Lecture 5

Working with GIS: Introduction to ArcGIS

1
 In preparation for the first lab, you will:

 Be briefly introduced to the ArcGIS product family

of ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo;
 learn the fundamental differences in functionality
between them;
 learn about the basic functionality of ArcCatalog,
ArcMap, and ArcToolbox, which we will use in Lab
1 and all subsequent labs.
 ArcGIS
 In a GIS, data about real-world objects is linked to an
onscreen map. Geographic features are drawn quickly and
can be displayed using different information in the
database. ArcGIS is the name of the family of ESRI’s
software solution programs.  
 ArcGIS is a complete, single, integrated system for
geographic data creation, management, integration, and
analysis.
 ArcGIS is scalable since it can be deployed on an individual
desktop or across a globally distributed network of people.
3
 What's the Exploring a GIS Map
difference between a GIS map and a static
paper or electronic map? GIS maps are dynamic. While
you can look at a static map and see where features are
located and even measure approximate distances
between them, you can't do much more than that.
 With a GIS map, however, you are incharge. You can
zoom in and out to see different areas with more or less
detail – You can decide what features you want to see
and how they are symbolized Most importantly, you can
access a database of information about all the features
shown on the map.
4
 Exploring
 Each ArcGIS ArcGIS
Desktop product includesDesktop
two applications: Arc.
Map and Arc.Catalog.
 ArcMap The application you work with to explore and analyze
data and make maps.
 Arc.Catalog The application you work with to manage data.
 Arc. Toolbox An integrated application that contains many
tools for GIS tasks.
 You can access Arc. Toolbox from both ArcMap and Arc.
Catalog.
 Complete ArcGIS includes ArcReader, ArcView, ArcEditor,
ArcInfo, ArcSDE, ArcIMS, ArcPad
5
Exploring ArcGIS Desktop

6
 A quick tour of ArcMap
 ArcMap represents geographic information as a
collection of layers and other elements in a map view.
There are two primary map views in ArcMap: the data
view and the layout view.
 The data frame provides a geographic window, or
map frame, in which you can display and work with
geographic information as a series of map layers.
 The layout view provides a page view where map
elements (such as the data frame, a scale bar, and a
map title) are arranged on a page for map printing.
7
 ArcMap Documents
 When you save a map you have created in ArcMap, it will
be saved as a file on disk. This is an ArcMap document
and is referred to as a map document or mxd since the
file name extension (.mxd) is automatically appended to
your map document name.
 You can work with an existing .mxd file by double-clicking
the document to open it. This will start an ArcMap session
for that .mxd file.
 Map documents contain display properties of the
geographic information that you work with in the map
such as the properties and definitions of your map layers,
data frames, and the map layout for printing
8
 Views in ArcMap
 ArcMap displays map contents in one of two views:
• Data view
• Layout view
 Each view lets you look at and interact with the map
in a specific way.
 In ArcMap data view, the map is the data frame. The
active data frame is presented as a geographic
window in which map layers are displayed and used.

9
 Views in ArcMap
 Within a data frame, you work with GIS information presented
through map layers using geographic (real-world) coordinates. These
will typically be ground measurements in units such as feet, meters,
or measures of latitude-longitude (such as decimal degrees).
 The data view hides all the map elements on the layout, such as
titles, north arrows, and scale bars, and lets you focus on the data in
a single data frame, for instance, editing or analysis. When you're
preparing your map's layout, you'll want to work with your map in
page layout view.
 A page layout is a collection of map elements (such as a data frame,
map title, scale bar, north arrow, and a symbol legend) arranged on a
page. Layouts are used for composing maps for printing or export to
formats such as Adobe PDF.

10
Data View

11
Layout View

12
 Map Layers
 Within the data frame, you display geographic datasets as layers,
where each layer represents a particular dataset overlaid in the
map. Map layers help convey information through:
 Discrete feature classes such as collections of points, lines, and
polygons
 Continuous surfaces, such as elevation, which can be represented
in a number of ways, for example, as a collection of contour lines
and elevation points or as shaded relief
 Aerial photography or satellite imagery that covers the map
extent.
 Example map layers include streams and lakes, terrain, roads,
political boundaries, parcels, building footprints, utility lines.

13
 Map Layers
 In addition to representing geographic information, each layer's map
symbols, colors, and labels help describe the objects in the map. You
can interact with the layers displayed in each data frame to query each
feature and see its attributes, perform analytical operations, and to edit
and add new features to each dataset.
 A layer doesn't store the actual geographic data. Instead, it references
a dataset, such as a feature class, an image, a grid, and so on.
Referencing data in this way allows the layers on a map to
automatically reflect the most up-to-date information in your GIS
database.
 In ArcMap, you specify properties for each map layer, such as its map
symbols and labeling rules, by right-clicking the layer in the table of
contents and clicking Properties or by double-clicking on the layer name

14
Map Layers

15
 The Table of Contents
 The table of contents lists all the layers on the map and shows what
the features in each layer represent. The check box next to each
layer indicates whether its display is currently turned on or off. The
order of layers within the table of contents specifies their drawing
order in the data frame.
 The map's table of contents helps you manage the display order of
map layers and symbol assignment, as well as to set the display
and other properties of each map layer.
 A typical map might have an image or a terrain base (such as
shaded relief or elevation contours) near the bottom. Next comes
basemap polygon features, followed by line and point features near
the top, and then annotation and other reference information.

16
The Table of Contents

17
 Saving and opening a map document
 When you save a map you have created in ArcMap, it
will be saved as a file on disk.
 A file name extension (.mxd) will be automatically
appended to your map document name.
 In later sessions, you can work with an existing .mxd
file by double-clicking the document to open it. This
will start an ArcMap session for that .mxd file.

18
 The Catalog Window
 ArcMap, ArcGlobe, and ArcScene include a Catalog
window that is used to organize and manage various
types of geographic information as logical collections
for example, the data, maps, and results of your
current GIS projects that you work with in ArcGIS.
 The Catalog window provides a tree view of file
folders and geodatabases. File folders are used to
organize your ArcGIS documents and files.
Geodatabases are used to organize your GIS datasets.

19
The Catalog Window

20
 The Home folder for a map
 One of the key workspaces in ArcMap is each map
document's home folder, which is the folder location
where your map document is stored. The Home
folder is used by default in ArcMap to save results,
store new datasets, and to access file-based
information.
 It is the location that is initially used to add new
layers to ArcMap and to store new datasets that are
created during editing and geoprocessing.

21
The Home folder for a map

22
 Using search in ArcMap
 ArcGIS includes the ability to search for GIS content
and to put it work quickly—for example, by adding a
search result to your map or by inserting a result item
into a geoprocessing operation.

23