Configuring Export Settings for a GeoPDF File

GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS is an extension to ArcMap that allows you to export map document files (.mxd) to georegistered GeoPDF files.

You can define default export options on the Export tab in the TerraGo Preferences window. Should the unique characteristics of your map document files require that you modify those defaults, you can do so in the GeoPDF Export Configuration window.

The GeoPDF Export Configuration window allows you to:

• configure graphic image (raster) export options such as resolution, color mode and JPEG quality, and vector export options such as picture symbol and destination colorspace
• configure include layering features and labels independently
• append and prepend PDF files to the exported GeoPDF
• specify the layers in which to embed attributes
• determine whether the visibility of an item or layer in the map document file can be controlled inside the GeoPDF file
• group items or layers in the GeoPDF file so that their visibility can be controlled in a way that makes the most sense to the Adobe Acrobat/Reader user
• specify the layers in which to embed attributes
• specify whether the application should create an archive of hyperlinked documents and then choose the hyperlinked layers to include in the exported GeoPDF file
• if you have defined a datum transformation shift to WGS84, you can specify the map / map frame to which the shift should be applied

In this article:

Configuring Graphic Export Options

The Export tab in the GeoPDF Export Configuration window allows you to modify several of the default image (raster) and vector settings specified in the TerraGo Preferences window. Default image elements that you can modify include resolution, color mode and JPEG quality. Default vector elements that you can modify include compression, marker conversion, document font embedding, picture symbol, and destination colorspace.

Accessing graphic export options

From the Publisher for ArcGIS toolbar, click Export Configuration.

Image Options

Resolution: choose the default resolution the export process should use for printing or displaying raster resolution in your exported GeoPDF file. The default resolution is 300 DPI. For more on resolution in GeoPDF files, see Understanding Output Resolution.

Color Mode: choose the default color mode that represents the raster images in your map document files. The default is 24-bit True Color.

JPEG Quality: choose the percentage the export process should use when storing the raster dataset. The default is 80.

Image Pyramids: create Image Pyramids when displaying raster content.

Note: Image Pyramids can radically speed up the display of high resolution raster data. There may be an increase to the document size when using Image Pyramids.

Vector Options

• Compress Vector Graphics: the export process compresses the vector portions of your map document file to produce a smaller GeoPDF file.
• Convert Marker Symbols to Polygons: the export process converts font character-based marker symbols into polygons, ensuring that the exported symbols appear correctly if the symbol font is not installed on the machine on which the GeoPDF file is viewed.
• Embed all Document Fonts: the export process includes the fonts that are used in the map document file, ensuring that the exported GeoPDF file looks the same when opened on any platform that supports PDF viewing.

Note: Ensure that you select this option and choose the appropriate Unicode font for your label text so that your exported GeoPDF can be viewed in languages other than your own.

Resolution: choose the default resolution the export process should use for printing or displaying vector resolution (dpi) in your exported GeoPDF file. The default is 6400. Choosing a value lower than 6400 dpi reduces the size of the output GeoPDF file.

Destination Colorspace: choose the default colorspace for the vector images in your map document files. The default is RGB.

Picture Symbol: choose the default method by which the export process should convert picture markers and picture fills to vector or raster images in the exported GeoPDF file.

• Rasterize layers with bitmap markers / fills (default): the export process rasterizes layers symbolized with BMP based markers or fills in the exported GeoPDF file. Vector EMF based markers or fill are not rasterized on output.
• Rasterize layers with any picture marker / fill: the export process rasterizes layers symbolized with any picture marker or picture fill (regardless of whether it is a BMP-based symbol or a vector EMF-based symbol) in the exported GeoPDF file. This option is useful when a vector EMF-based picture marker cannot be rendered properly on output.
• Vectorize layers with any bitmap markers / fills: the export process traces layers symbolized with BMP-based markers or fills into vector graphics before exporting to a GeoPDF file.

Notes:

• The effect of rasterization is that all layers below the data layer that contain transparency, BMP picture fill symbols, BMP picture marker symbols, and / or BMP picture line symbols are converted to a flat raster image in the exported GeoPDF file. All layers above the data layer that contain these elements are not affected.
• To avoid rasterization, BMP picture symbols should be replaced with vector-only EMF picture fill symbols or with font character-based symbols. If you cannot properly replace these symbols, choose the Vectorize layers with any bitmap markers / fills option as it allows these symbols to be maintained as editable vectors in the exported GeoPDF file.
• As transparency is inherently a raster symbol, there is no viable way to avoid rasterization other than by avoiding transparent symbology.

Export Options

Optimize GeoPDF File Size

De-select Optimize GeoPDF File Size so that the export process does not reduce the output GeoPDF file size when significant amounts of object data and zoom-scale dependencies are present in the map document file.

