General Guidelines - Autodesk 15606-011408-9330 - MAPGUIDE R6.3 SITE LIC-UPG R6 User Manual

Another way you might set up a design spreadsheet is to break the Display
Range column into several discrete ranges; you can then block out the
display ranges in which layers are on. Also, you might want to place layers in
the spreadsheet according to their data type, which often corresponds to the
display ranges. For example, point layers would be in rows near the top of the
spreadsheet, polyline layers below point layers, polygon layers below
polyline layers, and so on.

General Guidelines

Following is a list of guidelines you should consider when designing your
map:
Use elements of nearly equal size with no features dominating the map.


Text size should be neither too small to read nor so large that the text
dominates or obscures features in the map.
Use different symbols to represent different features. For example, you can


use symbols to represent landmarks, such as hospitals, churches, and cem-
eteries. Draw symbols at an appropriate scale so they are legible and do
not obscure other data.
Use line type and colors to represent different features. Representing roads


as double lines can be helpful for small areas, such as subdivisions, or for
maps in which right-of-way information is important.
Do not use an excessive number of colors. Otherwise, the map becomes


too bright, and the colors dominate. Try to limit the map to four colors.
If you are not using themes, use one color per layer. For example, if you


have an SDF that contains roads and highways, and you want to draw
them in different colors, it's usually best to create a separate roads layer
and highway layer and apply one color to each. The other option is to
create one layer and create theme categories for roads and highways on
that layer, applying the colors you want to the theme categories. However,
this approach can decrease performance.
Make layers selectable only if necessary. Always ask yourself whether the


data on this layer is there to help orient the user on the map or contains
features the user needs for retrieving information. If it's there for orienta-
tion, such as lakes and parks in a parcel map, make the layer unselectable.
Do not try to present too much data on the map at once. Maps are more


effective when they show topics clearly. Always set up the map so that
only the most necessary layers are turned on when the user first accesses
the map; this also speeds up the initial loading of the map. The user can
then turn on additional layers to get more information as needed.
Designing the Map
|
121