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Introduction to ArcGIS Introduction to GIS

Introduction to GIS


Module Objectives

When you have completed this module, you should understand:
Overview of GIS concepts
Common GIS data structures
ArcGIS Desktop software suite licenses and applications
Basic terms necessary to use ArcGIS
Spatial data formats supported by ArcGIS
How to navigate the primary ArcGIS Desktop applications:
ArcCatalog and ArcMap
How to use the ArcGIS Desktop Help system

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Definitions of a geographic information system can vary considerably. The definition provided here
combines both the components and functions of a GIS. The components needed to perform GIS
tasks include:

People
This is the most important component in a GIS. People must develop the procedures and define the
tasks of the GIS. People can often overcome shortcomings in other components of the GIS, but the
best software and computers in the world cannot compensate for the incompetence of people.

Data
The availability and accuracy of data can affect the results of any query or analysis.

Hardware
Hardware capabilities affect processing speed, ease of use, and the type of output available.

Software
This includes not only actual GIS software but also various databases, drawing, statistical, imaging,
or other software.

Procedures
Analysis requires well-defined, consistent methods to produce accurate, reproducible results.

A geographic information system (GIS) is a collection of hardware, software, geographic
data, and personnel designed to create, store, edit, manipulate, analyze and display
geographically referenced information.


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GIS functions




Any GIS should be capable of the following fundamental operations in order to be useful for finding
solutions to real-world problems.

Capturing data
A GIS must provide methods for inputting geographic (coordinate) and tabular (attribute) data. The
more input methods available, the more versatile the GIS.

Storing data
There are two basic data models for geographic data storage: vector and raster. A GIS should be
able to store geographic data in both models.

Querying data
A GIS must provide utilities for finding specific features based on location or attribute value.

Analyzing data
A GIS must be able to answer questions regarding the interaction of spatial relationships between
multiple datasets.

Displaying data
A GIS must have tools for visualizing geographic features using a variety of symbology.

Output
A GIS must be able to display results in a variety of formats, such as maps, reports, and graphs.





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Capturing data




Because the geographic database is the expensive and long-lived component of the GIS, data entry
is an important consideration. ArcGIS integrates a variety of data types from a variety of sources, so
it provides multiple data entry options. ArcGIS offers efficient data entry methods for automating
paper maps and other non-digital data sources. To take advantage of the vast collection of
geographically referenced data that already exists in digital format, ArcGIS provides the most
comprehensive data conversion capability of any GIS on the market. ArcGIS softwares integrative
capabilities also allow data to be shared with other applications without the need for conversion.




















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Storing data

You can represent geographic features in vector or raster format.

Vector data
In a vector data structure, geographic features (such as wells, roads, national parks, etc.) are
represented by points, lines, and polygons that are defined by a set or sets of [X,Y] coordinates.

Raster data
Instead of representing features by their x, y coordinates, the raster data model assigns values to
cells that cover coordinate locations. Raster format is well-suited to spatial analysis and is also
appropriate for storing data collected in grid format. The amount of detail you can show for a
particular feature depends on the size of the cells in the grid. This makes raster data inappropriate
for applications where discrete boundaries must be known, such as parcel management.















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Query



Identifying specific features

One common type of GIS query is to determine what exists at a particular location. In this type of
query, the user understands where the features of interest are but wants to know what
characteristics are associated with them. This can be accomplished with GIS because the spatial
features are linked to the descriptive characteristics.

Identifying features based on conditions
Another type of GIS query is to determine the locations that satisfy certain conditions. In this case,
the user knows what characteristics are important and wants to find out where the features are that
have those characteristics.



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Analysis



You can perform analysis to obtain the answers to a particular question or find solutions to a
particular problem. Geographic analysis usually involves more than one geographic dataset and
requires the analyst to proceed through a series of steps to reach a result. Three common types of
geographic analysis are:

Proximity analysis
How many houses lie within 100 meters of this water main?
What is the total number of customers within 10 kilometers of this store?
What proportion of the alfalfa crop is within 500 meters of the well?
To answer such questions, GIS technology uses a process called buffering to determine the
proximity between features.

Overlay analysis
An overlay process combines the features of two layers to create a new layer that contains the
attributes of both. This resulting layer can be analyzed to determine which features overlap or to
find out how much of a feature is in one or more areas. An overlay could be done to combine soil
and vegetation layers to calculate the area of a certain vegetation type on a specific type of soil.

Network analysis
This type of analysis examines how linear features are connected and how easily resources can
flow through them.



