MAP #Property Attributes – Avenza Systems

Attribute Information

The attribute table that forms part of a GIS map file is one of the most important parts of the data set. It is in the attribute table that we find important information such as street names for lines, zoning or zip code numbers for areas, and elevations for points to go along with our line, area, or point vector data. Along with line, area, and point vector data imported as explained in the previous sections, MAPublisher also imports the attribute data table associated with any vector map file that it supports.

MAP Layers

All MAP Layers contain attribute information (except Legend MAP Layers). Each MAP Layer is symbolized in MAPublisher panels and dialog boxes with an icon depicting its feature type:

	Area layer	For county boundaries, urban areas, country outlines, etc. (Buffer Art, Join Areas, Line Plotter)
	Line layer	For rivers, roads, railways, etc. (Buffer Art, Join Lines, Line Plotter)
	Point layer	For town and city symbols, railway stations, etc. (MAP Point Plotter, Join Points)
	Text layer	For text labels (Label Features, MAP Tagger Tool, MAPublisher LabelPro)
	Legend layer	For MAPublisher Legend items (North Arrows, Scale Bars, Grids, and Graticules)
	Image layer	For referenced images (Import Image, Register Image)

MAPublisher #Property Attributes

In addition to the attribute values that were imported into a work session, Area, Line, Point, Text, and Image MAP Layers are also assigned a number of additional MAPublisher attribute columns. These property columns (prefixed with a #) are designed to indicate the physical properties of map art on the Adobe Illustrator canvas. Art can be modified directly from the attribute table by making edits to values in these columns. The following property columns are attached to valid map layers in this version of MAPublisher:

Area Layer #Property Attributes

#Property Attribute	Description
#LayerName	The name of the containing layer. This property cannot be set.
#ID	The internal unique ID to refer to Adobe Illustrator artwork within the document. Read-only.
#Name	The name of the polygon. Editing this property will change the name in the Layers panel.
#AreaDirection	The direction is clockwise or counterclockwise. Editing it will reverse the direction.
#VertexCount	The number of points in the art. This property cannot be set.
#Style	The Graphic Style in use. Editing this property will apply the selected style to the art.
#StrokeWeight	The stroke weight of the path. Editing this property will alter the stroke weight of the art.
#Perimeter	The perimeter of the area in world units. This property cannot be set.
#PathClosed	Describes whether or not the path is closed (yes or no). Editing this value will open/close the path.
#ArtScale	The scaling of the line stroke. Editing this value will scale the stroke weight.
#Area	The area of the path in world units. This property cannot be set.
#Opacity	The opacity level of the polygon. Editing this property will change the opacity of the art.

Line Layer #Property Attributes

#Property Attribute	Description
#LayerName	The name of the containing layer. This property cannot be set.
#ID	The internal unique ID to refer to Adobe Illustrator artwork within the document. Read-only.
#Name	The name of the line. Editing this property will change the name in the Layers panel.
#VertexCount	The number of points in the art. This property cannot be set.
#Style	The Graphic Style in use. Editing this property will apply the selected style to the art.
#StrokeWeight	The stroke weight of the path. Editing this property will alter the stroke weight of the art.
#PathClosed	Describes whether or not the path is closed (yes or no). Editing this value will open/close the path.
#ArtScale	The scaling of the line stroke. Editing this value will scale the stroke weight.
#Opacity	The opacity level of the line. Editing this property will change the opacity of the art.

Point Layer #Property Attributes

#Property Attribute	Description
#LayerName	The name of the containing layer. This property cannot be set.
#PageX	The X-coordinate in the document units of the current point.
#PageY	The Y-coordinate in the document units of the current point.
#ID	The internal unique ID to refer to Adobe Illustrator artwork within the document. Read-only.
#Name	The name of the point. Editing this property will change the name in the Layers panel.
#HorizontalScale	The horizontal scaling of a point object. Editing this value will scale the symbol in the X-axis.
#VerticalScale	The vertical scaling of a point object. Editing this value will scale the symbol in the Y-axis.
#Rotation	The rotation in degrees of the art around its anchor point. Editing this value will rotate art.
#Style	The Symbol in use. Editing this property will apply the selected symbol to the art.
#MapX	The X-coordinate in the world units of the current point.
#MapX	The Y-coordinate in the world units of the current point.
#Opacity	The opacity level of the point. Editing this property will change the opacity of the art.

