Feature Sources and

Map Output
GISC 9315- D2
Taylor J Dilliott, BA
March 23, 2018

1-109 Sanford Ave South, Hamilton, ON L8M 2G7

E: Taylor.J.Dilliott@gmail.com M: (289) 969-1847
 GISC 9315- D2
Feature Sources and Map Output March 23, 2018

Technical Memorandum
Project: Feature Sources and Map Output

Ms. Kelly Dell

Instructor
Niagara College, Niagara-on-the-
Client: Lake Campus Prepared By: Taylor Dilliott, BA
135 Taylor Road, Niagara-on-
the-Lake, ON, L0S 1J0

Subject: Redding, California 3D Map and Mapbook

Date: March 23, 2018 TD-GM Project #9315-02

1.0 Introduction
TD Geospatial Management was tasked with the creation of a 3D map and associated 2D
map book modelling the elevations around Redding, California, and its major road systems.
The 3D map in a formal layout shows exaggerated elevations for the area with contour lines
at 25m intervals as well as the major road systems. The map book shows the area divided into
12 sections at a 1:1800 scale and was published as a .dwf file as per the Terms of Reference.

This report will outline the methodology used to undertake these processes, and any findings,
issues or recommendations moving forward. All work completed, including the .dwg, .sdf and
the .dwf files can be found at X:\Students\tdilliott1\Second Semester\GISC9315- CAD and
GIS\Assignments\Assignment 2 as per the terms of referene.

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2.0 Methodology
2.1 Map Creation
The first step was the creation of the map file itself. This was done using the provided
map2d.dwt template. The map was created using the NAD27 California State Planes, Zone
1(401) US Foot coordinate system, as seen in Figure 1, below.

Figure 1 - Coordinate System Assignment

2.2 Connecting Data Sources

After creating the base map file and defining the coordinate system the Raster data had to
be introduced to the map. This was done by connecting to the data through the display
manager “Connect to Data” option.

Figure 2 - Data Connection Window with the DEM Source

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After the raster data had been properly connected the colour scale of the raster had to be
adjusted to properly display the elevation changes. For this map the USGS DEM palette was

Figure 3 - Theme Selection and Resulting Raster

chosen as it provides a basic ramp for elevation without too many divisions. The resulting
display can be seen in Figure 3.

After properly colouring the raster, a 3x exaggeration was applied to the vertical features to
better display the changes in elevation in the area. Hillshade was applied using the Import
setting. Elevation contour lines were created at 25m intervals, with a major contour every 4th
interval and was labeled using the ElevationIndex field.

The result of the exaggeration, hillshade and contour line creation can be seen in Figure 5.

Figure 4 - Hillshade and Contour Line Creation

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Figure 5 - Results of Exaggeration, Hillshade and Contour Line Creation

2.3 Addition of Road Data

The next step was adding the road data over the raster surface by connecting to the existing
Roads.sdf file. The roads were given a bright yellow colour to allow them to stand out against
other features. Additionally, the roads were set to only display major routes beyond a 1:3000
scale range. This was done using the expression editor in the Thematic Rules field under Style
Editor for the roads layer. Additionally, the roads for this range were set to a heavier line style
to make them easier to see in the 3D view.

Figure 6 - Expression to only show major roads beyond a 1:3000

scale

The road name labels were set to display at less than a 1:3000 scale range for the LOCAL, PVT
ROAD, ART, HWY, FWY and COL street type variables using the same method shown in Figure
6. The alignment was set to exist above the roads, with a light blue colour for the text set to
12000mm for size.

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The result of the road additions can be seen in Figure 7. Note that the roads originally were
not “clipped” to the raster image and seemed to exist as an independent layer below the
raster image.

Figure 7- Result of Adding Road Data to the Map

The lack of clipping for the roads was rectified using a query filter for data display. A rectangle
was drawn along the edges of the raster data set, and everything outside was no longer
displayed.

Figure 8 - Query to Limit Data Display for Roads

2.4 Formal Layout Creation

Once the road data was properly displayed over the raster image, the formal map layout
could be created. The result of this can be seen on the following page.

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2.5 Map Book Creation

Following creation of the formal map layout, the full map book of the area was created using
the provided Map Book Template – 8.5x11 Classic.dwt. The map scale factor for the map
book was set to 1800 and the map was divided into 4 rows with 3 columns each, for 12 total
squares. An example of the map book creation can be seen in Figure 9, below, or saved as
DilliottTGISC9315D2.dwf at X:\Students\tdilliott1\Second Semester\GISC9315- CAD and
GIS\Assignments\Assignment 2.

Figure 9 - First Page of Map Book Layout

4.0 Issues and Recommendations

Over the course of this project there were several small issues, most notably the roads and
contour layers appearing to exist below the raster image in 3D view, which was highly
noticeable in the original formal layout prior to the clipping by geometry.

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The next issue that occurred was with creating the legend for the formal layout and the map
book document. After the issues experienced in D1, TD Geospatial Management was hesitant
to use the built in legend creator, however, as long as the legend was the final item created
for the layout and map book, it actually worked fairly well as long as the active window was
not changed as that reset any changes that had been made to the legend. This was solved
for the map book by using the Snipping tool to capture the legend as an image and
reinserting it into the legend area.

Any other small issues were easily rectified by saving and restarting AutoCAD Map 3D.

5.0 Conclusions
After the experiences encountered during the completion of D1, this project was much easier
to complete within AutoCAD as a standalone program. Connecting the data sources and
creating the formal layout went much more smoothly this time around, and any issues were
quickly dealt with using knowledge gained in the previous assignment, through labs and from
lectures.

Overall, this assignment was much more enjoyable, and may have changed some minds
about the use of AutoCAD Map 3D for creating formal map documents.

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