Interactive Map Template - Add New Base Group

On an open Map Template, on the Map Template Editor Toolbar, click on Add Base Group. The Create New Base Group dialog is displayed. To display the dialog, you can also select the current map template and right-click to select Add New Base Group .

Use this dialog to add a new base group to the map template.

Create New Base Group dialog options

Controls

Base group types

From the list of Base groups provided, select a group to add to the map template. For example, select the Rectangle option, which can be used to create a map surround. A short description of the selected group will be displayed at the bottom of the dialog. When you have selected your group, click the OK button. The cursor will change to a cross-hair enabling you to interactively specify the location of your new base group. Once you have outlined the location of your new base group, the Map Template Properties dialog will be displayed. Specify all of the appropriate properties for your current base group, click the OK button, and your new group will be plotted onto your map template.

Application Notes

The properties for the base group just added will be shown directly after defining the placement for it. It is not necessary to change anything immediately in most cases. One can always come back later by double clicking on the item.

It is usually a good idea to pick a name for the base group at this stage (e.g. ViewTitles_Title1 or Margins_TextBlock2), because a template can quickly grow to contain many base groups and it makes template management simpler.

Base groups will render themselves based on the settings in their properties. Some base groups (e.g. ScaleBar) have a preview mode which will show what they will look like even if not enough information exists to render them properly (e.g. ScaleBar hooked to Data View with no extents defined).

A base group’s final output and position can also be influenced by using linking properties (e.g., align top of Title 1 with bottom of Data View + 10mm).