Latest Contributions by RickCheney

Thank you Dan and Abdullah, I wish there was a way to mark both answers as correct.  Abdulah, I really appreciate the specific instructions to use Define Projection tool not Project tool.  Dan, your explanation that "NAD83 is a datum, which just describes the 'shape' of earth"  was very helpful to me. I was using the Define Projection tool, but I was typing 4269 into the search box which was giving me a GCS.  After reading your advice, I clicked on Projected Coordinate Systems instead and then chose the PCS and UTM Zone appropriate for the location and it worked perfectly. ... View more

Thank You!  thank worked perfectly.  I used the Windows Search on the main menu bar at the top and searched for multipart to singlepart. I deleted the small part and then Reshaped the large part, and then right-clicked on the Layer in the Table of Contents and Saved As Layer File. ... View more

This just saved me so much time messing around with tools, so thank you!!! ... View more

I should have included screen shots of the contour lines.  Most are closed but a few are open.  I should have mentioned that there are two layers, one with the contour lines and another that is a TIN which show the depth inside of the contour lines.  Converting the contour areas to polygon removes the depth data. Maybe my question should be, how can I clip or re-create the TIN so that the TIN only shows the area within the contours.  Maybe this is happening because some of the contour lines are not closed?  If that is the problem, is it possible to edit the contours to "close" some of the lines?   ... View more

Thanks for the help, to solve the problem, I changed the properties of the DEM symbology.  I used Classification and used the drop-down to change the number of Classes to 32, then I used the Information tool to find the elevation of the low land areas, then, in the Color Ramp, in the Range, I clicked on that color and changed it to no color.  Then I used a base shape file below the DEM and gave the base a symbol and color to look like swamp/marsh. UPDATE:  The solution above works ok, but there is also an alternate solution that works well.  I used the Information icon/tool (looks like the lower-case letter "i" in a blue circle, and clicked on the area of the DEM that was swamp and that gave me the specific value for that area (in this case 379.19).  In the DEM Properties, I choose Stretched and checked the box for Display Background Value.  I put the value 379.19 in the Background Value box and clicked the "as" drop-down and selected No Color.  Then I used a base shape file below the DEM and gave the base a symbol and color to look like swamp/marsh. ... View more

Steve,  I used Kriging through the spatial analyst toolbar, using the Ordinary Method and spherical semivariogram model. I am working to get an image up. One problem may be that the Coordinate system for the points is in WGS1984 instead of NAD 1983 Zone 18?  ... View more

Hey Rickey, thanks for your advice and suggestions.  The map is working fine again.  It stopped displaying the overylay for about two weeks and now it's showing the overlay and the rectangle again. ... View more

Thank You!  the erase tool worked perfectly and fast. ... View more

I just did did the steps as described and it worked perfectly. So easy!  Thank you so much for your help. ... View more

I believe anyone looking for this technique in ArcMap 10.x this workflow is used  Variable depth masking: Contour label example | ArcGIS Blog  in ArcGIS Pro 2.x it is layer masking, but this current write up needs some clarity Mask features—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop  ... View more

Thank you for your advice.  I thought maybe there was a property or something that I was missing.  I will convert to graphics. ... View more

Thank You Robert, Wes and Ajitkumar for your help.  Everybody was correct and it turns out that I was just making little stupid mistakes with various things.  In the end, I opened a blank map, set the CRS to the same as my good map.   Used the drawing tool to add a "Marker", it doesn't matter what kind of marker, size shape or color, just add a marker.  Right-click on the "New Data Frame" bold text at the top of the Table of Contents, select Convert Features to Graphics, and then in the bottom box I selected Shape file.  Then I closed the blank map without saving.  I opened my good map, added the shape file.  Set the Legend parameters to show Items that are on checked on the table of contents (un-check that box) and un-check the box for Only Show Classes that are visible in the current map extent. Then I changed the symbol for the new shape file and picked a black diamond from the list of symbols. Then, I my map, I switched all the gold diamond text things to a standard black diamond marker. Thanks again to everybody, I learned something from each answer and each step got me a little closer. ... View more

Thank you Dan and Melita for all your help.  I think the problem is that there is a small part of the map that is based on a different coordinate system.  I will look for different data. I used the Define Projection tool to make all the layers 4269, as most of the layers are supposed to be, and the map looked correct until I Defined the Projection of the data frame to 4269, then the map got out of shape, so, for now, I will leave the data frame with a different projection than all the layers. Data Frame is NAD_1983_UTM_Zone_15N WKID: 26915 Authority: EPSG.  I plan to study this more and at some point, re-do the map correctly. ... View more

The reason I am marking this answer as correct is because it provides step-by-step instructions for someone searching this forum with a similar question.. The original answer was supplied by Darren Weins and is also the correct answer. There are many ways to achieve the same result and many correct answers, anyone with a similar task can choose which method is best for them. Thank You, all of you who helped me along this steep learning curve. ... View more

I used the Reduce font size option in the Maplex Labeling Engine and the results are exactly what I need.  This saved me from individually making custom labels for hundreds of lakes. Is it possible to mark more than one answer as the correct answer?  All three answers were very helpful.  I will use the Define Classses feature to write Expressions for custom labels when I need that.  I was not aware that I could use Expressions like that. The Reduce font size option was perfect but I did not know that the Maplex Labeling Engine existed so I would have had a hard time figuring that out until Chad mentioned Maplex and then I found it.  In ArcMap 10.3.1 I found it under the drop-down menus along the top, Customize >> Toolbars >> Labeling  then under the Labeling drop-down on the left side of the Labeling toolbar, pick Use Maplex Label Engine. Thank you all, you saved me a lot of time. ... View more