Working with map templates
Release 9.2 Last modified August 15, 2007	Print all topics in : "Getting started with laying out and printing maps"

About map templates

Map templates make it easy to reuse or standardize a layout, or even the same data or customization of the ArcMap interface, on a series of maps. Using a template can save you time since you don't have to manually reproduce the common parts of the maps. Like maps and layers, templates can be shared within an organization to increase productivity and standardize the maps that the organization produces.

There are several map templates that come with ArcMap, which you can use to quickly make an attractive map with a minimal amount of layout work. These templates include standard industry templates, such as a standard template for utilities (below left), templates for U.S. maps, or templates for maps of the world (below right).



When you open a template, you get a new, untitled ArcMap document plus any layout or data that's saved in the template. Next, you can just add your data, make whatever changes you want, and your map is complete.

Map templates are ArcMap documents that ArcMap recognizes as templates. When you start a new map using a template, ArcMap reproduces the template on a new map document and keeps the original template document intact. Map templates have the file extension .mxt to differentiate them from map documents (.mxd). You can modify existing maps or templates and save them as new templates, or you can create new maps and save them as templates.

If you save a template in the ArcMap Templates folder (by default, \bin\Templates where you've installed ArcGIS), it will show up in the list of templates on the New map document dialog box. You can also create subfolders in this folder and they'll show up as separate tabs on this dialog box; when you click each tab, you'll see the templates in that folder. If you work with many different templates, this is a great way to organize them.

The Normal template

ArcMap uses a special template, the Normal template (Normal.mxt), to store information about the default user interface, for example, the state—visible or hidden, docked or free floating—of each of the ArcMap toolbars. This information is recorded automatically in the Normal template, so when you start ArcMap (whether you saved the map you were working on or not), the toolbars look the same as they did when you quit.

When you add custom toolbars or tools to ArcMap, you can save the changes to somewhere other than the Normal template; you can save these with the current map (.mxd) or current template (.mxt). If you save changes to the interface in the Normal template, they will be reflected in all the maps you open. If you save customizations to the Normal template and later decide that you would like to reset the entire template to its original settings, delete the file (Normal.mxt). ArcMap will regenerate the Normal template at startup if it is missing.

Applying a new template to a layout

One way to change the layout of your map is to click and drag to move the map elements around. Another is to change the layout so that it matches the layout of a template. For example, suppose you created an empty map, added a few layers to it, and symbolized the layers the way you wanted them to look. You could then use the Change Layout tool to choose a map template to arrange the map elements to positions defined in a map template's (.mxt) layout.

When you change the layout using this method, the resulting map will contain only those elements that are defined in the template. For instance, if your original map has a legend but the template you want to use doesn't, the new layout will not contain a legend. Additionally, any elements will be formatted as they are defined on the template, not on the original map. Thus, if you've spent a long time setting the properties of the map elements, you probably won't want to use the Change Layout tool because the settings will not carry over to the new layout.

When you change the layout using the Change Layout tool and select a map template, only the template's layout is applied to your map; any data layers saved with the template are not added to your map. However, when you use a map template to create a new map, the data layers are added.

How to open and save map templates

Opening a template when you first start ArcMap

1. Start ArcMap.
   
2. Click the option to start using ArcMap with a template.
   
3. Click OK.
   
4. Click a template.
   
5. Click OK.
   

Tips

If you click the New Map File button on the Standard toolbar, you can start a new, empty map. In addition to layout and data, map templates (like maps) can store customization of the ArcMap user interface, such as custom toolbars and tools.

Opening a new template while in ArcMap

1. Click the File menu and click New.
   
2. Click a template and click OK.
   

Tips

If you click the New Map File button on the Standard toolbar, you can start a new, empty map. In addition to layout and data, map templates (like maps) can store customization of the ArcMap user interface, such as custom toolbars and tools.

Applying a new template to a layout

1. Click the Change Layout button on the Layout toolbar.
   
2. Click the tab containing the template you want to use to change the layout.
   
3. Click the template you want to use.
   
4. Click Finish if the original map and the layout you are adopting both have a single data frame.
   
If you have more than one data frame, click Next and proceed to the next step to arrange the data frames on the map.

5. Click the data frame you want to position on the map.
   
6. Click Move Up or Move Down to change its position in the list, then order the data frames to position them appropriately on the layout.
   
If your map has more data frames than the template provides space for, the extra data frames will be positioned at the lower left corner of the map.

7. Click Finish.
   

Saving your template

1. Click the File menu and click Save As.
   
2. Click the Save As Type drop-down arrow and click ArcMap Templates.
   
3. Navigate to the folder where you want the template saved.
   
4. Type a name for the new template.
   
5. Click Save.
   

Tips

You can only save a map as a template if the map was built using Normal.mxt as the base template. If it wasn't, click the Edit menu and click Select All Elements while in layout view. Copy and paste the elements into a new, empty map. You can then save the new map as a template. To change an existing template, go to File > Open, change the Files of type to ArcMap Templates (*.mxt), and choose the template file. You can then make the necessary edits directly in the template.

Saving a template so that it appears on a new tab

1. Click the File menu and click Save As.
   
2. Click the drop-down arrow and click ArcMap Templates.
   
3. Navigate to the Templates folder.
   
4. Click the New Folder button .
   
5. Type the name of the new folder.
   
This name will appear on the New map document dialog box as a tab.

6. Double-click the new folder.
   
7. Type the name of the new template.
   
8. Click Save.
   
The next time you start a map from a template, you'll see a new tab with your template on the New map dialog box.

Tip

To change an existing template, go to File > Open, change the Files of type to ArcMap Templates (*.mxt), and choose the template file. You can then make the necessary edits directly in the template..

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