Book Image

Mapping with ArcGIS Pro

By : Amy Rock, Ryan Malhoski
Book Image

Mapping with ArcGIS Pro

By: Amy Rock, Ryan Malhoski

Overview of this book

ArcGIS Pro is a geographic information system for working with maps and geographic information. This book will help you create visually stunning maps that increase the legibility of the stories being mapped and introduce visual and design concepts into a traditionally scientific, data-driven process. The book begins by outlining the steps of gathering data from authoritative sources and lays out the workflow of creating a great map. Once the plan is in place you will learn how to organize the Contents Pane in ArcGIS Pro and identify the steps involved in streamlining the production process. Then you will learn Cartographic Design techniques using ArcGIS Pro's feature set to organize the page structure and create a custom set of color swatches. You will be then exposed to the techniques required to ensure your data is clear and legible no matter the size or scale of your map. The later chapters will help you understand the various projection systems, trade-offs between them, and the proper applications of them to make sure your maps are accurate and visually appealing. Finally, you will be introduced to the ArcGIS Online ecosystem and how ArcGIS Pro can utilize it within the application. You will learn Smart Mapping, a new feature of ArcGIS Online that will help you to make maps that are visually stunning and useful. By the end of this book, you will feel more confident in making appropriate cartographic decisions.
Table of Contents (11 chapters)

Setting yourself up for a great map

ArcGIS Pro is a powerful desktop software that has been built from the ground up to allow a GIS professional to have a single place to deliver mapping products across multiple platforms. ArcGIS Pro was designed to be easier to approach for those who may have not come up using the soon to be legacy ArcGIS for Desktop suite. ArcGIS Pro uses a more scalable project management model from the beginning. This new model sets you up with an environment to store, reference, or process project-relevant data logically in multiple workspaces under one project.

For instance, with ArcGIS Desktop, you would have one map layout per MXD file. In a project that may need multiple maps, you would have to create an MXD for each map. Typically, you would store relevant MXDs with each other in a folder system on your local machine, or more preferably, a network drive. You would have to run multiple instances of ArcMap to make changes to them all, and unless you explicitly saved it, all the data connections and toolbars would stay on your local machine. With ArcGIS Pro, you store all your maps, workspaces, and data connections in one project in the .aprx file. That makes it easier for you or someone else to open the project up somewhere else and have the same environment.