Edit the aviation north arrow

Available with Aviation Charting license.

ArcGIS Aviation Charting allows you to create a configurable north arrow for your aeronautical charts. The aviation north arrow contains symbology and labels that are commonly used on aeronautical charts. The components of an aviation north arrow include the following:

• True north arrow (T)—The north arrow angle points to geodetic north (to the north pole) as calculated by the coordinate system of the associated map frame, at the center of the map.
• Magnetic north arrow (M)—The north arrow angle points to the north magnetic pole, as indicated by the north-seeking needle of a magnetic instrument.
• Grid north arrow—The north arrow angle points to the top of the chart.

Note:

You can change the direction of the grid north arrow by rotating the connected map frame.

Learn more about generic north arrows in ArcGIS Pro

Modify the aviation north arrow

The aviation north arrow is a configurable element on a chart. There are several formatting options available to fit the aviation north arrow to your needs.

Complete the following steps to open the Aviation North Arrow pane.

1. Right-click the aviation north arrow element in the Contents pane.
2. Click Properties.

   The Aviation North Arrow pane appears.

General

The General section in the Format North Arrow pane allows you to define critical information about your aviation north arrow.

1. In the Name text box, type a name for your aviation north arrow.
2. Check the Visible check box to turn on and off the visibility of your aviation north arrow.
3. Check the Locked check box to lock your aviation north arrow on the layout.

North Arrow

The North Arrow section in the Format North Arrow pane allows you to define how all north arrow components appear on the aviation north arrow element.

1. Click the Map Frame drop-down arrow and choose a map .

   Note:

   The map frame you choose is used to calculate the direction of your north arrow components.

2. Check the Update Dynamically check box to automatically update your north arrow to the map frame.
3. Check the Enable Magnetic North Arrow check box to turn on and off the magnetic north arrow component.
4. Check the Enable Grid North Arrow check box to turn on and off the grid north arrow component.
5. Type a decimal value and a measurement unit for the True North Line Length option.
6. Type a decimal value and a measurement unit for the Magnetic North Line Length option.
7. Type a decimal value and a measurement unit for the Grid North Line Length option.

True North Arrow

The True North Arrow section in the Format North Arrow pane allows you to format the true north arrow component of your aviation north arrow.

1. Set the symbology for the true north arrow component:
   • Line Symbol—The symbology for the true north arrow's line.
   • Positive Symbol—The symbology for the element at the end of the true north arrow.
2. Check the Enable Line Indicator check box to turn on and off the line indicator at the end of the true north arrow.
3. Set the symbology for the line indicator next to Line Indicator.
4. Type a label in the Indicator Text text box to add a label to the end of the true north arrow.

Magnetic North Arrow

The Magnetic North Arrow section in the Format North Arrow pane allows you to format the magnetic north arrow component of your aviation north arrow.

1. Set the symbology for the magnetic north arrow component:
   • Line Symbol—The symbology for the magnetic north arrow's line.
   • Positive Symbol—The symbology for the element on the left side of the magnetic north arrow.
   • Negative Symbol—The symbology for the element on the right side of the magnetic north arrow.
2. Check the Enable Line Indicator check box to turn on and off the line indicator at the end of the magnetic north arrow.
3. Set the symbology for the line indicator next to Line Indicator.
4. Type a label in the Indicator Text text box to add a label to the end of the magnetic north arrow.
5. Choose an option next to Direction to set the magnetic variance:
   • West—The magnetic north arrow is offset to the west.
   • East—The magnetic north arrow is offset to the east.
6. Type a numerical value in the Degrees text box.

   The magnetic north arrow is offset by this value.

   Note:

   The Direction and Degrees parameters are unavailable if you checked the Update Dynamically check box in the General section.

Grid North Arrow

The Grid North Arrow section in the Format North Arrow pane allows you to format the grid north arrow component of your aviation north arrow.

1. Set the symbology for the grid north arrow component:
   • Line Symbol—The symbology for the grid north arrow's line.
   • Positive Symbol—The symbology for the element on the left side of the grid north arrow.
   • Negative Symbol—The symbology for the element on the right side of the grid north arrow.
2. Check the Enable Line Indicator check box to turn on and off the line indicator at the end of the grid north arrow.
3. Set the symbology for the line indicator next to Line Indicator.
4. Type a label in the Indicator Text text box to add a label to the end of the grid north arrow.
5. Choose an option next to Direction to set the direction of the grid north arrow:
   • West— The grid north arrow is offset to the west.
   • East— The grid north arrow is offset to the east.
6. Type a numerical value in the Degrees text box.

   The grid north arrow is offset by this value.

   Note:

   The Direction and Degrees parameters are unavailable if you checked the Update Dynamically check box in the General section.

Magnetic variance

Magnetic variance refers to the angular distance between magnetic north and true north. A compass or other navigational equipment that relies on magnetic north must be calibrated to specify which direction is true north. Since magnetic variance changes over time and depending on the latitude and longitude, it is crucial that aeronautical charts show the correct magnetic variance to allow for the safe travel of aircraft.

Rate of Change Text

Since magnetic variance changes over time, you can include the rate of change on your chart. There are several formatting options available to you under the Rate of Change Text section in the Format North Arrow pane.

1. Check the Display Rate of Change check box to turn on and off visibility for the rate of change text.
2. Check the Display Variation Date check box to turn on and off visibility for the variation date.

   Note:

   The default value for the variation date text is derived from the Declination option in the Declination section.

3. Set the symbology for the text next to Text Symbol.
4. Type your text in the Rate of Change Text text box.

Note:

The \n character in the image above adds a new line (carriage return) character after the text. Additionally, you can modify the Rate of Change Text value using text formatting tags.

Learn more about text formatting tags

Variation Text

Variation text communicates critical information about the angles between the true north arrow, the grid north arrow, and the magnetic north arrow. These measurements are necessary for tuning navigational equipment on an aircraft.

1. Click the Variation Display Side drop-down arrow and choose a display method.
   • Right—The text appears to the right of the aviation north arrow.
   • Left—The text appears to the left of the aviation north arrow.
2. Check the Align Variation to Line check box to vertically align the text to the true north arrow's line.
3. Check the Display Year check box to turn on and off the visibility of the year the declination was recorded.

   Note:

   The default value for the display year is derived from the Declination option in the Declination section.

4. Check the Display Year in Paranthesis check box to append parentheses around the displayed year.
5. Set the symbology for the text next to Text Symbol.
6. Type a value into the Magnetic Identifier Text text box.

   The value you type into the Magnetic Identifier Text text box appears next to the recorded magnetic variance.

7. Type a value into the Grid Identifier Text text box.

   The value you type into the Grid Identifier Text text box appears next to the angle of the grid north arrow.

Declination

The Declination section in the Format North Arrow pane has options for setting the recorded declination date and the referenced coordinate system used by your chart. These are critical details to include in your chart, as they ensure that the reader knows the currency of the chart they are using to navigate.

1. Click the Declination drop-down arrow and choose a date value.
2. Optionally, click the CoordinateSystem drop-down arrow and choose a coordinate system.

   Note:

   The default value for this option is derived from the coordinate system of the connected map frame.

Note:

Declination values are calculated using latitude and longitude as a reference.