Choosing the spatial reference based on a field

The spatial reference updates the coordinate system based on the location of the area of interest (AOI) feature. You can choose the spatial reference by reading the coordinate system from an attribute in the data source feature class. If applicable, you can also elect to use a field in the AOI data source feature class that contains a code that can be used to set the coordinate system.

Steps:
  1. Start ArcMap.
  2. On the main menu, click Customize > Toolbars > MPS Atlas.
  3. Click the Show Data Frame Manager Properties button Show Data Frame Manager Properties on the MPS Atlas toolbar.

    The Data Frame Managers dialog box appears.

    Data Frame Manager dialog box
  4. Click to choose a data frame manager .
  5. Click Properties.

    The Data Frame Manager Properties dialog box appears.

  6. Click the Spatial Reference tab.
  7. Click the Select from Field option.
    Spatial Reference tab Select from Field option
  8. Click the Field drop-down arrow and choose a field to use for the data frame's spatial reference.
    NoteNote:

    The field needs to contain the Spatial Reference factory codes for the ArcMap projections. These codes can be found in the projected_coordinate_systems.pdf document, which can be found in <install directory>/ArcGIS/Desktop10.0/Documentation/.

  9. Click OK.

4/19/2012