MAP Vector Crop Tool

Use the MAP Vector Crop Tool, to quickly crop MAP Layers using rectangles and ellipses. This tool can be used using two methods: crop using click and drag or crop using specific dimensions.

Requirements

Before using the MAP Vector Crop Tool, ensure that layers being cropped are visible and unlocked in the Adobe Illustrator Layers panel.  If there are invisible and locked layers, users will be prompted to unlock/unhide these layers or skip them.  The extent of the map that will remain after cropping must be visible on the screen, so make sure to zoom out sufficiently prior to starting the vector crop tool.

Open MAPublisher Preferences to adjust crop settings for MAP Crop Tool. These are the same Advanced settings for Vector Crop and Crop to Shape.

The purpose of MAP Vector Crop is to cut vector data (points, lines, and polygons). However, some Adobe Illustrator-specific objects may not be cropped properly using this tool:

• Blend and Live Paint objects
• Any art using effects that have been rasterized
• Custom art such as scale bars, grids/graticules, north arrows (expand custom art to crop)
• Compound shapes
• Legacy and overflowing text
• Locked objects (command box: either treat locked layers as unlocked or skip locked layers)
• Hidden layers (will be skipped) (command box: either crop hidden layers or skip hidden layers)
• Images

Using the MAP Vector Crop Tool

The MAP Vector Crop Tool consists of two tools: Rectangle and Ellipse. There are two ways to use these tools: 1. click and drag to draw the crop shape;  2. click anywhere on the artboard to open the MAP Vector Crop dialogue box and specify crop options.

Crop using Click and Drag

To crop to a shape of unspecified size, click and drag in the artboard until the desired crop area is achieved. Use keyboard modifiers to help draw shapes more efficiently: hold the Alt key (Windows) or the Option key (Mac) to draw from the center; hold the Shift key to constrain the proportions; or hold the spacebar to move the area. Enable Adobe Illustrator Smart Guides to snap to features for better control when drawing. Release the left mouse button to finish cropping the area.

Crop using Specific Dimensions

To crop to a shape of a specified size, single-click at a point in the MAP document at the desired location to specify a starting crop location using options in the MAP Vector Crop dialogue box (see MAP Vector Crop). By default, the crop area is centered over the click point and its coordinates populate the X and Y boxes. Enter width and height values to specify a crop size. A preview of the crop area can be seen on the artboard (you may have to move the MAP Vector Crop dialogue box to see it).