ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud - Layout

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03-29-2018 10:21 AM
KamillePreto
Occasional Contributor II

I just recently have become introduced to ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud.  I rarely use AI, so this is an adjustment for me for sure.  The first photo below is a screenshot of my AI project so far - I have accomplished the Drop Shadow that I wanted, which is great, but now I am stuck.  I need to rotate the data 16 degrees (see second screenshot for a separately created map via Pro).  When I rotate all the Layers in AI, it also makes the Data Frame rotated.  My long winded questions are: 1). Is there a way to rotate the data in AI to match my second map without rotating the actual data frame?  2). Is there any other way to create a Layout rather than opening up a Web Map from AGOL into Adobe?  I'm not too familiar with AI, so creating a Layout in here will take much wasted time (adding a legend, etc).

Thank you in advance.

AdobePDF

3 Replies
SarahBell
Esri Contributor

Hi Kamille,

Thanks for the great question. The question you have is basically an Illustrator question. Since there technically isn't a data frame upon download in AI, I am assuming you mean the dark bounding box inside a layer that is likely named "Other." Either way the steps below should help! Without seeing the before-and-after views and layer panel, it is a little bit of a challenge to identify the issue with certainty, but here is the solution that I recommend.

  1. First, create your map in Maps for Creative Cloud with a slightly larger spatial extent than what your final output should be, making the areas around your intended extent a little bigger than what you think the actual extent should be. The reason for this is that after you rotate your map by 16 degrees, you'll need to re-adjust you Artboard in Illustrator - basically re-crop the map - so that there aren't white triangles with no map artwork on the corners of your artboard. Perhaps you already did this (great!) or perhaps you plan cropping it in another software, like Photoshop (still great!). The point is, you probably want to create a map of a larger area than the final output area.
  2. Make sure all your layers are expanded. You don't have to expand them to the point where they are exposing the actual <path> path layers. But do expand them so they are expanding all the proper names. For example, in my image below "Neighborhood Population" is expanded to reveal the sub-layers, which are categories of population. But since those category layers don't have sub-layers - they just have <paths> I didn't expand those. Expanding your layers just gives you a full view so you can do the next step.
  3. Unlock all the layers that you want to rotate, and lock all the layers that you don't want to rotate. Click on that gray area next to the eyeball to lock a layer. 
  4. Individually select only the layers that you want to rotate. You can do this by holding the Shift key and clicking on the gray space next to the circle-shaped button for each layer. When you click on this gay space, a tiny square will appear indicating that you have selected artwork in this layer.
  5. With all the layers that you want to rotate selected, go to Object --> Transform --> Rotate. You can check the Preview box if you want to make sure you're rotating in the right direction. Enter the amount you want to rotate, -16 degrees, 16 degrees, or whatever you wish.

This should work! 

Please message me (you can IM via GeoNet) if this solution doesn't work for you!

Sarah Bell

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KamillePreto
Occasional Contributor II

Hi Sarah,

I'm not sure how to IM you, I quickly looked through the options and wasn't able to find anything.  As far as the rotating, this is what happens when I rotate 16 degrees.  So the shape I am looking for no longer exists.  Any ideas how to fix this?

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SarahBell
Esri Contributor

It was good chatting with you and learning about your mapping process, Kamille! For the readers following for a solution, the issue was solved with the 5 steps above. But there was some confusion about the capability to rotate an Illustrator Artboard, which you cannot. The Artboard can only be resized, but the horizontal/vertical orientation cannot be rotated. If you're making a map that will need to be rotated in Illustrator, one trick is to start out with a large area (or larger page size) in Mapboard in #M4CC, and then crop the Artboard to the intended size once you are inside Illustrator.