Highlighter tool

The Highlighter tool can be used to emphasize areas on the map. Highlighter ink is semitransparent, so you can see the features underneath your highlighting, much like using a highlighter pen on a sheet of paper.

You can choose from several styles of highlighter ink from the Highlighter tool palette. If you choose Use Map Settings, the highlighter style will be the same as the default fill symbol style used to create filled graphics on the map. To change the default graphic fill symbol, tap Drawing on the Draw toolbar and tap Default Symbol Properties. Only simple fill symbols can be used effectively with digital ink; other fill symbol types (cartographic, gradient, and so on) may produce unexpected ink symbology.

The following illustrates the Highlighter tool and the tool palette of styles:

Highlighter Tool drop-down

To highlight a feature on the map, tap the Highlighter tool and color on top of the feature you want to highlight—just as you would do with a highlighter pen on a sheet of paper.

Example of highlighting a feature

Once you have finished adding your highlighter ink, you can tap the Finish Ink Sketch button or use the down-left finish gesture to create a new highlighted graphic. In addition, any action that takes the focus away from your ink, such as tapping a button on another ArcMap toolbar, automatically prompts you to commit or discard your ink sketch.

Example of finish inking

The Highlighter tool contains the following gestures:

Gesture

Gesture name

Action

Notes

Down-left gesture

Down-left

Commits ink to the active graphics layer as an ink element

Draw this gesture in a single stroke starting with the down stroke. Make sure that the two sides are equal in length and at a right angle.

Pan up gesture

Pan up

Pans the map up

Draw this gesture in a single stroke, like a caret or an upside-down V. Make sure that the two sides are equal in length, but the direction of the stroke does not matter.

Pan down gesture

Pan down

Pans the map down

Draw this gesture in a single stroke, like a V. Make sure that the two sides are equal in length, but the direction of the stroke does not matter.

Pan left gesture

Pan left

Pans the map to the left

Draw this gesture in a single stroke, like a V on its right side. Make sure that the two sides are equal in length, but the direction of the stroke does not matter.

Pan right gesture

Pan right

Pans the map to the right

Draw this gesture in a single stroke, like a V on its left side. Make sure that the two sides are equal in length, but the direction of the stroke does not matter.

Gestures available with the Highlighter tool

Once you have committed your Highlighter tool ink as a graphic, you can use the tools on the Draw toolbar to change its appearance. You can use the Draw toolbar to apply quick symbology changes, such as tapping the Fill Color button to change the color of your highlighting. You can also select ink graphics using the Select Elements tool on the Draw toolbar and drag the selection handles to resize them. In addition, many operations on the Drawing menu of the Draw toolbar, such as Align, Group, Rotate, and Flip, are available for use with ink graphics. To access these functions, you can tap Drawing on the Draw toolbar or right-click selected ink graphics.

Related Topics

2/10/2012