Using two different reference scales in one MXD

Question

I'm putting two MXD's together and they do not have the same reference scale.

Is it possible to have two different reference scales in one MXD?

I'm working with ArcMap 10.5.

Answer 1

You achieve this by having multiple data frames Working with additional data frames Then setting a difference reference scale per data frame.

While in many maps, you'll only need one data frame, you can add more data frames by clicking Insert > Data Frame on the main menu. You can remove a data frame by right-clicking the data frame name in the table of contents and selecting Remove.

As a general refrence Working with data frame reference scales

You can set a reference scale for your data frame, which fixes the size for symbols and text to draw at the desired height and width at the referenced map scale. This is like freezing the symbol and text sizes used in your data frame. One reason to set a reference scale is if you want the detail in your data frame to look the same on-screen as when you print it. It's useful to see the map's symbols on-screen at the size they will appear in the printed copy.

Setting a data frame reference scale

Here are the steps in setting a reference scale:

Right-click the data frame in the table of contents and click Properties.

Click the General tab.

Type a value in the Reference Scale input box or choose a value from the drop-down list.