Defining exporter options with the Atlas command

The Atlas command can export map documents to several different formats. You can output the map documents as various graphic formats or as a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. You can also set the resolution for the output and determine the quality of the graphics.

Setting the export type

There are several different file types that can be specified as the output when map sheets are exported using the Atlas command. These formats include Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG), PDF, tagged image file format (TIFF), encapsulated PostScript (EPS), or bitmap (BMP).

Some of the formats have additional parameters, such as the quality for the JPEG format and the color model for the PDF. These are defined after the output format.

Syntax for setting the export type is as follows:

Syntax for setting the export format for map sheets in a map document

Atlas /export /exporter:<output type><parameter> /mxd:<map document path>
Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type Atlas /export /exporter:<output type><parameters> /mxd:<map document path>, where the output type is one of the valid output types for the Atlas command, the parameter is the color model or quality of the output, and the map document path is the location of the map document that contains the map sheets you want to export.
    • JPG/jpgquality:<Number>—Use numbers 1 to 100 for <Number>. Leaving this option blank causes it to default to 6.

      For example:

      Atlas /export /exporter:JPG /jpgquality:99 /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"

    • PDF/colormodel:<String>—Use CMYK or RGB for <String>.

      For example:

      Atlas /export /exporter:PDF /colormodel:RGB /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"

    • TIFF—For example:
      Atlas /export /exporter:TIF /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"
    • EPS—For example:
      Atlas /export /exporter:EPS /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"
    • BMP—For example:
      Atlas /export /exporter:BMP /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"
  4. Press ENTER.

Setting the export type using the Separated Tiff option

An .ect file is required for the Separated Tiff option. It is the file used to save the color definitions that will be exported. It must be created using the Separated Tiff exporter before it can be used with this stand-alone executable. Multiple files are exported for each page, so each page is named with the map series, map sheet, and/or page number as they are output.

Steps:
  1. Create the .ect file by doing the following:
    1. Open ArcMap and load the map document with the Atlas map series you want to use.
    2. Click File > Export Map.

      The Export Map dialog box appears.

    3. Click the Save as type drop-down arrow and choose Separated Tiff (*.tif).
    4. Click the Format Definition tab in the Options area below.
    5. Click Configure.

      The Format Configuration dialog box appears.

    6. Click the General tab if necessary.
    7. Click Get Map Colors.
    8. Click the Save button Save ECT.

      The Save As dialog box appears.

    9. Type the name for the .ect file in the File name text box.
    10. Verify that the Save as type is ESRI Color Tables (*.ect).
    11. Click Save.

      The Format Configuration dialog box appears.

    12. Click OK.

      The Export Map dialog box appears.

    13. Click Save.
  2. Export the map sheets in the document as separated TIFFs.
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
    3. Change the prompt to the location Atlas Command is located, for example: 

      cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin

    4. Type Atlas /export /exporter: SepTIF /ect:<ect file path>, where the .ect file path is the local path to the .ect file you want to use to create the separated .tiff.

      In the example below, the SepTIF_test .ect file is going to be used to export the Doc70 map document.

      Atlas /export /exporter:SepTIF /ect:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\SepTIF_test.ect" /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"
    5. Press Enter.

Setting dots per inch resolution

When map sheets are exported using the Atlas command, you can specify the resolution of the exported maps as dots per inch (dpi). The resolution can be specified as 1 to 2400.

Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type Atlas /export /dpi:<resolution> /mxd:<map document path>, where the resolution is a number from 1 to 2400. The default value is 96. The map document path is the local path to the map document you want to export.

    In the example below, the map sheets in the Doc70 map document are going to be exported as 100 dpi.

    Atlas /export /dpi:100 /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"
  4. Press ENTER.

Defining the export path

As necessary, you can specify a location to which the map sheets should be exported. This can be a directory on a local machine or a network location for which you have write permissions.

Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type the following: Atlas /export /exportpath:<path name> /mxd:<map document path>, where the path name is where the map document is going to be exported and the map document path is the local path to the map document you want to export.

    In the example below, the export path for the map sheets is C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop.

    Atlas /export /exportpath:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop" /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"
  4. Press ENTER.

Specifying output image quality for exporting

With the Atlas command, you can specify the quality of the output using an integer. The range is 1–5; 1 represents the highest output image quality, while 5 represents the lowest.

Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type Atlas /export: /oiq:<1-5> /mxd:<map document path>, where 1–5 represents the output image quality level, with 1 being the highest quality. The map document path is the local path to the map document you want to export.

    In the example below, the map document is going to be exported using the highest-quality level for the output.

    Atlas /export /oiq:1 /mxd:"C:\Documents and Settings\Test\Desktop\Doc70.mxd"
  4. Press ENTER.

Copyright © 1995-2012 Esri. All rights reserved.
4/19/2012