Text Layer #Property Attributes

#Property Attribute	Description
#LayerName	The name of the containing layer. This property cannot be set.
#PageX	The X-coordinate in the document units of the current point text. For text-on-a-path or text-in-a-path, this will be the X-coordinate of the first vertex on the associated path.
#PageY	The Y-coordinate in the document units of the current point. For text-on-a-path or text-in-a-path, this will be the y-coordinate of the first vertex on the associated path.
#ID	The internal unique ID to refer to Adobe Illustrator artwork within the document. Read-only.
#FontSize	The font size used by the text.
#FontFamily	The font family used by the text.
#Name	The name of the text field. Editing this property will change the name in the Layers panel.
#Text	The contents of the text. Editing this will affect the text on the page. Multiline text is allowed.
#TextLength	The number of characters in the contents of the text art. This property cannot be set.
#Rotation	The rotation in degrees of the art around its anchor point. Editing this value will rotate art.
#Style	The Character Style in use. Editing this property will apply the selected style to the art.
#MapX	The X-coordinate in the world units of the current point.
#MapX	The Y-coordinate in the world units of the current point.
#HorizontalScale	The horizontal scaling of a point object. Editing this value will scale the text on the X-axis.
#VerticalScale	The vertical scaling of a point object. Editing this value will scale the text on the Y-axis.
#Opacity	The opacity level of the polygon. Editing this property will change the opacity of the art.

Image Layer #Property Attributes

#Property Attribute	Description
#LayerName	The name of the containing layer. This property cannot be set.
#ID	The internal unique ID to refer to Adobe Illustrator artwork within the document. Read-only.
#Name	The name of the text field. Editing this property will change the name in the Layers panel.
#PixelWidth	The number of pixels across the width of the image.
#PixelHeight	The number of pixels across the height of the image.
#Opacity	The opacity level of the image. Editing this property will change the opacity of the image.
#LowerLeftX	The lower left X coordinate of the image. Read-only.
#LowerLeftY	The lower left Y coordinate of the image. Read-only.
#UpperLeftX	The upper left X coordinate of the image. Read-only.
#UpperLeftY	The upper left Y coordinate of the image. Read-only.
#UpperRightX	The upper right X coordinate of the image. Read-only.
#UpperRightY	The upper right Y coordinate of the image. Read-only.
#LowerRightX	The lower right X coordinate of the image. Read-only.
#LowerRightY	The lower right Y coordinate of the image. Read-only.

The #ID property is not persistent. This means that if a document is saved and reopened, the #ID value might change. The value will usually not change over the life of a document session, but there are Adobe Illustrator operations that can cause the value to change.

Important Adobe Illustrator Compatibility Notes

Several Adobe Illustrator functions may cause the link between artwork objects and their attributes to be broken, resulting in possible data loss. These functions are:

•Compound path (Make)

•Pathfinder

•Live Paint

•Gradient mesh Blob brush

•Shape-builder tool

•Eraser Tool

•Knife Tool

By default, releasing a compound path also breaks the link between released paths and the attributes. To avoid this behaviour, users may enable the Replicate attribute data to compound path sub-components option in the MAPublisher Preferences for MAP Attributes. This option must be enabled before the attribute schema is created or updated for the attribute data to be copied to the compound path components. To enable this option, follow the steps below:

1.Enable Replicate attribute data to compound path sub-components.

2.Change the visibility status of one attribute column to force the attribute schema to update itself.

3.Release the compound path.

This option has an impact on performance, so it should only be enabled if necessary.

If required, users should first duplicate their working layer in the Adobe Illustrator Layers panel before using these functions. The original layer can be kept for labeling (see Label Features and MAP LabelPro) or for information purposes.