L1 Intro ArcGIS

8/20/2019 L1 Intro ArcGIS

1/26

GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Introduction to ArcGIS

1

Lab 1: Introduction to ArcGIS

What You’ll Learn:-Start ArcMap-Create a new map-Add data layers-Pan and zoom-Change data symbology-Change display properties-Set relative paths-Add layers to features

-Select data-Measure distances-Use raster-Create map layouts to print-Add legends, titles, North arrows, andother elements-Print a map to a PDF

Data for this exercise are located in the L1 subdirectory or the class web page.Videos for this exercise are located in the class web page.

What You’ll Produce: Four maps, one of lakes and roads, one of wetlands, a

third map of the Cloquet Forestry Center, and a fourth a map of topologicalerrors.

Background: This is the first in a series of introductory exercises for ArcGIS/ArcMap. These are practical skills that complement the theory andpractice of GIS described in the textbook “GIS Fundamentals: A First Text onGeographic Information Systems”, by Paul Bolstad. These exercises usedatasets available at the course web page:

undergraduates: http://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR3131/FR3131.html or

grad. students: http://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR5131/FR5131.html

We assume you have a functioning copy of ArcMap running on your computer.The exercises were developed with ArcGIS, ArcView version 10, student edition.

If you wish refer to the video Start ArcMap on the class web page.

Each lab assumes you have a copy of the needed data f iles on yo ur perso nal

“jump” drive. Before each lab copy the needed files from the Network directory,S:\FR3131 or S:\FR5131 or download from the class web sites.

http://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR3131/FR3131.htmlhttp://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR3131/FR3131.htmlhttp://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR3131/FR3131.htmlhttp://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR5131/FR5131.htmlhttp://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR5131/FR5131.htmlhttp://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR5131/FR5131.htmlhttp://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR5131/FR5131.htmlhttp://paulbolstad.cfans.umn.edu/Courses/FR3131/FR3131.html


2/26


2

Part 1: Starting ArcGIS, adding data and creating your first mapFirst, find the ArcMap icon, shown to the right. The icon is often located1) as a desktop or taskbar shortcut,

or2) in an ArcGIS folder

In Windows XP it may often by found by left clicking on the Start button in thelower left of the screen and selecting Programs ArcGIS ArcMap.

Double left click on the ArcMapicon, and be patient while a startbanner displays. Depending onyour startup option you may ormay not see the ArcMap – Getting Started screen (below tothe right). If you do get thiswindow then elect to open an

existing map, create a new,empty map from a customtemplate, or from a standardtemplate.

You indicate your choice by leftclicking on the entry in the leftpane, as shown. (Note: you may wantto check the “Do not show this dialog in the future” as all of our labs begin with a Blank Map)

Now single left click on the OK button in the lower right corner of the popup

window.

This will open the main ArcMapwindow, similar to that displayedat right. Note there is a Table ofContents window pane, a mostlyblank area forming the left part ofthe screen beside a bar wherevarious icons and menu bars,each of which allows you to

perform some action.

Left click on the Add Data button

in the top center of thescreen to add data layers (also called themes).

You will see a dialog box to select a layer or layers for the map.

Data View

Table ofContents

windowane


3/26


3

However, sometimes a directoryor drive does not appear in thelist of sources.

You may need to create aconnection, using the Connect

to Folder button, shown in thefigure to the right.

This opens a list of availablefolders, at least those on yourhard disk, and perhaps anyadditional available through your network. Navigate to the folder containing yourdata by clicking down the directory tree, and selecting the appropriate folder

(shown at the right), in this case … \L1. Clicking OKmakes this folder available, so that you may adddata from it to your map.

This should open the L1 directory. If not, or in thefuture, you may navigate to a connected drive by

clicking on the Add Data button ( ), then on thedisplay triangle to the right of the “Look in:” subwindow (see left), until you see your data folder, inthis case named LabData\L1.

You’ll likely be using data that has be copied toyour personal portable drive, so the directory tree and name may be different, butthe important point is to know how to find your data, and add and navigate to

directories.

Navigate to the L1 folder (shownhere) and double left click on thefile named lakes.shp. This willadd this data layer to your map.

Note that the lakes.shp layer dataare displayed in the data viewpane, and data names are listedin the table of contents pane on

the left.

Repeat the process to add the roads.shp data layer.


4/26


4

Panning and Zooming ArcMap allows you to change the magnification and area that you view inyour data pane. There is a cluster of zoom buttons (see at right). They aretypically near the table of contents pane, but because the toolbars are“dockable”, the may be anywhere along the edge of the ArcMap window, andmay be arranged horizontally instead of vertically, as shown here.