Make Compatible With

Choose the version of the GeoPDF toolbar the GeoPDF file should be compatible with.

• GeoPDF Toolbar 3+ (OGC)
  • GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS will use TerraGo's GeoRegistration encoding that was published as an OGC best practice in 2008. The OGC best practice is the most widely distributed GeoRegistration encoding in terms of existing PDF libraries and workflows because GeoPDF was the only geospatial PDF available preceding the release of Acrobat 9.
• GeoPDF Toolbar 5+ (OGC Preferred)
  • GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS will attempt to encode GeoRegistration using the OGC best practice. If the selected coordinate system is not supported in OGC, GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS will encode the GeoRegistration using ISO 32000.
• GeoPDF Toolbar 5+ (ISO Only)
  • GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS will encode GeoRegistration using only ISO 32000.
• Note: Adobe implemented a different PDF GeoRegistration encoding when it released Acrobat 9 and submitted that method to ISO as a proposed extension to ISO 32000. Both OGC and ISO GeoRegistration methods encode the same information; however, more coordinate systems are supported using Adobe's GeoRegistration encoding. TerraGo software is capable of reading and writing both encoding methods.

Prepend Page(s) From Source PDF

When checked, allows you to select a file to prepend to the front of the exported GeoPDF file. Click the browse button and locate the PDF you want to prepend.

The prepended PDF can be multiple PDF documents, 3D GeoPDF, or any non-geo PDF file, such as a coversheet.

Append Page(s) From Source PDF

When checked, allows you to select a file to append to the end of the exported GeoPDF file. Click the browse button and locate the PDF you want to append.

The appended PDF can be multiple PDF documents, 3D GeoPDF files, or any non-geo PDF file or files.

Configuring Layer Export Options

The Layers tab in the GeoPDF Export Configuration window allows you to configure layer options for your exported GeoPDF file:

• modify one whether the export process should create a layered GeoPDF file
• can specify whether the export process should layer features and labels independently and maintain visible scale range settings
• specify the layers in which to embed attributes
• determine whether the visibility of an item or layer in the map document file can be controlled inside the GeoPDF file
• group items or layers in the GeoPDF file so that their visibility can be controlled in a way that makes the most sense to the Adobe Acrobat/Reader user

Accessing Layer Export Options

From the Publisher for ArcGIS toolbar, click Export Configuration, then click the Layers tab.

Layer Options

• Create a Layered GeoPDF File (checked by default): he export process automatically creates layers in the exported GeoPDF file
• Layer Features and Labels Independently: the export process places the features in your map document file and the labels that accompany those features in different layers
• Maintain Visible Scale Range Settings: the export process maintains the visible scale range settings defined for feature layers and label classes in your map document file
• Ignore Disabled Layers (checked by default): the export process does not include in the exported GeoPDF file any data layer that is disabled in the ArcMap table of contents pane

Notes:

• Selecting Maintain Visible Scale Range Settings increases the size of the GeoPDF file as well as the time required to export the GeoPDF file. If you select this option, we recommend that you convert any labels on your map document file to annotations.
• For instructions on creating a visible scale range for a feature layer in your map document file or for creating a visible scale range for a label class in your map document file, refer to the ArcMap online Help.

Advanced Layer Control

Configure Advanced Layer Control by dragging items from the ArcMap Items pane and dropping them into the GeoPDF Layers pane.

Note: The order of the items in the ArcMap Items pane is based on rendering order such as 'move to front,' rather than the order of items in the Display tab of ArcMap's Table of Contents pane.

Custom Layer Design

Publisher for ArcGIS provides two options for layered content in the GeoPDF document set by the Layer Scheme drop down selector. To have Publisher automatically generate a layer scheme, check the Automatically Choose Layers box.

To create a custom layer scheme, drag items from the Document Items pane to the GeoPDF Layers pane.

The Custom option is initialized from the Automatic design, which may be modified, or cleared using the Clear Layers button. The Automatic design can be recovered at any time using the AutoPopulate button.

When you drop an item in the GeoPDF Layers pane, a new item is created in the tree based on the following criteria:

• Group Layer elements, Data Frame elements and map items create a PDF menu.
• Map group layer items create a PDF group.
• All other item types create a PDF layer. The default name of a newly created layer is the name of the ArcMap Items item from which it was created.

