Exercise 1: Working with cartographic products

Available with Production Mapping license.

Complexity:

Beginner

Data Requirement:

ArcGIS.com

Goal:

Configure the product library properties, explore the product library tree, and create new products, as well as check out a product from the library.

The product library can be viewed as a document management system for your products (map documents and data used to create the map). It is useful in organizations that produce maps with numerous staff to manage these cartographic documents in the ArcGIS system where the history, versions, and exclusive file locking are built in.

In this exercise, you will explore an existing product library, by adding additional products, as well as checking out a product from the product library database.

Exercise 1a: Configuring the product library properties

In this exercise, you will use the Product Library window to set a database as your product library, the central location for all your product files.

1. Start ArcMap.
2. Open the AOI.mxd.

   The AOI.mxd is located in the Cartography directory where the data was copied.

3. On the main menu, click Customize > Production > Product Library.

   The Product Library window appears.

   
4. If necessary, dock the Product Library window.
5. Right-click Product Library and click Select Product Library.

   The Choose Product Library Workspace dialog box appears.

   

6. Navigate to the ProductLibrary.gdb database.

   The ProductLibrary.gdb database is located in the directory where the data was copied.

7. Click Open.

   The Product Library window tree view is populated.

   

Exercise 1b: Exploring the Product Library tree view

The Product Library tree view is built with a fixed structure. In this exercise you will learn about the structure.

An existing Product Library tree view always displays a number of fixed levels: the top Product Library level with its Data Models and Products sublevels as well as the Production Data level. For most common cartographic workflows, you will work with the Products level. Directly under the Products level are the solution levels. A solution is a grouping of products or industries and can be added and removed. Two solutions are already added for you: City Maps and Topographic.

1. In the Product Library tree view, expand the Topographic level.

   

   Directly under the solution level are the product class levels. A product class is a type of product designed for a specific use. In this example, the specific use for each class is a collection of maps that cover each state in the United States.

2. Expand the Texas product class.

   

   Directly under the product class are the series levels. A series is a subgrouping of a product class based on a common geographic area or presentation style. In this product library, a series will be created for each county.

3. Expand the Travis County series level.

   

   Directly under the series level are product levels. A product is an individual map, chart, or cell of geographic data being created. In this product library, the counties are divided into 7.5-minute cells, and each cell is a unique product.

4. Expand the Buda product level.

   

   Directly under the product level are instance levels. An instance is the geographic extent on a product. An instance is associated with a data frame on the map document. In this product library, there is one instance (data frame) for each product.

5. Expand the Buda Texas instance level.

   

   Directly under the instance levels are the area of interest levels. An area of interest represents the specific geographic extent of the instance. In this product library, there is one area of interest for each instance.

   The check boxes that appear next to each level in the product library tree allow you to visualize the extent of each component.

6. Check the check box next to the Buda Texas instance.

   A polygon feature is drawn in the map displaying the location of the Buda product. This allows you to know what geographic area is covered by a map, without opening the map document. This is very useful if there are a number of maps and the names do not help you to easily understand what area is displayed by the map.

   

7. Uncheck the check box next to the Buda Texas instance.

   The polygon feature that displays the location of the Buda product is removed. You can click on other levels in the Product Library tree view to display the extent of the products or series.

   Notice that some of the products have different icons displayed next to them. For the Bee Cave, Manor, and Webberville products, notice that a little lock appears in the icon for the product. This indicates that someone else has the product checked out. This provides increased map document management and prevents multiple users from making edits to the same file at the same time. Exclusive map document locking to a single person prevents loss of document edits and promotes a fixed workflow structure.

8. Right-click the Bee Cave product.

   Notice that the Check Out Product command is disabled. This prevents other users from making changes to the product. The Manage Files tool can be used to discover who has the product checked out.

   

9. Click the Manage Files button at the top of the Product Library window.

   Tip:

   If you do not see the Manage Files button on the Product Library window, click the Expand (>>) button at the top of the window.

   The Files under Topographic Maps::Texas::Travis County::Bee Cave Texas dialog box appears.

   

10. Click the arrow next to the Views button and choose Details.

    The display in the Manage Files dialog box changes to describe some of the properties of the Bee Cave Texas.mxd. However, the field indicating who the file is checked out to is not displayed.

