arcgis-desktoparcmapdata-framelayouts
I would like to have the border of the data frame to fit exactly the maps that are shown inside, so in other words, I want to get rid of blank spaces.
I know, this is possible by dragging the borders and moving the map inside the frame with the handle but I am looking for another option for layout purposes.
Is there a preset option for this ?
ArcMap is very picky about enabling the option to clip a data frame to "Outline of selected graphics." I don't remember where I read it, but here's the trick. Before you create the graphic element you want to use for clipping, right click on the data frame (while in Layout View) and choose "Focus Data Frame" (shown below).
The outline of the dataframe will have hash marks on it while it is "focused".
Then, draw the graphic element you want to use for clipping.
The clip data frame to "Outline of selected graphics" option is now available.
The data frame is now clipped.
In your template mxd, the inset data frame should be placed before the main data frame. When your users import the template, the inset will move to position 1, and the main data frame will be in position 2.
When applying the template to an mxd with a single data frame, the default layers data frame will occupy the inset position.
Best Answer
I use two more options, using the data in my maps to drive the data frame extent:
Clip the dataframe (help on this is here), here's a screenshot of how I set the dataframe parameter window:
Fixed, rectangle extent matching the bounding box of an object in the map. (some limited help on this is here), here's a screenshot of how I set the dataframe parameter window: