Strip Map Index Features (Cartography)—ArcMap

Summary
Usage
Syntax
Code sample
Environments
Licensing information

Summary

Creates a series of rectangular polygons, or index features, that follow a single linear feature or a group of linear features. These index features can be used with Data Driven Pages to define pages in a strip map or a set of maps that follow a linear feature. The resulting index features contain attributes that can be used to rotate and orient the map on the page and determine which index features, or pages, are next to the current page (to the left and right or to the top and bottom).

Usage

The line features cannot be in a geometric network.
If you use the Use Page Unit and Scale parameter, the Map Scale parameter is required. If ArcMap is open, the map scale of the active data frame will be used; otherwise, the default value is 1. If you specify the size of the index features in map space and Use Page Unit and Scale is not selected, Map Scale is not required or needed.
The resulting index features are created with a number of attributes. These attributes include PageNumber, GroupId, SeqId, Previous, Next, LeftPage, RightPage, TopPage, BottomPage and Angle.
- Angle is a numeric value expressing the rotation angle needed by the map (data frame) to align the edges of the index feature with the edges of a layout page. To keep within cartographic conventions, these angles are calculated to keep North oriented toward the top of the page as much as possible. Angles are calculated against the default orientation of a map, where 0 degrees is due North, 90 degrees is due East, 180 degrees is due South, and -90 degrees is due West.
- PageNumber is an incremental number assigned to each index feature.
- GroupId is an integer assigned to all the index features in a connecting chain or group of line features. Strip Map Index Features results can include multiple groups. Usually, a single group will originate from a connected set of line features or from a single line with multiple, unconnected parts. Index features created from individual, unconnected line features will be assigned to separate groups. GroupId values are unique and are derived from the ObjectID of the first line feature in the given chain.
- SeqId is an incremental number assigned to each index feature based on the creation order for the feature in each group.
- PrevPage is the PageNumber value for the previously created index feature. This field is used in analyzing the creation order of index features. Do not use this field to run dynamic text for a Data Driven Page. Use the LeftPage, RightPage, TopPage, and BottomPage fields for dynamic text.
- Next is the PageNumber value for the next index feature created. This field is used in analyzing the creation order of index features. Do not use this field to run dynamic text for a Data Driven Page. Use the LeftPage, RightPage, TopPage, and BottomPage fields for dynamic text.
- LeftPage, RightPage, TopPage, and BottomPage are useful when incorporating the results into Data Driven Pages. LeftPage is the PageNumber value of the index feature that appears to the left of the current index feature after the rotation has been applied. RightPage is the PageNumber of the index feature to the right. TopPage and BottomPage are the values for the index features to the top and bottom, respectively.
When Use Page Unit and Scale is selected, the units for Length Along the Line and Length Perpendicular to the Line automatically change to the page units set in the active map document (if ArcMap is open) or to inches if you are using the tool outside an ArcMap session. For best results, these units should be specified in page units such as inches or centimeters. If Use Page Units and Scale is not selected, units should be specified in map units such as meters, feet, kilometers, miles, or decimal degrees.

Syntax

arcpy.cartography.StripMapIndexFeatures(in_features, out_feature_class, {use_page_unit}, {scale}, {length_along_line}, {length_perpendicular_to_line}, {page_orientation}, {overlap_percentage}, {starting_page_number}, {direction_type})

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
in_features	The input polyline features defining the path of the strip map index features.	Feature Layer
out_feature_class	The output feature class of polygon index features.	Feature Class
use_page_unit (Optional)	Specifies whether index feature size input is in page units. USEPAGEUNIT —Index polygon height and width are calculated in page units. NO_USEPAGEUNIT —Index polygon height and width are calculated in map units. This is the default.	Boolean
scale (Optional)	Map scale must be specified if index feature lengths (along the line and perpendicular to the line) are to be calculated in page units. If you're using ArcMap, the default value will be the scale of the active data frame; otherwise, the default will be 1.	Long
length_along_line (Optional)	The length of the polygon index feature along the input line feature specified in either map or page units. The default value is determined by the spatial reference of the input line feature or features. This value will be 1/100 of the input feature class extent along the x axis.	Linear Unit
length_perpendicular_to_line (Optional)	The length of the polygon index feature perpendicular to the input line feature specified in either map or page units. The default value is determined by the spatial reference of the input line feature or features. This value will be one-half the number used for the length along the line.	Linear Unit
page_orientation (Optional)	Specifies the orientation of the input line features on the layout page. VERTICAL —The direction of the strip map series on the page is top to bottom. HORIZONTAL —The direction of the strip map series on the page is left to right. This is the default.	String
overlap_percentage (Optional)	The approximate percentage of geographic overlap between an individual map page and its adjoining pages in the series. The default is 10.	Double
starting_page_number (Optional)	The page number of the starting page. Each grid index feature is assigned a sequential page number beginning with the specified starting page number. The default is 1.	Long
direction_type (Optional)	Specifies the initial direction of the strip maps. WE_NS —If the line's directional trend is West to East, the starting point will be at the westernmost end of the line, or if the line's direction trend is North to South, the starting point will be at the northernmost end of the line. This is the default. WE_SN —If the line's directional trend is West to East, the starting point will be at the westernmost end of the line, or if the line's direction trend is South to North, the starting point will be at the southernmost end of the line. EW_NS —If the line's directional trend is East to West, the starting point will be at the easternmost end of the line, or if the line's direction trend is North to South, the starting point will be at the northernmost end of the line. EW_SN —If the line's directional trend is East to West, the starting point will be at the easternmost end of the line, or if the line's direction trend is South to North, the starting point will be at the southernmost end of the line.	String