11. Right-click the header bar and click Checked Out To.

    

    The Checked Out To field is added to show who checked out the file.

12. Click the Close button in the upper-right corner of the dialog box.

Exercise 1c: Creating new products

Now that you have learned about the Product Library tree view, you will learn how to add new products to the product library. Two products are missing from the Travis County map series: Austin West and Austin East. The areas of interest for these products are displayed in the AOI layer of the AOI.mxd you currently have open.

1. Click the Select Feature by Rectangle tool on the Tools toolbar.
2. Select the Austin East and Austin West features.

   

3. Right-click the Travis County series and click Batch Import New Products.

   The Batch Import New Products dialog box appears.

4. Click the Product drop-down arrow and choose MSNAME.

   MSNAME is the field in the AOI feature class that contains the names of the map products: Austin East and Austin West.

5. Ensure that the Copy feature class attributes to product library check box is checked.

   

6. Click OK.

   When the import is complete, the Product Library tree view displays two new products: one for Austin East and one for Austin West.

   

   The geometry of each selected polygon is copied and used as the area of interest for a new product.

7. Check the check box next to the Austin East product.

   Notice that the AOI for Austin East matches the selected feature.

8. Click the Clear Selected Features button on the Tools toolbar to clear the selected features.
9. Uncheck the check box next to the Austin East product to turn off the product extent.
The product also consists of a .mxd. The map template for the Travis County series is stored at the series level in a .mxd format. Any products created within the Travis County series will inherit the template. A template can consist of layers, surround elements, and so forth. While the template is a good starting point, the product will likely need to be customized for cartographic purposes. To begin customizing the product, you will first check it out.

Exercise 1d: Checking out a product

To make changes to a product and prevent other users from modifying the product at the same time, the product must be checked out. In this exercise, you will check out the Austin East product to work with in future exercises.

1. Right-click the Austin East product and click Check Out Product.

   The Check Out Product dialog box appears.

   

2. Click the ellipsis (...) next to the Output Location field.

   The Browse For Folder dialog box appears.

   

3. Navigate to the directory where you copied the tutorial data and the Austin.gdb file is located.
4. Click OK.

   The Check Out Product dialog box appears with the path you defined.

5. Check the Open file check box.
6. Click OK.

   A message appears asking if you want to save changes to the AOI.mxd file.

7. Click No.

   The Checking Out Product dialog box appears indicating the progress of the checkout process.

8. Click OK to close the Checking Out Product dialog box.

   When the checkout is complete, the Austin East.mxd appears.

   

In Exercise 1b, you explored the Product Library tree view and saw that some products appear with a red lock. Notice that a green check mark now appears next to the Austin East product, indicating that the product is checked out to you. If other users point to the same product library, the Austin East level appears with a red lock for them.



This is the first time the newly created Austin East product has been checked out. The first time a product is checked out, a few things need to be configured and set in the map document. Notice a data frame in ArcMap's table of contents called Austin East. This is a new data frame product library added that was not in the template .mxd stored at the Travis County series level (previously discussed). This data frame was added to link to the product library's instance level (called Austin East) that was created when the AOI was imported. Because you already have a data frame in the .mxd you want to use, you will remove the one added by the product library and link the product library to your existing data frame.
9. In the Table Of Contents window, right-click the Austin East data frame and click Remove.

   Caution:

   Do not delete the Austin East Texas data frames.

   

10. In the Table Of Contents window, right-click the Austin East Texas data frame at the top and click Activate.
11. Right-click the Austin East Texas data frame again and click Properties.

    The Data Frame Properties dialog box appears.

    

12. On the Data Frame Properties dialog box, click the Product Library tab.
13. Navigate through the Topographic levels to locate the Austin East instance and select it.

    

14. Click Set and click OK to associate this specific instance in the product library to this data frame in the map document.
15. Save the MXD with the existing name.

In this exercise, you have set a database as your product library and explored the Product Library tree view. You have also added new products to the product library and checked out one of the newly created products. To learn how to create and modify grids and graticules layers, proceed to Exercise 2: Creating grids and graticules layers.