Lab 2

Map Scale and Zoom Tips

Map scale is the relationship between distance measured on a map and the corresponding real
world distance. The simplest way to describe a map scale is with a representative fraction or a
ratio in which the numerator, representing map distance, is always 1 and the denominator
represents the corresponding distance on the ground. A map scale of 1/24,000 or 1:24,000 means
that one unit of measure on the map equals 24,000 of the same units on the earth. Other methods
of indicating map scale are descriptive statements such as .0.5 inch = 2 miles or 0.5 inches to the
mile and graphic scales or scale bars which look like a small ruler printed on the map.

In ArcGIS, you can change the scale at which your data are displayed as long as the map units
are set correctly. You can enter a scale in the map scale box and the map display will
automatically be updated by ArcMap.

1. Add lake shp. Found in c:/ gistutor / module 2 >data>shil>shapefiles

2. Right click on the data frame, and choose Properties. Under the General tab of the
Data Frame Properties window, notice that the Map Units are set to feet Units. Click
on the dropdown list, and choose Meters. Click OK to close the Data Frame Properties
window.
 3. In the map scale box on the Standard toolbar (under the menu bar at the top of the
ArcMap window) enter 1:24000. to display the lake map at a scale of 1:24,000, as
follows:

Try entering different scales and notice that the map display zooms in or out depending on
the scale you enter. This function now works because the Map Units are set correctly.

Layer Properties

How to draw or symbolize the layer

How to display selected features
What data source the layer is based on
Whether and how to label the layer.s features
Attribute field properties
What data are joined or linked to the layer

1. Right-click the layer name, lake, in the Table of Contents and select Properties from the
context menu that appears. (You can also double-click a layer name in the Table of
Contents to display its Layer Properties dialog.)

2. Click the General tab. Notice that you can change the name of the layer, turn the layer
on or off, and set a map scale above or below which this layer will not be shown.
 3. Click the Source tab to view information about the source data. Notice the Set Data
Source… button that allows you to redirect a layer to another data source. This is
particularly useful when a data source has been moved from its original location
4. Options under the Selection tab allow you to specify a symbol and/or color for
displaying selected feature
5. The Symbology tab is used to control classification and display of the layers features.

Set Display Units and Measure Distance on the Map Display

In ArcMap, you can measure the distance between two points using the measure tool located on
the standard toolbar. Display Units is the data frame property that controls what measurement
unit is used to report distance measurements. The following steps illustrate how to set display
units for a data frame and then how to use the measure tool to measure the distance between two
points on the map display.

1. First, you will set the Display Units for the layer data frame. Right-click on the
layer data frame name at the top of the Table of Contents.
2. Choose Properties at the bottom of the context menu.
3. Under the General Tab, note that Map Units are set to Meters and Display Units are
set to Unknown Units.
4. Change the Display Units by selecting Feet from the dropdown list. Click OK.
5. Select the Measure tool from the toolbar to measure the distance between two
Survey Plots.
6. Click once on a Plot then double-click on another Plot.

7. Try setting the Display Units to meters and then measure the distance between two other
survey plots

Display an Attribute Table

1. Make sure the Vegetation layer is turned on and that it is placed at the bottom of the
Table of Contents. Right-click the layer name in the Table of Contents.
2. From the context menu that opens, choose the Open Attribute Table option
3. Use the scroll bars on the right and bottom of the table window to scroll through the
fields and records in the table. Notice the caption at the bottom of the table, Records (0
out of 359 Selected) this table contains a total of 359 records.

Sort Attribute Table Records

1. In the Attributes of Vegetation table, right-click on the heading for the field (column)
named CLASS. The following menu containing options for manipulating data in the
table appears:
2. From this menu click the Sort Ascending button. Notice the records in the table are
now sorted in alphabetical order according to the values in the CLASS field, allowing
you to find records with a specific class value more easily.
3. Try the Sort Descending button with the Area field and notice how the records are
sorted.

Select Attribute Table Records

1. Use the Select Elements tool to click the leftmost field in the table adjacent to the
record you want to select (the gray box to the left of the first field). ArcMap highlights
both the selected table record and the feature associated with that record in the map
display, as shown below.

2. Hold down the <Ctrl> key and select a few additional records. To select consecutive
records, click on the first record and drag the cursor down the field until you reach the
last record you wish to select. Notice that updated information regarding number of
records selected is displayed at the bottom of the table window.

3. To clear or unselect the records, click on the Options button in the bottom right of the
table window and then select Clear Selection (as shown below). Then select a few
records and click on Switch Selection a few times to see what happens.
 Set Selectable Layers

1. Click the Selection menu item at the top of the tale of content window and then choose
Set Selectable Layers.

2. Click the select button to select layer.

Select Individual Features from the Map Display

1. Zoom in so that you can easily see the boundaries between vegetation polygons on the
map display.
2. Click on the Select Features tool in the Tools toolbar. When you move the cursor
to the map display it will look like this:
3. Click on a vegetation polygon. To select more than one vegetation polygon, hold down
the <Shift> key and click on additional polygons.
4. Select two or more vegetation polygons on the map display.

5. Now, open the attribute table for the Vegetation layer: right-click on the Vegetation layer
name in the Table of Contents and select Open Attribute Table. The dialog at the
bottom of the window shows the number of Records selected.

6. Press the Selected button next to the Record count.

7. A new window, Selected Attributes of Vegetation, opens displaying only the selected
records. Press the All button at the bottom of this window to redisplay all the records.
8. Use the Selection menu item to unselect all records (Clear Selected Features).
9. Close the Attributes of Vegetation table.

Select Groups of Features from the Map Display

1. To use the Select By Graphics method, you must first draw a graphic around the features
you wish to select. Select the drawing type on the selection button.
 2. Move the cursor to the map display and draw a polygon that encloses several survey
plots.

Map Tips

Map tips provide interactive access to information about map features. The way this works is that
you define an attribute field that will pop up. When you pause the mouse pointer over a feature
in the ArcMap data display window. This is a quick way to see the name of a feature or some
other piece of information about it without having to use the Identify tool.

1. In the Table of Contents, right-click the Plots layer name and then click Properties from
the context menu that appears.

2. In the Layer Properties dialog, click the Display tab and then check the Show Map Tips
box at the top of the Layer Properties dialog, as follows:

3. Under the field u can select the display field by clicking the dropdown arrow
4. Click OK.
5. Move the mouse pointer over a plot in the data view map display to see the map tip.