Left click on the zoom and pan icons to change cursor function. Left clickingon the plus (+) magnifying glass changes it to a “zoom in” cursor , then clickon the data pane will zoom in on a point. You can also left click andhold/drag to define a zoom area.

The minus cursor zooms out, and the “arrows in” and “arrows out” buttons, foundbelow the magnifying glass buttons, zoom the entire pane by a fixed amount.

Next there is a “pan” button, a hand, that does not change the magnification, butallows you to click/drag position the data. There is also a globe zoom button that

zooms to the full “Extent” of your data. Below this are “arrows in” and “arrowsout” buttons to zoom by fixed amounts, and buttons that zooms back and forthamong previous zoom levels.

To exit the pan or zoom cursors, click on the arrow button near the cluster ofthe pan and zoom tools.

You may also specify a scale bytyping into the scale window, alongthe top of the main menu bar:

Changing Data Symbology We can customizea layer’s appearance. Left double-click on a symbolicon, the colored patch below the name of the lakesdata layer in the table of contents (see right).Video: Intro Symbology Layout

The SymbolSelector window willappear (left).

You can select a

symbol type from theexamples on the leftof the window, andchange theproperties with the controls on the right of thiswindow.


5/26


5

Left click on the blue patch (shown highlighted in the figure on previous page), oranother that suits your fancy, and left click on the OK near the lower right.

Repeat this process for the Roads layer.

Your map should look something likethe picture to the right.

Within the data pane, there can be two“views” on the data. We have beenworking with the Data View. This is anuncluttered view, used primarily whenwe’re working with our data. There isalso a Layout View, used to preparemaps for output. A layout view allowsyou to add a north arrow, scalebar, and other elements we usually expect to find

on a printed or other published map.

You left click to switch between the Data View (icon near the lower left of theData Pane, shown by the left arrow above) and the Layout View (icon, rightarrow).

Note that second set of zoom tools that appear when we activate the LayoutView (see below). These allow you tocontrol the zoom and pan within thelayout view, without changing thezoom in the data view.

Using the Layout View, Adding aLegend and North ArrowLeft click on the Layout View icon toprepare your map for printing.

Select Insert from the list at the top ofthe main ArcMap menu (see figure atthe right).

Left click to select Title from the drop

down menu. A text box for typing atitle appears on the layout view page.

Type in something logical; for example “Lakes and Roads in Hugo, Minnesota”. After you have typed in your title, left click and hold over the title, and drag themouse to reposition it.


6/26


6

Double left click on the title to display a propertiesdialog box similar to the one on the right. Here youcan make other changes; for example “ChangeSymbol” is the button for increasing the text size orchanging fonts. Experiment with the settings.

Return to the Insert Menu (as you did with the title) toadd a North Arrow.

Select a north arrow design from the popup menu andthen left click OK.

The north arrow is put on the page with a box aroundit. You may reposition it as with the title, and you mayincrease the size by dragging a corner.

Use the Insert Menu to add a Scale Bar . Detailed instructions aren’t provided,

but the sequence is similar to adding a north arrow.

Add a Legend from the Insert Menu. Thiswill open a Legend Wizard (figure at left).

Possible map layers are shown in a pane onthe left, and those to be displayed areshown in a pane on the right. You movelayers between the possible and displayedwith the arrow boxes in between the twopanes. Left click the Next button (lower

right of the Legend Wizard) to accept thedefault values. As you add the legend youwill be asked several questions about the

number of columns, boxes, style, and other options.

Click Next to accept the defaults throughthe successive windows, and then Finish.The Legend appears on the page.

Finally use the Text option from the InsertMenu to add a text box with a descriptive

title, your name, and the date.

To modify a text box, select by left clicking. A right click will bring up a menu; selectProperties. Use Change Symbol toincrease the font. Select OK and Apply and OK. Move the text to a logical placeon the page.


7/26


7

Switch to the data view (click the map icon in the lower left of the data pane)

Left click on the layer name “Lakes” in the table of contents, and a dark blue boxshould appear. Right click on the blue box.

Left click on Properties in the drop-down menu (see right).

Select the tab labeled “General” and change the layer namefrom “Lakes” to “Hugo Lakes” and click OK.

Similarly, change the roads layer to “Hugo Roads”

Notice the layer names in the legend change “on the fly”, asyou change them in the Table of Contents, they are changedon your layout.

You map should look something like the image below.

