Working with the map


Summary
This topic provides an overview of working with the Map component in ArcGIS.

In this topic


Introducing the Map component

The Map is the primary object used for the display and organization of geographic information in ArcGIS. To support this, the Map is maintained as a collection of layers. The Map object has properties that operate on all layers within the map, such as spatial reference and map scale, as well as with methods that manipulate the map's layers. Additionally, the Map has global properties that aid in the analysis and navigation of the map. The Map object is a primary point for customization tasks because it not only manages layers of data, it is also a view and manages the drawing of all its data. Typical tasks with the Map object include adding a new layer, panning the display, changing the view extent (zooming functions), changing the spatial reference, and getting the currently selected features and elements.
Like most classes, the Map can simply be created and worked with as an object in applications. However, it is more common to obtain a reference to an existing map through map documents of other higher level objects. Instantiating a new Map object automatically creates the following related objects on which it relies: a ScreenDisplay object, which every view uses to manage the drawing window, and a new CompositeGraphicsLayer. See the following:

Working with Map events

The following discusses working with Map events:

Additional Map properties

The following are additional Map properties:






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