Intro to ArcGIS

Kate Dougherty, Geosciences & Maps Librarian

Tutorial created for version 10.1 in February 2013
 Overview
What is GIS? Select features by
Common uses attribute
Software Select features by
Interface & navigation location
Adding layers Buffer features tool
Customizing & Layout view
displaying layers Datums & projections
File management
Data sources
 What is GIS?
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a
computer-based methodology for collecting,
managing, analyzing, modeling, and
presenting geographic or spatial data.

Allows you to overlay datasets and query

them in terms of their spatial relation to each
other
 Two Types of Spatial Data
Raster - continuous data
E.G., air photos, scanned maps, elevation layers
Most remote sensing data is raster data
Vector - discrete features
A layer comprised of individual points, lines or
polygons (e.g., roads or states)
This presentation focuses on vector data
 Common Uses
Analyzing potential environmental hazards
Emergency services planning and routing
Siting new facilities:
wind farms
power plants
vineyards
Identifying food deserts in urban areas
Much more!
 Esri
Environmental Systems Research Institute
ESRI is now Esri
Industry leader for GIS software
Program is ArcGIS/ArcMap
Now up to version 10.1.
(This presentation done with V. 10)
Table of
contents that
The data frame that displays the spatial data.
shows the
docs layers.
 Identify
Go to full Go to Go to Select feature
map previous next features
extent extent extent (by hand)
Select
elements
Clear (to move
selected or edit)
features

Add data
 Project:
Identify Washington County Parcels
Near Perennial Streams
 Add Layers
States (Census Bureau)
Counties (Census Bureau)
Hydrography (Area - National Hydrography
Dataset)
Parcels (Washington County
Wash_Co_Data_Month_Year.zip)
Public lands (GeoStor)
Click to add data
 Coordinate Systems
All your layers may not necessarily use the
same coordinate system.
OK to draw and display
Not OK for detailed analysis
(need to reproject layers advanced step)
Data frame will use the coordinate system of
the first layer thats added
(displays feet, meters, or decimal degrees/lat/long
of cursor location in bottom-right corner,
depending on coordinate system)
View With All Layers Added
Zoomed to Washington County
 Rename States Layer

State layer
renamed
Open the Attribute Table
Customizing Layers

Select by Attribute Tool

Selection is Highlighted
New Layer is Added to Map
Arkansas Only Remaining State
 Changing the Display of Layers
Change symbology/colors
Turn individual layers on or off
Change the display order

Layers on map display according to their order in the

table of contents

Top layers may hide features in layers under them

Click & drag a layer in the table of contents to change

its display order on the map
Change the Display Order
Change Symbology of Layers
Change Color of Streams
New Symbologies Displayed
Clip Streams to Washington County

Clip Tool
Access Clip in Geoprocessing Menu
Clip Tool Dialog Box
Clip Tool Progress Indicator
Clip Completed Indicator
Change Symbology of New
Clipped Hydro Layer
New Clipped File Looks Great!
 Analysis
We will find parcels that:

Contain perennial streams

And note their status in the parcel layers attribute

table.
Add New Columns to Attribute Table
 Field Types
Whole Numbers Decimals
Short Integer Double
(integers from -32,768 (up to 6 decimal places)
to 32,767)
Float
Long Integer (unlimited # of decimal
(integers from - places)
2,147,483,648 to
2,147,483,647)
Task: Select Parcels with a
Perennial Stream
View Selected in Attribute Table
View Selected Records Only
 Task: Select Parcels in a flood Zone
Within a Distance of Perennial Streams

Use the buffer tool to draw a buffer zone

around specified features
 Manage Files with ArcCatalog
File manager for files used in ArcMap

Best to manage moving pieces this way,

instead of Windows Explorer
ArcCatalog Window
Use ArcCatalog to View Metadata
 Share Maps and Layers with Packages
Package up all the information used to create
a layer or map document for easy sharing by
email, a shared drive on the LAN, etc.

Right-click a layer in the TOC and select

Create Layer Package
 Share a Map Package
To package up an entire map document for
sharing, use File | Create Map Package
ArcMap will force you to create some limited metadata before creating a
sharable package. Click OK.
 Creating Packages
Save the package as a file and share as you
usually would

You must validate your package before

saving

Detects any errors that would impede sharing

 Validation
Any errors need to be corrected. Click on any
error messages to see a help document.
Warnings are warnings only can go ahead
and publish.
If no problems, the share button will become
active.
 What Else Can You Do with GIS?
Join stats based on Analyze viewsheds and
geography (i.e., states) shadows
to a states GIS layer and
view the data spatially Use web map services
Excel, CSV, text formats for mashups in your
own applications
Create/digitize your
own data Much more!

import GPS data

GIS Software at University of Arkansas
Reference desk machine (version 10.1)

Campus-wide license administered by the

Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies
(CAST)

Free software
 Sources of GIS Data
Search for selected base layers (reference
maps) from right within the application
GeoStor (Arkansas state portal)
geo.data.gov (federal portal)
National Map (USGS)
TIGER/Census Shapefiles (reference layers
boundaries, roads)
 LibGuide
The Maps, GIS and Remote Sensing LibGuide
can point you to:

Information on how to get Esri software through

the campus license
Resources for learning GIS
Sources of GIS data (spatial and attribute)
Good luck!

Thank you!