To complete this part of theassignment export the completedmap to a .pdf formatted file.

Make sure you have selected LayoutView, then left click on File Export Map (see figure left below).

The steps below are shown in thevideo: Export Pr int


8/26


8

This willopen an export window (right).

Typically, you restrict the output tothe graphic extent (check box inthe extreme lower left of theexport window).

PDF files are often chosen whenthe map page is to be distributed.One of the graphic formats (e.g.,

.TIF, .JPG) is selected when thegraphic is to be incorporated intoanother document.

Saving Your ProjectSave the project, so that you mayopen it later, by using the main

ArcMap menu window,File Save. The steps beloware shown in the video Saving

Project


9/26


9

You’re usually best served when saving the map in the lesson directory thatcontains the associated data files, in this case, ourL1 directory. The map is saved with the fileextension .mxd.

Setting Relative Paths While Saving ArcMap project files (saved with an .mxdextension) do not save any real data, butrather instructions on how to compose themap. This can present some problems whenmoving projects among computers, so we’ll now show you how to avoid some ofthese problems. The steps below are shown in the video Relative Paths.

First, create a new ArcMap project (save your old projectfirst), then left click on the New Map button, shown at left.

Add the roads.shp layer from the L1 directory.

Right click on the name roads in the table of contents window,and left click on Properties at the bottom of the drop-downmenu

Left click on the Source tab found near theupper right of the window, and look in thewindow about mid-way down. Note that there

is a path, starting with a drive letter, shownbelow as“ X:\courses\FR3131\LabData\L1\roads.shp.”

This path is the drive and sequence ofsubdirectories that lead to the displayed datafile. Your path will be different, depending onthe directory you are using to store andretrieve data, but the important point is that itcontains a drive letter at the start, in thiscase, X:.


10/26


10

In this case the path is “hard-wired” to the data set, and the ArcMap project you’ve created knows to look there when youask it to display this map.

Unfortunately, this storage arrangement isn’t very flexible, orportable. If you move your project files, including all data, to

another computer, the drive letter or directory you save thedata into will likely be different, for example, C:\ or D:\ insteadof E. The path to the data will then be incorrect, and the datawon’t be displayed.

If anything is different in the path, the project will not be ableto locate and display the data. In the current state, the mapproject is difficult to move between computers.

Perhaps worse, even if you don’t move the data, but dosomething as simple as rename the directory, the map

project won’t locate the data correctly.

This isn’t a problem if you always work on a computer with fixed drives, and younever change the subdirectories. But many folks want to move their data andprojects around.


11/26


11

There is a fix, by specifying relative pathnames. To do this, left click on FileMapDocument Properties (see right).

This will open a window with severalblank fields for a map title, subject,

keyword, and others.

Left click on the check box “Store relativepathnames to data sources”, near thebottom.

Left click on Apply, at the lower right ofthe window.

If you then save the map project in thesame subdirectory as the data, you can

easily move your project and all the datato a new computer by moving the entiresubdirectory.

In this case, save your map project byFile Save As and navigate to \L1directory, naming your projectappropriately, you should be able to move your projects/data among computerswithout problem. If you don’t do this, your project may open, the data listed, butwith nothing showing in your data pane.

There are a couple of confusing aspects of saving maps. ArcGIS documentationsometimes refers to the files with an .mxd extension as map files, sometimes asproject files, and sometimes as map project files. Just remember that when yousee these three different names, they are often talking about the same thing, butsometimes not. Map project file is perhaps the clearest way to describe an .mxdfile.

A second, more confusing aspect of map project files is that they do not containany spatial data. This can cause problems if you are not careful.

For example, if I save the “map” I created above into the file “MyFirstMap.mxd”on a portable disk drive and move it to a different computer, openingMyFirstMap.mxd will show my data sets in a table of contents, but my data viewand layout view will be empty.

This is because the file MyFirstMap.mxd doesn’t hold the data. It only holds theinstructions on where to find the data, and what symbols to use when displaying


12/26


12

the data, among other information. If I haven’t also moved my data to the newcomputer, then there will be nothing for the map project file to display.

Think of the .mxd file as the recipe, and the data as the ingredients. You needboth to make a map. If you save the .mxd in the same directory as the data, thenyou can easily move both the .mxd map project and the data the same time.

You can avoid this problem by1) making path names relative, and2) saving the .mxd file in the same directory as the data, in this case, into \L1directory.

You should follow this two-step process for all class exercises, saving dataonto your portable thumb drive, and saving the .mxd with relative paths,into the same subdirectory as the data.

