How do I add a North arrow, scale, and labels to an ArcMap project?

1. Start ArcGIS by clicking on Start → All Programs  → ArcGIS 
   
    

2. Click on ArcMap 10 to the the program. It will take a few seconds for the ArcMap to start. You should see the logo while the program in loading.
   
   
   
   
    

3. The main interface for ArcMap should appear as shown below:
   
   
   
   
   
    

4. To open an existing ArcMap project, click on File → Open and select the ArcMap document from the listing in the window. IN this example the ArcMap document is site maps.mxd.
   
   
   
   
   
    

5. The site maps project is opened and displayed in the main ArcMap window:
   
   
   
   
   
    

6. Switch to the layout view by clicking on View → Layout View or clicking on the Layout View button on the bottom-left-hand edge of the main view.
   
   
   
   
    

7. First, lets insert a north arrow. Click on Insert →  North Arrow...  and the following menu will appear.
   
   
   
   Choose a North Arrow style and any associated properties and click OK.
   
   
   
    

8. Next, lets insert a scale. Click on Insert →  Scale Bar...  and the following menu will appear.
   
   
   
   Choose a Scale Bar style and any associated properties and click OK. Then drag the scale bar to the appropriate location on the map.
   
   
   
   You can adjust the scale units of the scale bar by double clicking on the scale bar. The following menu will appear.
   
   
   
   If for example, if you want to control the number and division and the division value, click on the pull-down menu When Resizing... and choose Adjust division and division values and then enter values for the Division Value ( 20 ft in this example) and the Number of Subdivision (2 in this example).
   
   
   
    

9. Next, you can insert any number of text labels onto the map.  Click on Insert →  Text  and a blank text box will appear on the map. Enter the text label and drag it to the appropriate location on the map. To change the properties of the text box, double click on the text box and the following menu will appear.
   
   
   
    

10. When the map is completely annotated, you can print the map or export it as a image file. To export the map, click on File →  Export Map...  and the following menu will appear.
    
    
    
    Choose a filename and format and save the image.  Below is picture of the exported map file in JPEG format.
    
    

This website was originally developed by Charles Camp for CIVL 1101.
This site is maintained by the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Memphis.
Your comments and questions are welcomed.