Latest Contributions by JoshuaDamron

Hua,   Managing our Public Works utilities I have gone down this road a little bit myself and as a result I have struggled with the same clutter issues.  In a nut shell, if two water mains intersect with a tee & four valves, the valve are only 4 or 5 feet apart, at 1�?�=200�?? scale you have one valve not four, for our  field crews to trust the maps they need to be able to see all of the information. A big obstacle each organization has to overcome in their own way is deciding whether they are going to map their utilities at their real world location or map them schematicly.  Mapping for schematic purposes is placing symbols based on clarity at the scale of their paper map book pages, even if they end up 15' away from their real world location.  In my organization we have mapped our utilities at their real world locations believing that in the future tablets will be so common that everyone will be able to zoom in on a digital map wherever they are and paper books will go away.  Also for our engineers in the office, they don�??t use the paper maps anymore they instead enjoy the accuracy of the information they can find in our electronic maps.  Here is a link to a thread (http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/9312-Water-and-Waste-Water-Symbols) with a very good dialogue between several users working through the same issue you are in.  In the thread Tomsriv uploaded an attachment that shows he achieved the insets you are wanting, and in my opinion his example map book page is both beautiful and packed with information.  However, insets were achieved by having a separate utility feature dataset for the insets.  The features in these insets are a duplicate of the actual mapped data drawn for schematic clarity (essentially maintaining two sets of identical data drawn to different scales).  This duplicate magnified data lives in the map/data view, not in the paper space/layout view.  In the "real world" the magnified data is drawn at a location that is empty of information and close enough to the detailed area to be visually connected.  The reason for creating a separate feature dataset and drawing the features in the data view is because at this time it is not possible to have the data driven pages cycle through both the page grid and an inset grid; even if it were possible for data driven pages to cycle through both the page grid and inset grid then you would still have to make the insets relocate for each page so they don�??t cover up relevant information.  This is a lot to ask of ArcGIS and this is why all Tomsriv�??s insets are drawn in the data view.  If your organization is really pushing for magnified inset views, you may try to adjust the layout of your paper space/layout view to create fixed boxes where the insets can live along the edge of the page (this would eliminate the issue of them having to move with the different pages).  I'm not certain if data driven pages can track two different grids.  The hard part about this would be if you have a page with more than one inset then you would need more inset boxes, while on a page with no insets these boxes would all be blank.  The loss of page real estate would likely make this impractical. I hope this helps, post back with any questions as you work through this issue. ... View more

Great tip Cartographer!  It will get me by until ESRI makes the needed improvements. ... View more

Yes, this is not very difficult to do.  ArcGIS does a good job of making symbolizing features based on numerical quantities easy to achieve. From your description it sounds like you want to symbolize your line features by graduated symbols (http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#/Using_graduated_symbols/00s500000024000000/).  Using graduated symbols you set the Field Value to the numeric field you desire to use (car volume per hour).  To adjust the value ranges being used click the �??Classify�?��?� button.  Here are some other resources that aren�??t specific to your question but may help to familiarize you with how to create custom lines: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgzVUU7wXkM http://resources.arcgis.com/en/help/main/10.1/index.html#//00s60000000p000000 Post back with any additional questions! ... View more

Another method could be to create a circle with the desired radius. To do this you would create either a line or polygon shapefile/feature class in Arc Catalog, probably a polygon. Then while in an edit session you select "circle" from the "construction tools" listed at the bottom of the "Create Features" tool bar. You then select the center of your circle and set the radius (Ctrl + R). Obviously the radius has to be written in the units the map is set to (typically feet in the USA) unless you are using abbreviations as discussed here: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001t00000008000000.htm  . You can learn about more keyborad shortcuts here: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//00660000025m000000 Hope this helps! ... View more

Joshua, your response is a really good one. Although I have found that just because Illustrator files are not spatially referenced they are not "stagnant" by any means. Illustrator can open up an entire universe of color and other high-quality printing functions that simply do not exist in the limited sphere of ArcGIS. G You are absolutly right... I used the word "stagnant" to ensure that someone with Illustrator expierince would chime in their two cents...  I guess it worked 🙂 As I mentioned before I had a friend show me how to clean up GIS maps in Illustrator and I was surprised how easy it was to do some basic tweaks that gave the end product a very clean "finished" look.  If I had the flexibility I'd be all over it.  And yes... Imus is THE MAN!! ... View more

I don't think there is a tool specifically for splitting a line by elevation, but if you have elevation contour lines then you can export the contour lines out to a new line layer at intervals of 120 meters and use the intersections between these contours and your streets layer to split your streets. If don't have contour lines but you have a TIN ("Trianglular Irregular Network") or DEM ("Digital Elevation Model")surface data set and a 3D Analyst license you can use the Contours tool (http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//00q900000021000000) to create contours at 120 meter intervals.  Then where the contour lines intersect the street lines you could break/split the street lines. There are two methods to do this: 1) You can use the "Splitting lines at intersections with Planarize Lines" (http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001t0000008t000000.htm) 2) You could do this by creating points at the intersections then split the street line by those new points.  To create the points you would merge both the streets and elevation contours lies into one feature class using the Merge tool (http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001700000055000000).  With this new merged feature class you can create a Geometric Network (http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//002r00000001000000) (While you wouldn't need the network that this process creates, a byproduct of this process is that it automatically creates points at intersections).   Then you can go back to your original streets feature class and use these new intersection points with the Split Line at Point tool: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesk...0000003w000000 I hope that this is helpful! ... View more

Yes, there is a relitively easy method to join/merge the segments - The Merge Tool! The merge tool comes in a few differetn shapes and sizes.  the ones I know about are: If the features are all in the same feature class/shape file you can use this tool found in the Editor pull down menu: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001t0000007q000000.htm  (I fequently use this tool so I've added it as a button on my toolbars using Customize: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//002400000005000000.htm) If your data is in different feature classes then you can use the Merge geoprocessing tool: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001700000055000000 There's also a "Merge Divided Roads" tool, but I don't think it's what you are looking for: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//00700000000w000000 If you have any other questions just post back! ... View more

Came across this thread in the water utilities forum: http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/72813-Sewer-Service-laterals looking at the  PDF attached to the first posts it would appear that getting lines to autogenerate at points along a line is not rocket science... but I'm not sure what exactly the process is either... Please do post back here as you make progress as it will help the many people like you and I who are trying (either now or in the future) to figure out the riddle. ... View more

These terms are not "GIS" terms, they've been around for a while.  I�??ve always understood that watershed and drainage basins are different terms for the same thing, an area where water drains to the same place.  The term catchment is typically the same thing but the word refers to the amount of water caught in a given area of a basin/watershed. I Googled "arcGIS 10 watershed basin catchment" to see if in ArcGIS terms the words mean something different and I came onto this: http://www.crwr.utexas.edu/gis/gishydro00/ArcGIS/Chapter4/chapter4.pdf �??Catchments and watersheds are land areas that drain to a Hydro Network. The determination of their boundaries is necessary when modeling a hydrologic system. Drainage boundaries are used in water availability studies, water quality projects, flood forecasting programs, as well as many other engineering and public policy applications. Accurate drainage boundaries are essential for accurate modeling studies. Through the ArcGIS Hydro Data Model and associated ArcInfo functionality, watershed and catchment boundaries may be determined accurately and repeatedly in an automated fashion... �?�A catchment is defined as the land area that contributes runoff to a given Hydro Edge. In the ArcGIS Hydro Data Model, catchments are intimately associated with the Hydro Edge about which they are formed, and as such are referred to as Edge Catchments. Any raindrop falling on an Edge  Catchment has a unique path to a Hydro Edge and thus to being routed down through the Hydro Network. Edge Catchments are polygon features in the data model�?��?� Their graphics explain things pretty well. Hope this helps. ... View more

I understand that you have data (likely from a CCTV inspection) that gives you distances from the manhole point to a lateral tap in the mainline.  You want to use this footage data to automate mapping of laterals.  Ideally the process would draw a line from the property to the main at the correct location. (EDIT: I just re-read your post, you said you have stationing... but you don't have the distance from the manhole to the station?  I think I'm missing something...). If this is correct then I understand what you would like to achieve, I'm not sure ArcGIS will do exactly what you are hoping in one fell swoop.  I'm stepping outside my expertise here so I�??m going to point you in the right direction then bank on others chiming in to clarify the missing links and issues where my assumptions are off. I have not done this task but I�??ve thought about how it could be done.  For my municipality, we are in the process of purchasing sewer inspection software that will automate mapping point observations along the mainline and create point shape files from the observations as well�?� I guess this was my method of avoiding this issue for the time being. As I understand it the way to get dots on a line is by setting up linear referencing which works with �??M�?� values,  M values are basically stationing values of a distance along the line.  M values are necessary for working with �??routes.�?�  I know that routes sound like something you would use for vehicle directions but they do a bit more than that. Here are a few blog posts that I found helpful in understanding how M values & routes work: http://eaglemap.com/blog/bid/46766/How-to-Calculate-Pipeline-Length-in-ArcMap http://eaglemap.com/blog/bid/46805/How-to-Add-Measure-Station-Values-to-Pipelines-in-ArcMap In theory that will get you on your way to placing vertices along a line where they belong in the real world.  I�??m not certain how you turn those into points though.  (EDIT: you may try using the Feature Verticies to Points  tool http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//00170000003p000000 ) (this is a good place for someone else to jump in) Once you have points, the next trick is getting the lines in�?� I know I found a blog or forum post about this a while back but I�??m not sure where it is or what it would be called but there is a tool/process for connecting points/ drawing lines at a set direction from points.  In the example I had seen they had used it for drawing a line from a hydrant at an angle perpendicular to the nearest water main that then connected the hydrant to the water main (If I stumble onto it again I�??ll post back here). It seem seems like you can use this same process to extend a line from your lateral tap point to a parcel boundary or building poly boundary, therein giving you a line to the property (I�??m not sure how you would designate which direction to extend the line towards).  Obviously if you had property line cleanouts mapped you would want to connect to those but I�??m not sure how you would connect a specific point to a specific point with out giving them all matching numbers�?� That�??s all the theoretical talk I�??ve got for the day!  I hope this all helps you some how! Post back with what you learn cause I'd love to know! ... View more