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Display



For many types of geographic operations, the end result is usually best visualized as a map or
graph. Maps are efficient for storing and communicating geographic information. Cartographers
have created maps for millennia, but GIS provides new and exciting tools to extend the art and
science of cartography. Maps can be integrated with reports, three-dimensional (3D) views,
photographic images, and other digital media.


Output



Sharing the results of your geographic labour is one of the primary justifications for investing
resources in GIS. A powerful method for sharing displays created through a GIS is to output them
into a distributable format. The more output options a GIS can offer, the greater the potential for
reaching the right audience with the right information.



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Organizing spatial data



A GIS organizes and stores information about the world as a collection of thematic layers that can
be linked by geography. Each layer contains features with similar attributes, like streets and cities
that are located in the same geographic extent. This simple, but powerful and versatile, concept has
proven invaluable for solving real-world problems from tracking delivery vehicles to modeling global
atmospheric circulation.

The onion analogy
Think of the world as a large onion. When you peel an onion, you see that it is composed of many
layers. Real-world entities can be seen the same way; the earth can be peeled into many layers,
each representing a different theme. For example, you can put all the streets in one layer and all the
landuse areas in another layer. As you can imagine, the earths complexity allows you to create as
many layers as you want. The question then becomes how to best organize these real-world
entities into manageable geometric shapes (point, line, area) and store them digitally.



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Representing features in vector data

Real-world entities are abstracted into three basic shapes



Abstracting real-world entities
It is impossible to capture everything from reality inside a computer. Instead, GIS users must
somehow abstract real-world phenomena, or entities, into a geometric representation of those
entities. There are three basic geometric shapes used for geographic features: points, lines, and
areas. These shapes can be called geometric objects, geometric features, or feature types. Note
that there are different methods of making these entities digital, including scanning and digitizing.

Point A single location having an X, Y (and sometimes, a Z) position (point features have
no area and no length)
Line / Arc A series of connecting X, Y positions (line features have length, but no area)
Polygon One or more connecting lines that form a single spatial feature (polygon features
have both area and perimeter)
Vertex One of a set of ordered X, Y coordinate pairs that define a line or polygon feature.
More simply, a location along a line where the line changes direction giving it shape
(similar to a point)



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Map scale


Map scale is an important but often misunderstood concept in cartography. To represent a portion
of the earths surface on a map, the area must be reduced. The extent of this reduction is
expressed as a ratio called map scale. Map scale is the ratio of map distance to ground distance.
For example, if you draw a 4.8-km road as a 20-cm line on your map, the following statements
would describe the map scale:

20 cm:4.8 km, 20 cm:480,000 cm, 1 cm:24,000 cm, 1:24,000

The latter is known as a representative fraction (RF) because the values on either side of the colon
represent the proportion between distance on the map and distance on the ground; that is,
1:24,000 means 1 map inch represents 24,000 ground inches, 1 map meter represents 24,000
ground meters, or 1 map centimeter represents 24,000 ground centimeters, and so on.

Map scale can be expressed in several different manners: as a fraction (1:24,000), as a verbal
statement (one centimeter equals one kilometer), or as a bar. Map scale indicates how much a
given distance was reduced to be represented on a map. For maps with the same paper size,
features on a small-scale map (1:1,000,000) look smaller than those of a large-scale map (1:1,200).
In other words, a dime-sized lake on a large scale map (1:1,200) would be less than the size of the
period at the end of this sentence on a small-scale map (1:1,000,000).

In general, small-scale maps depict large ground areas, but they have low spatial resolution,
showing little detail. On the other hand, large-scale maps depict small ground areas but have high
spatial resolution, showing many details. The features on large-scale maps more closely represent
real-world features because the extent of reduction is lower than that of a small-scale map. As map
scale decreases, features must be smoothed and simplified or not shown at all. For example, at a
scale of 1:63,360 (in which 1 inch = 1 mile), it is difficult to represent area features smaller than
1/8th of a mile long or wide because they will be 1/8th of an inch long or wide on a map.



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Components of geographic data


Geometry
Geometry represents the geographic features associated with real-world locations. Geographic
features are abstracted into points, lines, or areas.

Attributes
Attributes provide descriptive characteristics of the geographic features.

Behavior
Behavior means geographic features can be made to follow certain types of editing, display, or
analysis rules, depending on circumstances defined by the user.














