{"id":497552,"date":"2019-05-07T10:20:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-07T17:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=497552"},"modified":"2019-04-30T08:54:16","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T15:54:16","slug":"make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro","title":{"rendered":"Ice Road to Diamonds Part 4: Make a Custom North Arrow"},"author":7411,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[22941],"tags":[23201,380812,27981,31301],"industry":[],"product":[36561],"class_list":["post-497552","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mapping","tag-cartographic-design","tag-compass-rose","tag-layout","tag-symbology","product-arcgis-pro"],"acf":{"short_description":"Learn how to make a custom compass rose that matches the rest of your map's cartographic design.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Oftentimes, you do not need to add a north arrow to your map. Everyone is going to assume that north is at the top, so if north really is at the top, chances are you don’t need to add a symbol to say so.<\/p>\n

But recently I made a map of The Tibbitt to Contwoyto Winter Road<\/a> in northern Canada, and I chose to rotate it so north (the end of the road) was at the bottom. This map definitely needed a north arrow.<\/p>\n

This blog will walk you through making a customized north arrow. If you want to follow along, you can download this project package<\/a> of the finished map. You can also read the other blogs in this series about making the Ice Road map here, here, and here.<\/p>\n

1. Double-click IceRoadToDiamonds.ppkx<\/strong> to open it and look at the Layout<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

2. Zoom to the top of the layout. In the Contents <\/strong>pane, turn off the existing North Arrow<\/strong> layer. You can refer to this one later to compare its properties if you like.<\/p>\n

3. In the Contents<\/strong> pane, select Map Frame<\/strong> to make sure your north arrow will be associated with the correct map.<\/p>\n

4. On the ribbon, on the Insert <\/strong>tab, click North Arrow<\/strong>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":497612,"id":497612,"title":"north","filename":"north.png","filesize":6248,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro\/north-2","alt":"The North Arrow button on the Insert tab of the Layout ribbon","author":"7411","description":"","caption":"","name":"north-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":497552,"date":"2019-04-23 17:24:32","modified":"2019-04-23 17:24:52","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":296,"height":92,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north-150x92.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":92,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","medium-width":296,"medium-height":92,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","medium_large-width":296,"medium_large-height":92,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","large-width":296,"large-height":92,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","1536x1536-width":296,"1536x1536-height":92,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","2048x2048-width":296,"2048x2048-height":92,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","card_image-width":296,"card_image-height":92,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/north.png","wide_image-width":296,"wide_image-height":92}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

5. Choose Compass North 1<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

This snazzy compass rose symbol is new to ArcGIS Pro 2.3, and has customizable text.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":497622,"id":497622,"title":"compass","filename":"compass.png","filesize":3872,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro\/compass-5","alt":"Simple compass rose symbol with four labels","author":"7411","description":"","caption":"","name":"compass-5","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":497552,"date":"2019-04-23 17:27:27","modified":"2019-04-23 17:27:46","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":213,"height":205,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","medium-width":213,"medium-height":205,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","medium_large-width":213,"medium_large-height":205,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","large-width":213,"large-height":205,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","1536x1536-width":213,"1536x1536-height":205,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","2048x2048-width":213,"2048x2048-height":205,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","card_image-width":213,"card_image-height":205,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/compass.png","wide_image-width":213,"wide_image-height":205}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

6. Drag a box on the map where you would like to place the north arrow. I put mine in the white space above Yellowknife Bay. Resize the north arrow until it looks good.<\/p>\n

This symbol knows where north is and points accordingly. The letters are upside down, but you’ll fix that later.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":497652,"id":497652,"title":"upsidedown","filename":"upsidedown.png","filesize":13685,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro\/upsidedown","alt":"North arrow pointing down with upside-down text","author":"7411","description":"","caption":"","name":"upsidedown","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":497552,"date":"2019-04-23 17:32:57","modified":"2019-04-23 17:33:18","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":266,"height":261,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","medium-width":266,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","medium_large-width":266,"medium_large-height":261,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","large-width":266,"large-height":261,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","1536x1536-width":266,"1536x1536-height":261,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","2048x2048-width":266,"2048x2048-height":261,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","card_image-width":266,"card_image-height":261,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/upsidedown.png","wide_image-width":266,"wide_image-height":261}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

