I want to make a map

The goal of this lesson is to demonstrate how to make a simple map, suitable for inclusion in a publication, using ArcGIS Online. We will follow the typical workflow of starting with a base map, adding feature layers from external sources, drawing annotations on top of the map, and finally, preparing the map for presentation and exporting it. As an exercise, you will be creating a map that reflects your personal experience biking on the UCSB campus.

As we will discuss at the end of this lesson, there are many ways of making such a map without using a GIS tool. In fact, in many cases GIS is overkill, both because most of the features GIS tools provide will not be used and because the GIS interface can be cumbersome. But an advantage of GIS is that it opens up the possibility of treating map elements as data, and that in turn opens up and provides an introduction to the world of spatial analysis.

Introduction to ArcGIS Online

A brief tour of the interface and the different apps.

Log on to ArcGIS Online

https://www.arcgis.com/index.html

Single-sign on with your UCSB NetID to access the licensed features. You may need to enter the url “ucsb” into the space. It is entered below.
Do not use the ArcGIS Login. This is for users who do NOT have a UCSB Net ID.

Click “Continue” and enter your UCSB NetID credentials. You should have a similar landing page indicating that you are using the ArcGIS online under the UCSB license. You may need to authenticate with DUO on your phone.

Tour of the interface

The main organization page lists the campus administrative contacts and open data groups available on campus. You can also see the latest content published by users on your campus.

Along the top of the page, is the main tool bar.

Home will take you to the main landing page when you first sign in.
The Gallery lists content created by UCSB users which is viewable to everyone (with permissions)
Groups are a list of groups which you can create or join. Some are invitation only. These are popular when you are working in group projects.
Content is where your created or uploaded content is listed. You can make folders in here to organize your layers and features.
Notebooks is ESRI’s version of a Jupyterhub-like environment. You can use ArcPy here. This may not be available to you based on your user role.
Organization will take you back to our main page. This is not the same as Home.
Scene, or Scene Viewer is where you can create 3D GIS scenes, such as neighborhood models and digital twins.
Map, or Map Viewer is where you can create 2D maps. We will be focusing on using the Map Viewer for this workshop.

Next to your campus profile, is a meatball menu with a drop-down menu of the Esri Apps. There are many tools here, but for the context of this workshop, we will be focusing on ArcGIS Online and the Map Viewer.

The Map Viewer

Navigate to “Map” on your top menu bar and open a new map.

Map concepts

In the Map Viewer there is a menu bar in the left column. This is where you can add items to your map.

Basemap (background)
Layers (you add on top of the basemap)
Symbology & legend

The first item that is already added to the map is the foundational base map. This map cannot be altered and is static. You can move its location, but its features such as roads and buildings (if any) cannot be changed.

You can change the basemap in the Map Viewer. Go to “Basemap” in the menu column. These maps have been preselected as appropriate foundational basemaps.

You can also manually select a feature layer to use as your basemap.

It will initially show you “your content” but you can drop down and choose items from other places such as a group or from ucsb. Since you want an authoritative layer to be the basemap, you will want to choose something from the Living Atlas.

Layers in the Living Atlas have been vetted by ESRI and are maintained by organizations. Typically, government entities create and publish items here,such as USGS or NOAA..

The bottom example is the National Land Cover Model created and maintained by USGS.

Make sure you choose a basemap that is easy to follow and is a good reference.Searching for the term “basemap” will also query appropriate maps that can be used for this purpose.

What are feature layers?

With our example, you can also add it as a layer. When you add an item to your map, it will show up under your Layers. When you want to see the layer properties, you can eithr use the menu on the right hand column to view its properties or use the … next to the layer to open the same panel.

Step 1: Add layers to a base map

With that introduction, you now have the opportunity to start creating your own map. The goal here is to create a map of the bike infrastructure on campus, and to then annotate on top of that some of your personal experience as a bicyclist or pedestrian on campus.

Create a new map
Base layer
Import vector layer (bike paths)
Import polygon layer (buildings)
Save your work!