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Using spatial relationships

The relative position of features determines relationships



The relationships between features on a map, or where they are located in space relative to one
another, communicate important information. Connectivity, adjacency, and containment are types of
spatial relationships shown in the graphic above. Interstate 80 connects San Francisco with New
York City. San Francisco is adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, and California is within the USA.
Features may also have coincidence; for example, California and Nevada are both separate
polygons, yet each has a common boundary line in the exact same space as the other, these lines
are seen to be coincident.

The spatial relationships between connecting, coincident, or adjacent features in a geographic data
layer are often referred to as topologic relationships. Topology is the branch of geometry that deals
with the properties of features that remain unchanged even when the features are bent, stretched,
or otherwise distorted. ArcGIS uses these spatial relationships and feature properties like area,
length, and direction to identify complex spatial patterns.


Coordinate Systems

Spatial data are data that are georeferenced. That is, they are referenced to the surface of the
earth using either a geographic coordinate system or a Cartesian (projected) coordinate system.
Geographic coordinate systems use latitude and longitude for coordinates. Even though only two
coordinates are required to locate a point on the earths surface, latitude/longitude are three-
dimensional coordinates because the earths surface is three-dimensional. Projected coordinate
systems use a mathematical conversion to transform latitude and longitude coordinates that fall on
the earths three-dimensional surface to a flat two-dimensional surface. A projected coordinate
system is made up of a spheroid, datum, projection, and horizontal units (i.e. map units).

ArcGIS can work with data stored in either geographic or projected coordinates.



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Spatial Data Types Supported by ArcGIS

The following data file types (i.e., data structures) are compatible with ArcGIS software. This is
important information when you are requesting data from others.

Vector Data
ArcInfo
Coverage
Topological layer, actually a collection of files in a directory that are linked to
additional files found in the INFO directory. The INFO directory lives at the same
level as the coverage directory.
ArcView
Shapefile
Non-topological layer, made up of at least three (and sometimes more) files with
the following extensions, .shp, .shx, and .dbf
ArcGIS
Geodatabase
A collection of feature datasets and classes - point, line, polygon - with topology
(*.mdb extension)
CADD
datasets
MicroStation design files (.dgn)
AutoCAD drawing files (.dwg) and drawing interchange files (.dxf)

Raster Data
Images DOQQs, DRGs, with file extensions such as .tif, .bil, .jpg, .sid, etc.
ArcInfo Grid A raster data file analogous to an ArcInfo coverage, e.g., DEMs.

Tabular Data
Comma or tab delimited text (.txt) or dBase (.dbf) files containing coordinate data (X, Y coordinates).

Metadata
Metadata, often referred to as data about data, describes the content, quality, condition and
other characteristics of a geospatial dataset. The Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC)
has adopted a content standard for metadata that all federal agencies are required to use to
document newly created geospatial data. The FGDC content standard is a set of terms and
definitions for documenting geospatial data and includes data elements organized under the
following topics:

Identification
Information
Basic information about the data set such as title, geographic area covered, date
developed, stipulations regarding use of the data, etc.
Data Quality
Information
Information about the quality of the data such as positional and attribute accuracy,
data sources, methods used to produce the data, etc.
Spatial Data
Organization
Information
Information about the method used to represent spatial features in the dataset
(e.g., raster, vector, street addresses, county codes, etc.).
Spatial
Reference
Information
Description of the reference frame for and method of encoding coordinate data
including name of map projection or grid coordinate system, horizontal and
vertical datums, and coordinate system resolution.
Entity and
Attribute
Information
Names and definitions of features, attributes, and attribute values contained in the
dataset.
Distribution
Information
Information about obtaining the dataset including name of distributor, available
data format(s) and media, online availability, and fees.
Metadata
Reference
Information
Information on who prepared metadata and when.


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ArcGIS Desktop Products

Tools and database functionalities vary between ArcGIS products




The ArcGIS Desktop includes a suite of integrated applications: ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and
ArcToolbox interfaces. Using these applications together, you can perform any GIS task, simple to
advanced, including mapping, data management, geographic analysis, data editing, and
geoprocessing. In addition, ArcGIS allows you to tap in to an abundance of spatial data and
resources available through ArcIMS services on the Internet or stored in an ArcSDE database. The
ArcGIS Desktop is a comprehensive, integrated, scalable system designed to meet the needs of a
wide range of GIS users.

The ArcGIS Desktop can be accessed using three software products, each providing a higher level
of functionality. ArcView provides comprehensive mapping and analysis tools along with simple
editing and geoprocessing tools. ArcEditor includes the full functionality of ArcView, plus advanced
editing capabilities. ArcInfo extends the functionality of both to include advanced geoprocessing and
also includes the applications for ArcInfo Workstation (Arc, ARCPLOT, ARCEDIT, and so on).