Layer tree structure

• When you drop items in an empty GeoPDF Layers pane, a new item is created in the tree.
• When you drop an item below a non-empty tree, a new root-level item is created at the end of the tree.
• When you drop an item on a PDF menu item, a new child item is created in the menu at the end of the menu's children.
• When you drop an item on a PDF group item, a new child item is created in the group at the end of the group's children.
• When you drop an element, map grid, map locator, map border, map background, map annotation group and map layer item on a PDF layer item, a new content item is created in the layer.
• You can drag and drop items within the GeoPDF Layers pane based on the following criteria:
  • You cannot drop an item on its immediate parent.
  • You cannot drop an item on any of its descendants.
  • When you drop a content item on a layer item, the item is moved from its original location to being a child of the layer.
• When you drop a content item on a menu or group item, a new layer item is created as the last child of the menu or group.
• When you drop a content item at the end of the tree, a new layer item is created at the end of the tree.
• When you drop a menu, group, or layer item on a menu item, the item is moved from its original location to being the last child item of the menu.
• When you drop a group or layer item on a group item, the item is moved from its original location to being the last child item of the group.
• When you drop a menu, group, or layer item that is not at the root level at the end of the tree, the item is moved from its original location to the end of the tree.

Note: When you drag a Data Frame or Group Layer element into the GeoPDF Layers pane, the element moves all of its children. If one or more of the Data Frame or Group Layer element's children already resides in the GeoPDF Layers pane, the element appears available (bold) to move but is not. The child of a Data Frame or Group Layer element cannot reside in the GeoPDF Layers pane more than one time.

Renaming items

To rename an item, click its name to enter edit mode. To save the name change, press Enter on your keyboard. Items must have names.

Show/hide items

To show or hide an item's children, click on a menu or group item icon to expand or collapse the item. You can also drag over a menu, group or layer item to expand the item.

Removing items

To remove an item and all its descendants, select the item and then press Delete on your keyboard. You can also right-click the selected item and then from the shortcut menu, click Remove Group from Layers. Removing a content item from the tree updates the ArcMap Items pane to show that the item is not in use.

Displaying the context menu

To display an item's context menu, right-click the item and then from the shortcut menu, click the action you want to perform. Depending upon the selected item, you can convert items to other items, remove items from the tree, and more.

Identifying items

To identify an item in the ArcMap Items pane, hover over the item to display a tool tip.

Adding new items

To add new items to the GeoPDF Layers pane, right click in the GeoPDF Layers pane and select:

• Insert New Menu to add a new menu item
• Insert New Group to add a new group item
• Or, Insert New Layer to add a new layer item.

Clearing layers

To clear the GeoPDF Layers pane, click Clear Layers.

Automatically generating layers

The first time you open the GeoPDF Export Configuration window and view the Layers panel for a new map document file, the GeoPDF Layers pane displays the TerraGo default layering scheme, which includes the layers on the Display tab of ArcMap's Table of Contents pane, as well as grids, surrounds and annotations. At this time the Reset Layers button is disabled. If you modify the layering scheme in any way, the GeoPDF Layers pane displays the modified layering scheme and the Reset Layers button is enabled. If click Reset Layers, the GeoPDF Layers pane again displays the default layering scheme. If you close the GeoPDF Export Configuration window, modify the layering scheme in your map document file and then export to a GeoPDF file, the exported file displays the latest modifications you made to your layering scheme.

Multiple map scales

If you include more than one map scale in your map document file, you may want to specify the order in which each map scale layer appears in the exported GeoPDF file. For example, if you add a second map scale and you want it to appear/disappear when your Adobe Reader user clicks the second map scale layer in the layer tree, set the graphic order of elements in ArcMap Pro. Right-click the second map scale and then from the shortcut menu, click Order > Bring to Front. Test your exported GeoPDF file by turning on/off the map scale layers to ensure that the map scales appear/disappear as expected.

Empty layers

Custom layer designs can contain menus, groups, and layers that do not refer to any content that will be written into the GeoPDF. These are called “empty layers' and are displayed in yellow in the GeoPDF Layers tree. To write these empty layers to the GeoPDF layer tree, uncheck Remove Empty GeoPDF Layers.

Outdated layer items

Custom layer elements can sometimes refer to items that are no longer associated with the map. These items are shown in red in the GeoPDF layers tree and can safely be removed. These items are generally created by creating a custom layer scheme that refers to a layer or item that subsequently removed.

Configuring Attribute Export Options

The Attributes configuration panel allows you to specify the layers in which feature attributes should be embedded in your exported GeoPDF file.

Feature attributes can be written to the GeoPDF map as a GeoPackage file attachment. Selecting GeoPackage allows the feature attributes to be extracted from the PDF and offers a much richer interactive experience in GeoPDFFred Toolbar.

To include feature attributes from a map with a base map layer you must first ungroup the layer. From the Layers list, right-click the base map layer to ungroup, then from the shortcut menu, click Ungroup.

To configure attribute export options for your GeoPDF file:

• From the Publisher for ArcGIS toolbar, click Export Configuration .
• Click the Attributes tab.
• Select either 'Object data' or 'GeoPackage' to see how the feature attributes are written into the GeoPDF map.
• Expand the map frame(s), then check the box for each layer in which attributes should be embedded in the exported GeoPDF file.

