/sync-content/sync.htm

http://doc.arcgis.com/en/maps-for-adobecc/install/functionality-matrix.htm

A new version of ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud (v1.3.2) is now live on adobeexchange. This version contains fixes for 2 issues 

- Introduced with Illustrator v23.0.1 on Mac OS, the extensions drop downs and control labels do not display correctly.

- Projection of shapefiles did not function as expected.

These are resolved in the latest update. Please upgarde your extension and continue to email any questions or feedback to mapsforadobe@esri.com 

Quick update. We have had some reports of an issue randomly occurring on a few user machines after upgrading to v1.3.0 of the extension. When this occurs the Mapboard and Compilation panels remain blank and don’t display any controls or the map. It could occur with either Illustrator or Photoshop on both Mac and PC’s. We have narrowed down the source of this issue to the given apps ‘Preferences’. We already have a fix for this which will be posted in the next update. In the meanwhile, to continue working with the extension if you encounter this, we suggest to manually restore the preferences on the app that the issue appears on.

Following links describe steps to restore preferences in related apps.

Illustrator CC: https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/using/setting-preferences.html

Photoshop CC: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/preferences.html

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and thank you for your patience while we roll out the update. If you continue to see an issue with the display of panels after restoring preferences please contact mapsforadobe@esri.com and we will be happy to work with you to investigate further.

Thank you.

Maps for Adobe Team.