Strip map index features can be used to define each page of your strip map. These features define the spatial extent and map rotation for each page along with providing the data that can be used to label the next and the previous pages.
The example above shows a strip map for the Rhine River between the cities of Köln and Koblenz. This 44-page series can be easily created by any ArcMap user with an Internet connection. The data comes from the World Topographic map service available at ArcGIS Online. You can easily re-create this strip map using Data Driven Pages, the geoprocessing tools available from the Data Driven Pages toolset, data frame properties, and dynamic text. You will need to create the line feature used to determine the route of the strip map. This can be done by creating a new line feature class using the ArcMap editing tools.
The following steps use the Strip_Map_Index_Features geoprocessing tool to create a strip map index feature class. This is the feature class used to define the map extents for the example strip map above. These steps assume you have completed the steps outlined in the following topics:
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Open the Strip_Map_Index_Features geoprocessing tool.
You can find the tool by opening Search and typing Grid Index Features, or you can locate the tool under Toolboxes > System Toolboxes > Cartography Tools > Data Driven Pages.
- Click Input Line Features arrow and choose the line layer Upper Rhine.
- Click the Output Feature Class browse button and specify the location and name for the grid index features you are about to create. For example, you can name this feature class strip_map_index and save it to your default geodatabase.
- Click the units arrow and choose Kilometers.
- Enter 2.4 for the Length Along the Line.
- Enter 1.8 for the Length Perpendicular to the Line.
- Click the Page Orientation arrow and choose VERTICAL.
- Leave the default values for Percentage of Overlap, Starting Page Number, and Strip Map Direction.
- Click OK.
A new feature class, strip_map_index is created, and if ArcMap is open, added to your active data frame. As you can see, there are some grids that only cover water. This feature class contains fields that are vital to creating a strip map. These fields include
- Angle
- LeftPage
- RightPage
- TopPage
- BottomPage
For more information on these fields and other fields created by this tool, see Strip_Map_Index_Features. The next step in creating the strip map is enabling Data Driven Pages.