I did a google search for "ArcGIS 10 create raster from polygon" and came upon this: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001200000008000000 I thin that's the tool you are looking for.  Post back if I missed your question... Hope this helps! ... View more

In 9.3.1 I could have a large area made up of multiple parcels representing an Official Plan for example and I could also have a specific parcel representing a different Official Plan. (two separate polygons) However, in 10.0 when I attempt the same thing, the smaller parcel appears to be automatically "absorbed" into the larger parcel rather than being created and considered its own polygon within the larger area. Darren,   Are you still experiencing this issue? I work with similar data and have similar maps where I am mapping overlapping recorded maps.  I have not encountered the issue you described.  Could you clarify what you mean by absorbing?  Does absorbed mean that the features are being merged into one feature (no longer two unique features)?  Or do you mean that when printing/viewing the data the symbology between the two features is not unique?  Or one feature is hidden by another features overlapping symbology? Post back with some more info and we'll help you resolve your issue. ... View more

I think you want to go into your .pdf driver and create a custom paper size.  Then you can use this custom paper size to set up your page properties in ArcGIS. Post back with what you have tried and the Forum will be able to help you out some more. ... View more

Everything looks fine on the .mxd and the .pdf files. However, when I print, it has long lines that stretch across large areas where they do not belong. Using a layer multiple times shouldn't be an issue. So you can print to .PDF with no problem.  Do you get the lines when you print your .pdf to the massivley awsome printer or just when you print from the .mxd to the massively awesome printer??  As you probably know, often if ArcGIS is spitting out funky lines it will spit them out regardless of the destination printer (in your case .pdf or hard copy). I have experinced slightly similar issues in the past and each time I ended up finding that it was an issue with the printer driver.  I would encourage you to check to see that your drivers are up to date and/or if there aren't new drivers available. Post back letting the Forums know if printing .pdf to paper printer is working or not and we'll trouble shoot from there. ... View more

Tarun's links should get you going.  I don't have Illustrator but when I was taking classes the college lab had illustrator and I played around with it.  A fellow GIS friend was very adept with Illustrator and blew my mind with how finely you can detail your map�?� you can get it perfect. Illustrator is very cool for making sexy maps, you have total and complete control over everything.  To perfect a map in Illustrator you basically set up your map in ArcGIS to look as close to how you want it as you can, you get your legend as perfect as you can, then you perform a map export to a .svg file (Scalable Vector Graphic), its been a while but I think that was what I used...  Now you tweak away until you reach that perfection. The bummer is that in illustrator you lose all ties to ArcGIS, meaning the data is no longer living data but stagnant.  It can't go back into GIS and if the GIS data changes significantly then you are likely creating a new map from scratch in illustrator.  The benefit to Illustrator is that you can go into the finest details perfecting your map.  A lot of the gorgeous maps you see on display (even many of those that win awards at ESRI conferences) are actually made with Illustrator. I think the question of Illustrator vs. GIS is really dependent on what your job requires and how much time you can commit to your end product.  I work for a municipality and I make many maps that are updated annually or several times a year as the data changes.  Exporting to Illustrator doesn't make sense in this situation.  Additionally I get flak for spending more than three hours on a map.  Everyone assumes "you just print it out from the GIS right?�?�  You have to ask yourslef what level of quality does your work environment demand/require? I'm sure that once you are good with Illustrator and you have your workflows down then the time investment greatly diminishes, however for my work environment I could never justify the cost of the software let alone the time required to master the end product...  Boy would I love to though... Hope this little bit of insight helps�?� ... View more