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ArcUser

January–March 2000 47

ArcView GIS

Adding Special Characters to Views and Layouts

by Krysha Dukacz, ESRI Technical Support

Assign pen symbology to polygon features

without having to convert them to polylines

using the script on the next page shown in

Figure 1. This script works on both themes

and graphics and allows any pen symbol

including dashed lines. Since a polygon is

really a fill symbol, applying a pen symbol to

the outline simply makes the polygon

transparent.

To use this script conveniently, attach it to a

button on the View GUI by following the

steps outlined below.

1. Type or copy and paste the code in Figure 1

into a new Script file.

2. Compile it by clicking on the Run button.

3. Choose Script > Properties and rename

the script View.PenSymbol or some other

You may need to include special characters

such as a registered trademark (®) or

layout. These characters are not accessible

through the standard keyboard. Use the

Character Map utility that comes with

Windows 95/98 and Windows NT to enter

these characters in ArcView GIS.

1. Launch ArcView GIS. Double-click on the

legend in the view to invoke the Legend

Editor. In the Font Palette portion of the

Legend Editor, select the desired font or

note the default font.

2. In Windows, click on the Start button and

choose Programs > Accessories >

Character Map or Programs > Accessories

> System Tools > Character Map.

3. In the Unicode Character Map dialog box,

select a font that matches the font selected

for ArcView GIS.

4. Find the special character.

5. Click on the desired character. The

Character Map utility will highlight the

character and display the appropriate

keystroke sequence in the lower right

corner. Note the keystroke sequence.

6. Return to ArcView GIS. In a view or

layout, select the text tool. While holding

down the Alt key, use the numeric keypad

to enter the key sequence in the Text

Properties dialog box. Release the Alt key

and the symbol will appear in the dialog

box. Click OK and the special character

should appear in the view or layout.

Typing keystroke sequences may be cumber-

some, especially if more than one special

character is needed within a single string. Use

copy and paste to speed the process or add

multiple symbols embedded in text.

1. Go back to Character Map utility and

select the desired character.

2. In the Character Map dialog box, click on

the Select button. The selected character

will appear in the Characters to Copy box.

3. Locate additional characters and press the

Select button to add them in the Characters

to Copy box. Text can be typed directly

into the Characters to Copy box.

4. When finished, click the Copy button to

save all the characters in the Characters to

Copy text box to the Windows clipboard.

5. Return to ArcView GIS. Select the text tool

and, in the Text Properties dialog box,

paste the string from the Characters to

Copy text box by using Ctrl+V.

Some special characters in some fonts will

display as the keystroke sequence in the Text

Properties box but will appear as the correct

symbol in the view or layout. For example,

using the Wingdings font to add an airplane

symbol produces the Q character in the Text

Properties box. However, after clicking OK,

the correct airplane symbol will appear in the

view or layout. Some of the special characters

may not appear at all in the Scripts window.

Make sure the fonts in ArcView GIS and the

Character Map match.

Add special characters to layouts using the

Windows Character Map utility.

Avenue

Assigning Pen Symbols to Polygons and Graphics

By Thomas Purk, ESRI Technical Support

appropriate name.

4. Invoke the Customize dialog box either

by returning to the view and double-

clicking on any part of the Button bar

without an existing button or by going to

the project view and selecting Customize

from the Project menu.

5. In the Customize dialog box, set the Type

to View and the Category to Buttons.

6. The existing buttons for the view

document will appear. Hit the New button

to create a blank button.

7. In the properties table below the buttons,

double-click on the blank line next to the

Click property. Choose the

View.PenSymbol script from the Script

Manager to attach it to the button.

8. To place an icon on the button, double-

Change a theme or graphic from pen to fill

using this script.

Continued on page 48

desktop notes

click on the blank line next to the Icon

property and choose an icon from the

Icon Manager.

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January–March 2000 www.esri.com

Assigning Pen Symbols to Polygons and Graphics

Continued from page 47

To use the new button

1. Select a polygon graphic and/or make a polygon theme active.

2. Run the script by clicking its button.

3. Select the symbol type, either Pen or Fill. The theme or graphic

will change to reflect the option selected.

4. Double-click on the legend to bring up the appropriate symbol

palette and select the new symbol for the theme or graphic.

These changes can be undone by rerunning the script and choosing the

opposite symbol type. Using this script on themes containing multipart

polygons (i.e., canada.shp in the sample data set) may result in

unusual display behavior. The display can often be corrected by

closing and reopening the view.

Figure 1

‘— This script changes the Symbol or Legend

‘— type of selected Graphics or Themes.

