Customize the reference grid

In Editor Settings, you can customize the reference grid. Settings include grid spacing, rotation, snapping, dynamic scaling, and options for elevation and grid shading when you're working in 3D local scenes.

General settings

General settings customize grid spacing, major line intervals, rotating the grid with the map, and grid elevation for 3D local scenes.

  1. On the status bar located at the bottom of the current map, hover over Grid Editing Grid, and click the Editor Settings button Options.
    • Alternatively, on the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Tools group, click the Editor Settings dialog box launcher Launcher.
  2. Click the Grid tab and expand General.
  3. Change one or more of the following settings:
    Spacing

    Specify the distance and units between grid lines.

    Major line interval

    Display major grid lines at the specified interval. Major grid lines appear darker and can provide a visual reference when compared to the minor grid lines.

    Rotate with map

    Automatically rotate the grid when you rotate the map.

    Elevation

    Specify the z-value height at which the grid appears in a 3D scene.

    Note:

    This setting is available only with 3D local scenes.

Snapping and inference

Snapping and inference settings customize how the pointer snaps to the grid and infers 90 degree constraints.

  1. On the status bar located at the bottom of the current map, hover over Grid Editing Grid, and click the Editor Settings button Options.
    • Alternatively, click the Edit tab. In the Tools group, click the Editor Settings dialog box launcher Launcher.
  2. Click the Grid tab and expand Snapping and inference.
  3. Change one or more of the following settings:
    Snap to grid

    Snap the pointer to grid lines and grid intersections based on the active snap settings.

    Infer from grid

    Snap the pointer perpendicular to a grid line from the previous vertex. This can be useful for quickly sketching orthogonal lines such as square or rectangular features.

Display and visibility

Display and visibility settings customize the appearance of the grid lines, display scale settings for 2D maps, and grid fill options for 3D local scenes.

  1. On the status bar located at the bottom of the current map, hover over Grid Editing Grid, and click the Editor Settings button Options.
    • Alternatively, click the Edit tab. In the Tools group, click the Editor Settings dialog box launcher Launcher.
  2. Click the Grid tab and expand Display and visibility.
  3. Change one or more of the following settings:
    Grid lines

    Display the grid as contiguous lines or as grid points at all intersections.

    In beyond

    Specify the minimum display scale at which the grid is visible in a map.

    Out beyond

    Specify the maximum display scale at which the grid is visible in a map.

    Dynamic scaling

    Display a secondary grid at a larger scale when zooming out exceeding the Out beyond display scale setting.

    Note:

    This setting is available only with 2D maps.

    Grid fill

    Display grids in 3D local scenes as shaded sketch planes.

    Note:

    This setting is available only with 3D local scenes.