Configuring Hyperlink Export Options

The Hyperlinks tab in the GeoPDF Export Configuration window allows you to choose the hyperlinked layers to be included in the exported GeoPDF file. You can also specify whether the application should collect the hyperlinked documents and create a .zip file archive or embed the hyperlinked documents in the exported GeoPDF files.

To use the GeoPDF Publisher for ArcGIS hyperlink functionality with a base map layer you must first ungroup the layer. From the Layers list, right-click the base map layer to ungroup, then from the shortcut menu, click Ungroup.

To configure hyperlink export options for your GeoPDF file:

• From the Publisher for ArcGIS toolbar, click Export Configuration .
• Click the Hyperlinks tab.
• Expand the map frame(s), then check the box for each layer in which hyperlinks should be included in the exported GeoPDF file.
• In the Collect Hyperlinked Documents group box, choose how the export process should collect hyperlinked documents.
  • None (default) – The export process ignores hyperlinked documents.
  • Create .zip file archive – The hyperlinks to documents are copied from the original location in the map document file to a separate folder in the .zip archive. A map document file with multiple hyperlinks to multiple documents creates a .zip archive with multiple individual folders. If multiple hyperlinks are assigned to one document, the export process associates the first hyperlink in the ArcMap list with the feature on the GeoPDF file.
  • Embed in PDF – If you have defined Data Driven Pages, the export process embeds the hyperlinked documents in the exported GeoPDF file(s).

Notes:

• You must unzip the archive file to launch hyperlinked documents. The .zip file is located where you specify the exported GeoPDF file to be located. When you unzip the archive file, ensure that you preserve the relative location of the contents.
• For instructions on creating hyperlinks or defining Data Driven pages in your map document file, refer to the ArcMap online Help.

Configuring Datum Shift Export Options

The WGS84 tab in the GeoPDF Export Configuration window allows you to configure datum transformation shifts to WGS84 to obtain additional datum support.

To configure a datum transformation shift you must know the delta x, y and z values of the projections for which you are creating the datum shift.

Defining the coordinate system in ArcMap

In ArcMap, open the map/map frame for which you want to configure a datum transformation shift.

Select the map frame, then in the table of contents pane, right-click the map frame for which you want to create a new geographic coordinate system, and then click Properties from the shortcut menu.

Click the Coordinate System tab.

In the Select a coordinate system section, click New, then click Projected Coordinate System.

Enter the name of your projected coordinate system in the Name box, making a note of the coordinate system name.

From the Projection Name list box, choose the name of the projection used by the projected coordinate system and then enter the delta x, y and z values of the parameters associated with that projection.

From the Linear Unit Name list box, select the linear units of the projected coordinate system. The number of meters per linear unit appear in the Meters per unit text box. That number is 1 if your linear unit is meters.

In the Geographic Coordinate System group box, click New.

In the Name text box, type the name of your coordinate system.

From the Name list in the Datum box, choose the datum on which the Geographic Coordinate System is based.

The spheroid on which the datum is based appears in the Spheroid Name text box and the length of the semi-major axis (a--the length of equatorial radius of the spheroid) appears in the Semiminor Axis text box. Make a note of the datum name.

Click the Semiminor Axis button to adjust the spheroid by editing the semi-minor axis length.

Click the Inverse Flattening button to adjust the spheroid by using an inverse flattening value such as 1/flattening value. Inverse flattening is equal to a/(a-b).

Choose the angular units of the Geographic Coordinate System from the Angular Unit Name list.

The number of radians per angular unit displays in the Radians per unit text box.

Choose the prime meridian of the Geographic Coordinate System from Prime Meridian Name list.

The appropriate degree, minutes and seconds ranges appear in the Longitude text boxes. The degree range is -180 to 180. The minutes range is 0 to 60. The seconds range is 0 to 60.

Click Finish. Your Geographic Coordinate System appears under the <custom> folder in the Select a coordinate system scroll box and the details appear in the read-only Current coordinate system scroll box.

Saving

Click OK.

From the File menu, click Save.

From the File menu, click Exit.

Open ArcMap.

Configuring the shift information

From the Publisher for ArcGIS toolbar, click Export Configuration, then click the WGS84 tab.

Select Data Frame to which shift will be applied.

Click the New button.

Enter Shift Description, click Ok.

Enter DX, DY, DZ, RX, RY, RZ, and S coordinates.

Click Done.

Click OK.

To define multiple transformation shifts, repeat these steps and you see the shift description name in the Select to WGS84 Shift drop list.

To Edit the shift, click the Edit button, enter new coordinates, click Done, then click OK.

To Delete the shift, click Delete, click Done, click OK.

Note: When you view your exported GeoPDF file in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader, your datum shift appears as 'Custom.'