The current release of ArcGIS is version 9.x. Versions of ArcGIS are not backward compatible,
meaning that map documents created in version 9.x can NOT be used with earlier versions (e.g.,

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version 8.x). However, this limitation is expected to be removed in version 9.1. As with most
software, the versions ARE forward compatible. Map documents that you create in an earlier
version (say 8.x) can be opened and manipulated in version 9.x.

Because the ArcGIS products all share a common architecture, users working with any of these
clients can share their work with other users. Maps, data, symbology, map layers, custom tools and
interfaces, reports, metadata, and so on, can be accessed interchangeably in all three products.
Much more information about the entire ESRI product line can be found at http://www.esri.com.


Overview of applications

All ArcGIS products share common applications
ArcMap, ArcCatalog
ArcToolbox and Command Line windows


All ArcGIS products (ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo) are comprised of the ArcMap and ArcCatalog
applications, both of which contain the Toolbox and Geoprocessing windows. ArcMap is the
application for performing analysis and making maps. ArcCatalog is a tool for accessing and
managing your data. ArcToolbox contains tools for data conversion and management. The
Geoprocessing window allows you to write, import and run scripts, and access individual
commands.



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ArcMap

Primary display application
Perform map-based tasks
Displaying
Editing
Querying
Analyzing
Charting
Reporting









ArcMap provides tools for creating visual displays of your data, querying, and creating presentation-
quality maps. ArcMap makes it easy to lay out your maps for printing, embedding in other
documents, or electronic publishing. It also includes analysis, charting, reporting functions, and a
comprehensive suite of editing tools for creating and editing geographic data. When you save a
map, all of your layout work, symbols, text, and graphics are automatically preserved.

ArcMap is the primary ArcGIS application for displaying, querying, editing, creating, and analyzing
data.


ArcCatalog

A window into your database
Browse your data
Manage your data
Create and view data
documentation (metadata)









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ArcCatalog is the data management application of ArcGIS. The ArcCatalog application helps you
organize and manage all your GIS data. ArcCatalog allows you to import, export, and preview
datasets, drag and drop data to open ArcMap, and create feature class datasets and
geodatabases. The Metadata function of ArcCatalog allows you to view, create, and/or edit
metadata.

Because spatial data may be composed of complicated file structures or multiple related files, it is
important to use ArcCatalog rather than Windows Explorer to manage your data. With ArcCatalog,
these complicated relationships are simplified and you can move, copy, or delete all related files
with one operation rather than many.


ArcToolbox Window

Available in ArcCatalog and ArcMap
Geographic processing functions
Data management, analysis, and conversion
Tools vary between ArcGIS products











ArcToolbox was a separate application in ArcGIS 8.x, but is now a component of ArcCatalog and
ArcMap. The ArcToolbox window provides you with tools for data conversion, managing coordinate
systems, changing map projections, and more. ArcToolbox supports easy-to-use drag-and-drop
operations from ArcCatalog; with ArcMap, you need to browse to or type in the variables. For
ArcInfo users, ArcToolbox provides additional and more sophisticated data conversion and spatial
analysis tools.



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Getting help

Tabs
Contents
Index
Search
Favorites
Other help
Whats this?
Tool tips
Online Support




The ArcGIS Desktop Help provides several methods for finding the help you need to use the
software most productively. The Contents tab lets you search for information by topic. The Index tab
lets you search for topics containing words from the Help index, such as Layer or Table. The Search
tab lets you search the Help document for a word you specify. The Favorites tab lets you store your
favorite help topics so you can easily access them when needed. Your word does not have to be in
the index in order to search the document for it, but the search will take longer if it is not in the
index.

In ArcCatalog, ArcMap, and ArcToolbox, button and tool names are displayed when you move the
mouse over them (these are called ToolTips). You can also click the Whats This? tool in ArcMap or
ArcCatalog and then click on a button or tool to access additional help about it (this is called
context-sensitive help). For applications like ArcMap that have graphical user interfaces, context-
sensitive help is useful for finding out what all the various buttons and tools do.

Selecting the ESRI Support Center link will connect you with a wealth of additional online resources.
The Web site URL is http://support.esri.com.



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ArcGIS Extensions




Different users will have different requirements and expectations from the software. ESRI offers
several specialized tools called extensions that cater to many specialized fields. Extensions are
optional software modules that add specialized tools and functionality to ArcGIS Desktop. Note that
these extra modules need to be purchased separately.