‘— Get the current View document

v = av.getactivedoc

‘— Return a list of selected graphics

theGraphics = v.GetGraphics.GetSelected

‘— Create a list only of selected polygon

graphics

theGList = GraphicList.Make

for each g in theGraphics

if (g.getshape.getdimension = 2) then

theGList.Add (g)

end

‘— If any polygon graphics are selected,

‘— prompt user to specify a symbol type.

if (theGlist.count > 0) then

theGChoice = (MsgBox.ChoiceAsString

({“Pen”,”Fill”},

“Select a Symbol Type for the Selected

Polygon Graphics.”,”Symbol Type: Graphics”))

if (theGChoice = “Pen”)then

theGSymbol = Symbol.make(#SYMBOL_PEN)

end

if (theGChoice = “Fill”)then

theGSymbol = Symbol.make(#SYMBOL_FILL)

end

‘— Assign the specified symbol to each

‘— polygon in the list of selected graphics.

for each pg in theGlist

pg.SetSymbol(theGSymbol)

end

‘— Return a list of active Themes

theThemes = v.GetActiveThemes

‘— Create a list only of polygon themes from

‘— the set of active Themes in the View

thePThemes = list.make

for each t in theThemes

if (t.getftab.findfield(“shape”).gettype =

#FIELD_SHAPEPOLY) then

thePThemes.add (t)

end

‘— If any polygon Themes are active,

‘— prompt user to specify a symbol type

if (thePThemes.count > 0) then

theSChoice = (MsgBox.ChoiceAsString

({“Skip”,”Pen”,”Fill”},

“Select a Legend Type For the Active Polygon

Themes.”,”Symbol Type: Themes”))

‘— Loop through the list of active polygon

‘— Themes and apply the user’s selection

for each pt in thePThemes

if (theSChoice = “Skip”)then

elseif (theSChoice = “Pen”)then

pt.setlegend (legend.make(#SYMBOL_PEN))

pt.updatelegend

elseif (theSChoice = “Fill”)then

pt.setlegend

(legend.make(#SYMBOL_FILL))

pt.updatelegend

end

‘— Force the View to redraw.

v.invalidate

‘— End of Script

Applying pen symbology to a polygon makes the polygon transparent.

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ArcUser

January–March 2000 49

Finding the number of points in a polygon is

a straightforward procedure. Just aggregate

the polygon data and put the count in a

separate column. The following example uses

a geo file containing ZIP Code data

(zipcode.agf) and a geocoded point file

(managers.dbf). Follow the procedure

outlined here to find how many managers are

within a specific ZIP Code area:

1. Open the zipcode.agf and managers.dbf

files.

2. From the menu, choose Table >

Aggregate Data to bring up the Aggregate

Data dialog box.

3. Under the section Calculate Data For,

choose zipcode.agf from the drop-down

box next to Layer. Leave the Update

Selected Features box unchecked.

4. Under the Select Copy Feature Count To,

click on the New Table button.

5. In the New Table dialog, name the new

table Count.

6. Click the radio button next to Define New

Table and click OK.

7. In the Define Columns dialog, create a

column to hold the number of managers

in a ZIP Code and name it Count. Under

ArcLogistics Route

Importing an Excel Table

By Linda Schmidt, ESRI Technical Support

ArcLogistics Route can import data stored in an

Excel table as a Data Source Name (DSN). To do

so you must create a DSN file for the table and

select the driver in Windows 95/98 or Windows

NT 4.0. Follow the steps described here.

1. In Windows, go to Start > Settings > Control

Panel.

2. Double-click on the ODBC Data Sources icon.

3. Choose the User DSN tab and click on the

Add button.

4. In the Create New Data Source dialog, select

Microsoft Excel and click Finish.

5. In the ODBC Microsoft Excel Setup dialog,

enter a name for the data source in the Data

Source Name field. The description is

optional. In the Database section, use the

default value for the Version field.

6. Click on Select Workbook. Navigate to the

Atlas GIS 4.0

Finding the Number of Points in a Polygon

By Linda Schmidt, ESRI Technical Support

workbook location and click OK.

7. Click OK in the next dialog and close the

Control Panel.

Start ArcLogistics Route. Follow these steps to

import the Excel table.

1. From the menu choose File > Import Orders

or click on the Import Orders icon to invoke

the Order Wizard.

2. Select the Import Profile to use from the

drop-down list and click Next.

3. Select the Routing Folder to use from the

drop-down list and click Next.

4. Click the radio button for Use a Data Source

Name (DSN).

5. Click on the radio button for System or User

DSN and press the Browse For System DSN

button.

Import Excel data into ArcLogistics Route

using a DSN file.

6. Select the Excel table.

Complete the rest of the Import Profile process.

The Excel table will now be properly imported.

Type, define the data in this column as

Number.

8. Click the radio button next to Links to

Geo.

9. In the Layer drop-down box choose

zipcode.agf and in the Key Column drop-

down box choose ID. Click OK.

10. The program will return to the Aggregate

Data dialog box. In the Copy Feature

Count To drop-down box, choose the

newly created column called Count.

11. In the section Under Aggregating Data

DISCLAIMER

The user assumes all responsibility for use of

the sample routines as well as implementa-

tion of them to achieve the intended results.

The user is responsible for fully testing each

portion of the routine prior to relying on it.

This information is offered as a sample only,

and ESRI assumes no obligation for its op-

eration, use, or any resultant effect in spite of

this offer. This information and these sample

routines are provided on an “as is” basis, with-

out warranty of any kind.

Please remember to back up your data prior to

using this information.

From, choose managers.dbf for the Layer

and leave Selected Features Only box

unchecked. Leave Options at the default

setting of Aggregate to Nearest

Containing Feature.

12. Click OK.

You should now have a linked table showing

the new column on the right side of the

zipcode.agf with the number of points for

each ZIP Code polygon. This data can be

thematically mapped based on the number of

points (managers) in each ZIP Code area.

desktop notes

Atlas GIS 4 makes it easy to count the

number points in a polygon and place the

number in a separate table column.