7. Select the north arrow. On the ribbon, on the Format<\/strong> tab, change Fill <\/strong>color to North Arrow<\/strong> green. It is saved in a style in the project, so appears at the top of the color list.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":497662,"id":497662,"title":"green","filename":"green.png","filesize":9358,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro\/green","alt":"A custom green color in the color picker","author":"7411","description":"","caption":"","name":"green","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":497552,"date":"2019-04-23 17:34:06","modified":"2019-04-23 17:34:24","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":314,"height":199,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","medium-width":314,"medium-height":199,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","medium_large-width":314,"medium_large-height":199,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","large-width":314,"large-height":199,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","1536x1536-width":314,"1536x1536-height":199,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","2048x2048-width":314,"2048x2048-height":199,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","card_image-width":314,"card_image-height":199,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/green.png","wide_image-width":314,"wide_image-height":199}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Now the north arrow matches the rest of the map. It is quite large, but not very important, so a faint color helps it to recede into the background more and not draw too much attention to itself.<\/p>\n

8. In the Contents<\/strong> pane, double-click on the north arrow to open the Format<\/strong> pane. Click the picture of the north arrow next to Symbol <\/strong>to access its symbol properties.<\/p>\n

9. Make sure you are on the Properties<\/strong> tab and the Layers<\/strong> tab and select any of the letter symbol layers.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":497672,"id":497672,"title":"letters","filename":"letters.png","filesize":9232,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro\/letters","alt":"Symbol layers fro N, E, W, and S","author":"7411","description":"","caption":"","name":"letters","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":497552,"date":"2019-04-23 17:35:35","modified":"2019-04-23 17:36:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":355,"height":212,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","medium-width":355,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","medium_large-width":355,"medium_large-height":212,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","large-width":355,"large-height":212,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","1536x1536-width":355,"1536x1536-height":212,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","2048x2048-width":355,"2048x2048-height":212,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","card_image-width":355,"card_image-height":212,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/letters.png","wide_image-width":355,"wide_image-height":212}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The rest of this map uses the Gulim font. It would be nice if your north arrow could as well.<\/p>\n

10. Under Appearance<\/strong>, change Font<\/strong> to Gulim<\/strong> and click Apply<\/strong>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":497692,"id":497692,"title":"gulim","filename":"gulim.png","filesize":8965,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro\/gulim","alt":"Font set to Gulim for the N symbol layer","author":"7411","description":"","caption":"","name":"gulim","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":497552,"date":"2019-04-23 17:44:31","modified":"2019-04-23 17:44:49","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":343,"height":234,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","medium-width":343,"medium-height":234,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","medium_large-width":343,"medium_large-height":234,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","large-width":343,"large-height":234,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","1536x1536-width":343,"1536x1536-height":234,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","2048x2048-width":343,"2048x2048-height":234,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","card_image-width":343,"card_image-height":234,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/gulim.png","wide_image-width":343,"wide_image-height":234}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Not all text properties are available in this pane. For example, you can’t make the font bold or italic. If you want to do something fancy with your font, you need to save a text symbol to a style first. You can save this in your favorites style, or make a new one. Or you can just look at the ready-made style included in the project.<\/p>\n

11. In the Catalog<\/strong> pane, on the Project<\/strong> tab, expand the Styles<\/strong> folder. Right-click on NorthArrow <\/strong>and choose Manage<\/strong>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":497702,"id":497702,"title":"manage","filename":"manage.png","filesize":10181,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-pro\/mapping\/make-a-custom-north-arrow-in-arcgis-pro\/manage","alt":"Manage option on the context menu of the NorthArrow style in the Catalog pane","author":"7411","description":"","caption":"","name":"manage","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":497552,"date":"2019-04-23 17:46:03","modified":"2019-04-23 17:46:24","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":319,"height":234,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","medium-width":319,"medium-height":234,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","medium_large-width":319,"medium_large-height":234,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","large-width":319,"large-height":234,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","1536x1536-width":319,"1536x1536-height":234,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","2048x2048-width":319,"2048x2048-height":234,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","card_image-width":319,"card_image-height":234,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/04\/manage.png","wide_image-width":319,"wide_image-height":234}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

The Catalog<\/strong> view opens.<\/p>\n

12. Click the North Arrow Labels <\/strong>text symbol, click Properties<\/strong>, and click Appearance <\/strong>to see how these labels are constructed.<\/p>\n