Code sample

StripMapIndexFeatures example 1 (Python window)

The following example creates strip map index features based on the input line features with index feature dimensions specified for a layout page.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = 'C:\data\ProjectData.gdb'
arcpy.StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography('lines', 'indexFeatures',
                                        'USEPAGEUNIT', 500000,
                                        '7 inches', '5 inches')

StripMapIndexFeatures example 2 (stand-alone script)

The following example creates strip map index features based on the input line features with index feature dimensions specified for a layout page.

# Description: Creates a series of strip map index features based on inputed
# line features with index feature dimensions specified for a layout page.

# Import system modules
import arcpy

# Set environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = r"C:\data\ProjectData.gdb"

# Set local variables
inFeatures = "line"
outFeatureClass = "indexFeatures"
usePageUnit = "USEPAGEUNIT"
scale = "500000"
lenA = "7 Inches"
lenP = "5 Inches"

# Execute StripMapIndexFeatures
arcpy.StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography(inFeatures, outFeatureClass,
                                        usePageUnit, scale, lenA, lenP)

StripMapIndexFeatures example 3 (Python window)

The following example creates strip map index features based on the input line features with index feature dimensions specified in map units with an overlap of 0.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = 'C:\data\ProjectData.gdb'
arcpy.StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography('lines', 'indexFeatures', '',
                                        '', '10 kilometers', '5 kilometers')

StripMapIndexFeatures example 4 (stand-alone script)

The following example creates strip map index features based on the input line features with index feature dimensions specified in map units with an overlap of 0.

# Description: Creates a series of strip map index features based on inputed
# line features with index feature dimensions specified in map units with an
# overlap set at 0.

# Import system modules
import arcpy

# Set environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = r"C:\data\ProjectData.gdb"

# Set local variables
inFeatures = "line"
outFeatureClass = "indexFeatures"
lenA = "10 Kilometers"
lenP = "5 Kilometers"

# Execute StripMapIndexFeatures
arcpy.StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography(inFeatures, outFeatureClass, "",
                                        "", lenA, lenP)

StripMapIndexFeatures example 5 (Python window)

The following example creates strip map index features based on the input line features with index feature dimensions specified for a layout page and the page orientation set as vertical.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = 'C:\data\ProjectData.gdb'
arcpy.StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography('lines', 'indexFeatures',
                                        'USEPAGEUNIT', 500000, '5 inches',
                                        '7 inches', 'VERTICAL')

StripMapIndexFeatures example 6 (stand-alone script)

The following example creates strip map index features based on the input line features with index feature dimensions specified for a layout page and the page orientation set as vertical.

# Description: Creates a series of strip map index features based on inputed
# line features with index feature dimensions specified for a layout and
# the page orientation set as vertical.

# Import system modules
import arcpy

# Set environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = r"C:\data\ProjectData.gdb"

# Set local variables
inFeatures = "line"
outFeatureClass = "indexFeatures"
usePageUnit = "USEPAGEUNIT"
scale = "500000"
lenA = "7 Inches"
lenP = "5 Inches"
pageOrientation = "VERTICAL"

# Execute StripMapIndexFeatures
arcpy.StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography(inFeatures, outFeatureClass,
                                        usePageUnit, scale, lenA, lenP,
                                        pageOrientation)

StripMapIndexFeatures example 7 (Python window)

The following example creates strip map index features based on the input line features with specifications for feature dimensions in map units, starting page number, and strip map direction.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = 'C:\data\ProjectData.gdb'
arcpy.StripMapIndexFeatures_cartography('lines', 'indexFeatures', '', '',
                                        '10 kilometers', '5 kilometers',
                                        '', '', 5, 'EW_SN')

StripMapIndexFeatures example 8 (stand-alone script)