GIS

A basic introduction
AHO 27 TH OF FEBRUARY 2015
Elise Brndaas

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

CONTENT
OPEN ARCMAP..

ADD DATA.

SAVE FILE

REMOVE LAYER.

RENAME LAYER.

REARRANGE ORDER OF LAYERS. 6

TURN LAYER ON/OFF

LAYER DISAPPEARED.

NAVIGATING IN ARCMAP..

PAN..

SET SCALE.

IDENTIFY

DRAW.

LAYER PROPERTIES.

GENERAL..

SOURCE.

SYMBOLOGY..

10

DATA VIEW..

12

LAYOUT VIEW.

12

PAPER SIZE..

13

LEGEND.

13

SCALE BAR... 14
NORTH ARROW

14

TEXT.

14

ARROW TOOL

15

EXPORT MAP TO PDF..

15

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

OPEN ARCMAP
Start button search for arcmap select ArcMap
Program opens - select blank map - OK

ADD DATA
Plus icon

to add data plus and folder icon to connect to folder - add

Elise Brndaas

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

Browse and find the folder you want, in this case select server 60401 and your group OK

Folder is now connected and via the plus icon add data you now have easy access to all data that
you put in your group folder.
Click add data icon
files - add

in the toolbar select your group folder select folder NVEData select all

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

All layers have now been added to your file and are listed in the left column.
The image should now look like this:

SAVE FILE
It is now time to save your file. Click CTRL + S select the place you want to save your work, in this
case select server 60401 select your group folder enter name of file and keep the .mxd end save
IMPORTANT: always keep all your files in the same folder, do not move neither your work map file
or the map layers from NVE/Oslo municipality to other folders. This will destroy the association
with files in the program and you will need to re associate/add layers all over again.

REMOVE LAYER
Right click the layer choose remove

If you remove a layer by mistake, simply click the add data icon
the folder to get it into the file again

and select the missing map from

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

RENAME LAYER
Double click the name of the layer layer properties opens rename ok new name will appear
Remember to choose a logic name this name will appear in the legend when you export the map

REARRANGE ORDER
Click and drag on layer name to move layer up/down

TURN LAYER ON AND OFF

Tick/un-tick the box to the left of the layer to turn layer on/off

OOPS LAYER DISAPPEARED

Right click missing layer select ZOOM TO LAYER layer should now be visible again

NAVIGATING IN ARCMAP several tools to use

Pan pan around in the map and simply scroll to zoom in/out

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Set scale set desired scale manually or select a predefined scale from the list

Identify read information about a polygon, line or point in a layer

Click on an object in a layer and the information will appear

Draw customize toolbars - draw

Elise Brndaas

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

A new toolbar appears - select rectangle click and drag to create desired size:

To change properties of the rectangle right click the rectangle properties

Tab SYMBOL lets you change fill color (or no color), outline color and outline width:

Tab SIZE AND POSITION lets you decide the width and length of the rectangle:

Elise Brndaas

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

LAYER PROPERTIES important information about a layer

Right click layer select properties layer properties emerge
In layer properties you will find important information about the layer, and the tab general, source
and symbology are the first we learn to use
General edit name of layer, again, always choose a logic name because it will appear in the legend

Source to check in which coordinate system the data is created, see under Projected Coordinate
System and Projection
A regular coordinate system that is used in Norway is the WGS1984_UTM_Zone_32N. This is a
transverse mercator projection, which is a particular way to map the tree dimensional world on a flat
map surface.
IMPORTANT: It is crucial that all layers in a map use the same coordinate system, if not, the layers
will not fit together.

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

Symbology lets you display different colors for different values

Lets start with the layer LosmasseFlate. Layer appears as having only one color for all the polygons:

Right click the layer properties symbology

Select categories unique values make sure value field is set to the name of whats in the layer (in
this case JORDART which means soil type) press add all values:

10

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

The operation may take some time, so just wait, and see all the colors appear and press OK:

All the different values are now visible and the layer will now appear with the new color settings:

Each color has a number in the left column and the number relates to a specific type of soil.

11

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

DATA VIEW
View data view data view is now active

In DATA VIEW we work with the map: turn layers on/off, draw, read information about the layers,
analyze by using the tools (data view in ArcMap is similar to model view in AutoCAD).

LAYOUT VIEW
View select layout view layout view is now active

In LAYOUT VIEW it is only about making a presentation of a map and then export it as a PDF (layout
view in ArcMap is similar to layout view in AutoCAD). Therefore you now see your map in a frame,
which is the paper. The task in layout view is to make a readable map for everyone, including: title,
legend, scale, scale bar, north arrow, map source and date.
IMPORTANT: always include in text the source of the map and the date you made your map. Proper
use of maps depends on including the producer, for example Oslo municipality. Also, for others to
verify your work, they need to know where you got your maps from and what data you had at the
time. Data may change over time, for example, a map of buildings in Oslo from year 2000 does not
look the same as a map of buildings from year 2015.

12

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

PAPER SIZE
File page and print set up set paper size and orientation OK

Paper will now change to the new size, so use ARROW TOOL to select map frame - adjust frame to
new paper size. SCROLL to ZOOM in and out or set scale in the scale tool.
If computer runs slow (due to all the information in the layers), turn off all layers when adjusting the
frame, and turn them on afterwards.

LEGEND
Insert legend choose which layers to include next - select title, color, font and size
next next next finish

13

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

SCALE BAR
Insert scale bar select the one you want, preferably one in kilometers make sure to tick the box
scale to fit page OK

NORTH ARROW
Insert north arrow select the one you want make sure to tick the box scale to fit page OK

TEXT
Insert text write desired text enter
If you want to adjust text: right click properties change symbol set font, color, size OK OK

14

Introduction to GIS

AHO 27th of February 2015

Elise Brndaas

ARROW TOOL
Use the arrow tool to move items around on the paper, and use CTRL + C to copy item, CTRL + V to
paste item and CTRL + X to delete item. Click and drag in corner of item to adjust size.

EXPORT MAP TO PDF

File export map select where to save, name of the file and pdf format save

This operation may take some time, so just wait and a message will apear in the lower left corner
when the file is done. You can now open the pdf in the folder and print it. Ta - dah!

15