Step 2: Customize symbology & transparency

Based on data street_pavement

Create filter to show only bikepaths
Join 2 filters together to OR sidewalks
Adjust symbology in some way (TBD)

Step 3: Annotate the map

In addition to bringing external sources of information into a map (whether in the form of a base map or additional feature layers), it is common to want to add new information. In many cases it is better to think of the new information as data, and to store it in its own feature layer. We will be describing this approach in the next workshop. For our purposes here, though, we will take the more straightforward approach of simply drawing on the map. The hand-drawn features will appear in what ArcGIS Online calls a “sketch layer.”

Draw points where you were in a (near-)accident on a bike path, either as bicyclist of pedestrian.
Draw a line where you think there should be a bike path but isn’t.
Draw a circle where you think there should be a bike parking lot but isn’t.

Step 4: Prepare the map for publication

Almost there! At this point you’re ready to start packaging your map for publication.

Add a title
Add a legend
Add a scale bar (optional)

Other appoaches

There are many ways of making a simple map. Here are some alternative approaches.

By screen grabbing: Create a base layer by screen grabbing a source map displayed in a web browser window (e.g., Google Maps). Then, using a drawing tool (a dedicated drawing tool such as Adobe Illustrator, or any program that provides drawing tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint), import the screen grab and draw on top of that. [The following is probably too detailed…] It is possible to capture the base layer at higher-than-screen resolution by zooming in, panning and screen grabbing it in pieces, and merging the pieces using a tool like Adobe Photoshop. And by measuring distances between known points, and/or carefully keeping track of scale, it is possible to accurately position figures and annotations.
Google Earth
MapBox
OpenStreetMaps
CalTopo comes with a variety of base layers, including multiple types of topographic maps, and it provides a number of drawing and annotation tools. Certain features may require a subscription.

