Automating Standard Maps Using ArcObjects

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Automating Standard Maps Using ArcObjects

• Mary Davis
• Chief Cartographer
• Virginia Economic Development Partnership
• 2006 Virginia GIS Conference
• Richmond, VA

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Automating Standard Maps

• Example of Application
• Outline of Methodology
• Sample Code
• Obstacles and Successes
• Demonstration of Similar Applications

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Demonstration of Application

• Basically the application runs queries.
• User inputs value (site number).
• Application finds polygon and zooms to it.
• Looks up matching fields in database to fill out
  text elements.
• Also takes County FIPS from database and zooms to
  county in inset data frame.

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Outline of Methodology

• Resources
• ESRI Training Introduction to Programming
  ArcObjects with VBA
• Visual Basic Course before ESRI course
• Books
• Getting to Know ArcObjects Programming ArcGIS
  with VBA, by Robert Burke, from ESRI Press
• Database Access Visual Basic 6, by Jeffrey
  McManus
• ArcObjects Online Forums

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Outline of Methodology

• Set up map in ArcMap the way you want it.
• Determine what can be static and what needs to be
  modified.
• Design Visual Basic forms for user interface.
• Write code or borrow and modify to fit your
  specific ideas and your data (See resources).
• Test and debug.
• Put into operation.

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Outline of Methodology

• Within code
• Declare variables for
• Map document
• Data frames
• Layers that will be modified
• User input
• Query statements and definition expressions
• Selection sets
• Text elements
• Active View

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Outline of Methodology

• Use variable from user input to make a query
  string
• Set site layer definition expression property
  to query string
• Select site based on site number then check to
  see if it exists in database
• Zoom in on site
• Search database for fields that contain county
  FIPS and text for text elements
• Extract data from those fields and put into
  variables
• Use similar code for other data frames (county
  state insets)

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Sample Code

• Declare variables for map document
• All ArcObjects applications start out with
• Dim pMxDoc As esriArcMapUI.IMxDocument
• Set pMxDoc ThisDocument
• Dim pMaps As esriCarto.IMaps
• Set pMaps pMxDoc.Maps
• Set the query statement
• Dim strQuery As String
• Dim pSiteNo As String
• pSiteNo VBA.StrConv(txtSiteNo.Text,
  vbUpperCase)
• strQuery "SITE_NO " pSiteNo
  "
• pSiteLayerDef.DefinitionExpression strQuery

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Sample Code

• Select site and check to see if it exists
• pFilterSite.WhereClause strQuery
• pFeatureSelection.SelectFeatures
  pFilterSite, esriCarto.esriSelectionResultNew,
  True
• If (pFeatureSelection.SelectionSet.Count 0)
  Then
• MsgBox "The site number you have entered
  does not exist."
• Exit Sub
• End If
• pFeatureSelection.Clear

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Sample Code

• Zoom in on site
• Dim pSiteActiveView As esriCarto.IActiveView
• Set pSiteActiveView pSiteMap
• pSiteActiveView.Extent pSiteLayer.AreaOfInte
  rest
• Dim pEnvelope As esriGeometry.IEnvelope
• Set pEnvelope pFeature.Extent
• pSiteActiveView.Extent pEnvelope
• pSiteMap.MapScale 24000
• pSiteActiveView.Refresh
• Repeat process with other data frames

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Sample Code

• Search database for correct fields for text
  elements
• Dim Y As Long
• Y pFCursor.FindField("sde_vector.SDE_EDIT.SI
  TES.FIPS")
• Dim W As Long
• W pFCursor.FindField("sde_vector.dbo.v_AllPr
  operties.PropertyName")
• If W -1 Then
• MsgBox "Cannot find site name. Exiting
  program.
• End If
• .
• Dim siteName As String
• Dim countyName As String
• Dim FIPScode As String
• siteName pFeature2.Value(W)
• countyName pFeature2.Value(Z)
• FIPScode pFeature2.Value(Y)
• 'Create county and site point query statements
• Dim strCountyQuery As String
• strCountyQuery "CFIPS '" FIPScode "'"

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Sample Code

• Put text into text elements
• Do Until pElementProp Is Nothing
• Select Case pElementProp.Name 'Case to
  see if element is title, subtitle, or date
• Case "StandardMapTitle"
• Set pTextElement pElementProp
• pTextElement.Text siteName
• Case "StandardMapSubtitle"
• Set pTextElement pElementProp
• pTextElement.Text countyName
• Case "StandardMapSubtitle2"
• Set pTextElement pElementProp
• pTextElement.Text pSiteNo
• Case "StandardMapDate"
• Set pTextElement pElementProp
• pTextElement.Text
  VBA.FormatDateTime(Now, vbShortDate)
• End Select
• Set pElementProp pGraphics.Next
• Loop

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Sample Code

• Refresh
• Dim pActiveView As esriCarto.IActiveView
• Set pActiveView pGraphics
• pActiveView.PartialRefresh esriCarto.esriViewGrap
  hics, Nothing, Nothing

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Obstacles and Successes

• Visual Basic is a complex language.
• Revising the program to use points for the
  Buildings layer rather than Site polygons was
  difficult.
• Getting the Title to fit in the Legend was a
  challenge.
• We entered everything in SDE for easy
  transferability to other users.
• We set up views of SQL tables to join to the
  Sites layer for easy database queries.

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Examples of Similar Applications

• Standard map showing regions.
• Program that RIPs a PDF of a standard map of each
  site in the database.

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Questions

• Mary Davis
• Virginia Economic Development Partnership
• 804-545-5686
• madavis_at_yesvirginia.org