tut Pro: Round Map Frames

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Round and Oval Map Frames in ArcGIS Pro

By default, a Map Frame added to a Layout will be rectangular. This is fine, of course, but what if you want something less angular...

 

This is fine, of course, but what if you want something less angular... Well, you could round the corners of the Map Frame Border and/or Background (select the Map Frame in the Layout then choose Border or Background from drop-down menu on the Format ribbon to specify a percentage of Rounding). This adds a nice rounded border... but note how the data still extends beyond the border...

You can make it somewhat better by turning off the ocean layer and adding a Background fill color to the Map Frame. But any remaining data (such as the countries) that extends beyond the rounded border is still exposed. The problem is that while the border and the border and the background get rounded, the data doesn't... "Padding" (adding a Gap to) the border and the background will help, but it still leaves the actual data with square corners...

Here's the Format ribbon for the Map Frame / Border (note the Rounding option):

And here's the Format ribbon for the Map Frame itself (the data). Note the lack of a Rounding option... Argh...

So instead, if you want a rounded Map Frame, you need to choose a rounded Coordinate System / Map Projection. This is done via the Map Properties:

  • Right-click on the Map in the Contents
  • Choose the Coordinate System tab on the left side
  • In the XY Coordinate Systems Available section expand the Projected Coordinate System
  • Scroll down through the Projected Coordinate Systems to expand the World folder (or the World (Sphere-Based) folder)
  • Two commonly used coordinate systems that are rounded are the Robinson and the Natural Earth projections)

With a rounded coordinate system, you probably don't want to use the Border or Background Fill for the map frame, so they can be removed in the Format ribbon

Another option is to use The World From Space coordinate system which is in the World folder (but is NOT in the World (Sphere-Based) folder):

By default The World From Space coordinate system is centered about on New York City. But of course, you can change that by rotating the earth east-west and/or north-south. Here's one located on Africa:

To rotate the globe, open the Map Properties and then the Coordinate Systems tab. Expand the f Folder and then the World folder to locate The World From Space coordinate system (or any other coordinate system you want to modify):

there are a lot of them...

Right-click on the coordinate system you want to modify and choose Copy and Modify...

In the Modify Projected Coordinate System dialog box, enter the desired Latitude and Longitude coordinates to specify the center of the globe. Recommended, rename the modified coordinate system with a descriptive Name.

Recommended: Right-click on the newly modified coordinate system to Add it to your Favorites folder for later usage.

Click OK to close the Map Properties and view the results...