--- title: "I want to make a map" --- The goal of this lesson is to demonstrate how to make a simple map, suitable for inclusion in a publication, using ArcGIS Online. We will follow the typical workflow of starting with a base map, adding feature layers from external sources, drawing annotations on top of the map, and finally, preparing the map for presentation and exporting it. As an exercise, you will be creating a map that reflects your personal experience biking on the UCSB campus. As we will discuss at the end of this lesson, there are many ways of making such a map without using a GIS tool. In fact, in many cases GIS is overkill, both because most of the features GIS tools provide will not be used and because the GIS interface can be cumbersome. But an advantage of GIS is that it opens up the possibility of treating map elements as data, and that in turn opens up and provides an introduction to the world of spatial analysis. ## Introduction to ArcGIS Online A brief tour of the interface and the different apps. ### Log on to ArcGIS Online <https://www.arcgis.com/index.html> Single-sign on with your UCSB NetID to access the licensed features. You may need to enter the url "ucsb" into the space. It is entered below.\ Do not use the ArcGIS Login. This is for users who do NOT have a UCSB Net ID. ![](images/arcgis-login.png) Click "Continue" and enter your UCSB NetID credentials. You should have a similar landing page indicating that you are using the ArcGIS online under the UCSB license. You may need to authenticate with DUO on your phone. ![](images/arcgis-landingpage.png) ### Tour of the interface The main organization page lists the campus administrative contacts and open data groups available on campus. You can also see the latest content published by users on your campus. Along the top of the page, is the main tool bar. ![](images/main-menu-bar.png) - Home will take you to the main landing page when you first sign in. - The Gallery lists content created by UCSB users which is viewable to everyone (with permissions) - Groups are a list of groups which you can create or join. Some are invitation only. These are popular when you are working in group projects. - Content is where your created or uploaded content is listed. You can make folders in here to organize your layers and features. - Notebooks is ESRI's version of a Jupyterhub-like environment. You can use ArcPy here. This may not be available to you based on your user role. - Organization will take you back to our main page. This is not the same as Home. - Scene, or Scene Viewer is where you can create 3D GIS scenes, such as neighborhood models and digital twins. - Map, or Map Viewer is where you can create 2D maps. *We will be focusing on using the Map Viewer for this workshop.* Next to your campus profile, is a meatball menu with a drop-down menu of the Esri Apps. There are many tools here, but for the context of this workshop, we will be focusing on ArcGIS Online and the Map Viewer. ![](images/AGO-meatball-menu.png) ### The Map Viewer Navigate to "Map" on your top menu bar and open a new map. ![](images/map_viewer.png) ### Map concepts In the Map Viewer there is a menu bar in the left column. This is where you can add items to your map. - Basemap (background) - Layers (you add on top of the basemap) - Symbology & legend The first item that is already added to the map is the foundational base map. This map cannot be altered and is static. You can move its location, but its features such as roads and buildings (if any) cannot be changed. You can change the basemap in the Map Viewer. Go to "Basemap" in the menu column. These maps have been preselected as appropriate foundational basemaps. ![](images/usa-topomaps.png) You can also manually select a feature layer to use as your basemap. It will initially show you "your content" but you can drop down and choose items from other places such as a group or from ucsb. Since you want an authoritative layer to be the basemap, you will want to choose something from the Living Atlas. ![](images/adding-basemap.png) Layers in the Living Atlas have been vetted by ESRI and are maintained by organizations. Typically, government entities create and publish items here,such as USGS or NOAA.. The bottom example is the National Land Cover Model created and maintained by USGS. ![](images/USGS-NLCD-basemap-example.png) Make sure you choose a basemap that is easy to follow and is a good reference.Searching for the term "basemap" will also query appropriate maps that can be used for this purpose. ### What are feature layers? With our example, you can also add it as a layer. When you add an item to your map, it will show up under your Layers. When you want to see the layer properties, you can eithr use the menu on the right hand column to view its properties or use the ... next to the layer to open the same panel. ![](images/layer-properties.png) ## Step 1: Add layers to a base map With that introduction, you now have the opportunity to start creating your own map. The goal here is to create a map of the bike infrastructure on campus, and to then annotate on top of that some of your personal experience as a bicyclist or pedestrian on campus. - Create a new map - Base layer - Import vector layer (bike paths) - Import polygon layer (buildings) - Save your work! ## Step 2: Customize symbology & transparency Based on data `street_pavement` 1. Create filter to show only bikepaths 2. Join 2 filters together to *OR* sidewalks 3. Adjust symbology in some way (TBD) ## Step 3: Annotate the map In addition to bringing external sources of information into a map (whether in the form of a base map or additional feature layers), it is common to want to add new information. In many cases it is better to think of the new information as data, and to store it in its own feature layer. We will be describing this approach in the next workshop. For our purposes here, though, we will take the more straightforward approach of simply drawing on the map. The hand-drawn features will appear in what ArcGIS Online calls a "sketch layer." - Draw points where you were in a (near-)accident on a bike path, either as bicyclist of pedestrian. - Draw a line where you think there should be a bike path but isn't. - Draw a circle where you think there should be a bike parking lot but isn't. ## Step 4: Prepare the map for publication Almost there! At this point you're ready to start packaging your map for publication. - Add a title - Add a legend - Add a scale bar (optional) ## Step 5: Share your map - Online - Exporting to other formats (PNG, PDF) ## Other appoaches There are many ways of making a simple map. Here are some alternative approaches. - By screen grabbing: Create a base layer by screen grabbing a source map displayed in a web browser window (e.g., Google Maps). Then, using a drawing tool (a dedicated drawing tool such as Adobe Illustrator, or any program that provides drawing tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint), import the screen grab and draw on top of that. \[The following is probably too detailed...] It is possible to capture the base layer at higher-than-screen resolution by zooming in, panning and screen grabbing it in pieces, and merging the pieces using a tool like Adobe Photoshop. And by measuring distances between known points, and/or carefully keeping track of scale, it is possible to accurately position figures and annotations. - Google Earth - MapBox - OpenStreetMaps - [CalTopo](https://caltopo.com) comes with a variety of base layers, including multiple types of topographic maps, and it provides a number of drawing and annotation tools. Certain features may require a subscription.