Stylising maps in ArcGIS with Excel: easy, fast and precise

Smarter ArcGIS Pro: automatic styling from Excel

This time I will share with you one of the most beautiful developments I have been working on in ArcGIS Pro, I think it is an interesting idea that can even be replicated by ESRI in the future.

This and other ideas that I will be sharing are focused on the integration and democratization of processes, as a strategy to achieve the optimization of workflows in companies.

I will explain it in detail below.

INTRODUCTION. THE CHALLENGE OF CREATING MAPS

The most common task in a geographic information system is the creation of a map. After all, the map can be both a component and the final product of a project.

For a GIS analyst creating a map is a beautiful and challenging task, it may require the design and validation of workflows, data processing, multiple geoprocessing, integration of vector and raster data, visual interpretation of imagery, field outputs and many more.

However, cartographic work is technical and at the same time artistic, although a map must meet a number of criteria and standards, formal aspects can be relaxed or even omitted, depending on the target audience and the purpose of the map.

Technical-formal criteria and subjective criteria, such as generating an attractive, different and avant-garde product, alienated from the company's policy, compete in the consolidation of the representation.

In this context, the person in charge of creating these products can be overwhelmed, trying to balance the technical requirements and those requested by the other levels of the company. This is exacerbated if the management structure requires that approval of the map must go through several processes.

Of course, the speed of delivery of anywhere from one to hundreds of maps can turn a beautiful job into a nightmare.

ADVANCES OF GIS IN CARTOGRAPHIC DESIGN

This situation is not unknown, which is why the main GIS applications, notably ArcGIS and QGIS, have significantly increased their capabilities in this field:

• Generation of maps and reports in series.
• Portability and recreation of styles by means of files (layer files).
• Configuration of multiple maps and print layouts within a project, even within the same map.
• Multiple colour palettes and configuration options (RGB, Hexadecimal etc).
• Transparency controls at all levels
• Infinite styles including dynamic styles.
• Ability to add multiple elements: geometry, images, graphs, tables, etc.
• And much more.

MOTIVATION

Despite technological advances, optimising certain stages of the map creation process is still a challenge, I will highlight some of them:

1.- The first time a type of map is created a manual process is followed, which depending on the communication in the company, bureaucracy, trust in the analyst and other aspects can be manual and iterative.

2.- Request for adjustments: Has it ever happened to you that after finishing one or many maps you are asked to alter the colours, thicknesses and transparencies of some layers?

The time required for such a task can be significant, as it alters the balance of contrasts and tonality achieved so far, especially in multi-layered maps.

However, such activity is generally perceived as trivial, elementary and quick.

3.- And then more adjustments: even after the requested changes are made, a higher level of administration or a customer request may require a new adjustment, to cite (and exaggerate) a few examples:

‘The company has become alienated from environmental conservation, it modifies the colours so that the thematic layers of interest degrade into shades of green’.

‘Our company colour is yellow, it changes the layers representing the company's assets to degrade from orange to yellow".

4.- Congestion point: as the GIS analyst is the only one manipulating the map, the process flow stops until he/she makes one or more adjustments.

PROPOSED SOLUTION

Identifying and resolving bottlenecks with agile solutions is a fundamental aspect of any organisation. If a process requires the participation of several people, the logical solution is to develop an instrument where those involved can use and express the consensus of their opinions.

This case shows an elegant and flexible solution still under development that allows updating the style properties of the layers present on the map by taking them from an excel table.

STYLING MAPS IN ArcGIS Pro WITH Excel

Here is a demonstration with a set of environmental data, specifically watersheds, sub-watersheds, vegetation cover, settlements, hydrography and weather stations for a region of Venezuela.

ADVANTAGES OF THE PROPOSAL

1. Integration and democratisation: the spreadsheet can be delivered to all those involved, on the basis of which the most appropriate configuration can be agreed.
2. Standardisation: the organisation can define a configuration that complies with the company's regulations and policies, thus guaranteeing that the same styles are maintained in each delivery, facilitating interpretation and comparison by the client.
3. Multiple iterations: given the diversity of criteria and levels involved, you may need to test more than one configuration, simply add as many sheets and fill in as many configurations as you wish.
4. Speed of execution: after filling the sheet with the desired configurations, executing them requires a simple click and will quickly update the layers in your map. Trying another configuration is as simple as selecting the next sheet and executing.

STATE OF THE ART

As I said at the beginning, it is a tool under development that helps me a lot in my daily work, it has the style settings agreed in the company.

At the moment it can be updated:

• The development is oriented to layers of a Geodatabase, but it also works for individual layers as shapefiles.
• It works on vector layers: lines, points and polygons.
• It works with the configurations simple symbol and categorised.
• It considers the Subtype field as primary for the symbology.
• Assigns the Display field
• Fill colours
• Line and border colours
• Line thickness and polygon border.

FINAL NOTES

Comment: What do you think about this idea? Would it be useful in your company? What other processes can benefit from the integration and democratisation of processes?

Other developments and advances using GeoAI coming soon. See you next time!