Manipulating Symbology Remove the roads layer (right click on the name in the TOC, then left click onRemove), and add the layer “wet_land.shp” from the L1 subdirectory. This layershows polygons that depict the wetlands of the Hugo USGS quadrangle, inMinnesota.

After adding the data, left click on the name of the layer (wet_lands.shp) and rightclick to select Properties.

This opens a Layer Properties window, with several actions you can begin byactivating tabs along the top of thewindow (see the graphic a fewpages above).

Video: More Symb ols Use the General tab (furthest tothe left) to change the Name of thelayer to Hugo Wetlands.

Left click on the Symbology tab(located near the top center of thetabs). This will open a window, a

bit simpler to that shown at right.

1) In the upper left selectCategories, then UniqueValues.

2) Select Wetland_ty using the down arrow next to the Value Field.


13/26


13

3) Click on the Add All Values. All the wetland types will now be shown.Uncheck the box to the left of the “all other values”.

4) Change the color scheme for the map to colors you prefer.

Since the U value (which means Uplands) is such a large part of the map let’s

make it blank to make the map more readable.

Left click twice quickly on the colored box to the left of the U value.

Left-click Hollow from the symbol selector window and then OK.

Select Apply and then OK.

As before, switch to the Print Layout View and add a Title, Legend, Scale Bar,North Arrow and your name/date. Practice selecting the map, title, legend andresizing each item. Move these

objects around into a pleasingarrangement. Your map should looksimilar to the image at the right/below.Export this map to a PDF.

Finally, save this map as a map projectfile; File Save As. (Video: SavingProject ). Note that as noted above,with simple projects it is usually a goodidea to save the project in the samedirectory as the data, and set the path

names relative.

Data Frames When you first started ArcGIS, it automatically created a working area, called a“Data Frame.” It named this first working area “Layers,” asshown by the yellow stack in the table of contents. It is perhapseasiest to think of this data frame as analogous to a desktop,onto which you place data layers. Just as you may have several desks in a room,you may have several data frames in an ArcMap project.


14/26


14

To carry this analogy further, you may place different data on each “desktop”represented by each data frame. You may also display a different area, usedifferent symbology, and different coordinate systems for each “desktop”, or dataframe.

A map may have several DATA FRAMES. When you add data layers to a map

the data will be placed in the “active” frame; by default this is active frame iscalled “Layers”. This exercise will only use the default DATA FRAME called“Layers”.

Setting Data Frame PropertiesTo control DATA FRAME options, use the table of contents pane (remember, thenarrow, vertical sub window on the left side of the main ArcMap window):

Left click twice on “Layers” with the yellow stack icon near the top of the table ofcontents display:

This will display a DataFrame Properties window(see at right). Various tabscontrol various properties fora data frame, such as thename (with the General tab),the size of the frame (Sizeand Position), plotting grids(Grids tab), the coordinatesystem (discussed nextweek), or whether to draw a

bounding frame (Frame tab).

Before leaving the data frameproperties screen, selectsome of the other tabs (seewhat operations they control).

To leave the data frameproperties window, left clickon the OK.


15/26


15

Practice and More ToolsCreate a new project (a “Blank Map”) and add the following layers to your map:

40_corners,Cl_roads (NOTE: “ CL_ROADS ” NOT “ ROADS ” ) Streams

Iverson_drg

Setting the Layer OrderNotice that the table of contents lists the point data layer on the top, then the twoline data layers (roads and streams), then the raster data layer (Iverson_drg ).

We can manually shift data set order in the layer stack.

Left click on the Iverson_drg layer and hold the mouse button down.

While holding down the mouse button, drag the layer toward the top of the stack.

As you do a black line will show the new position in the layer stack. Move thislayer to the top of the stack and release the button, dropping the layer.

The rearranged layers now look different because the Iverson_drg covers up theother three layers.

Move the Iverson_drg layer back to the bottom of the stack.

To widen the table of contents (TOC) pane,left click and hold on the vertical linebetween the TOC and the data view, and atwo-arrowed line will appear (see figure atleft). Stretch the line to the right, wideningthe TOC to see all of the layer titleinformation.

Change the names of the data setsdisplayed in the table of contents through

-selecting the layer by right clicking on thename, then

-selecting PropertiesGeneral tab-entering text in the Layer Name textbox-left clicking OK

Pan, zoom, re-arrange layers, and apply symbology until your map appearssimilar to the image on below.

Drag it this

way


16/26


16

Measuring Distances and AreasFind the gravel pit andlookout tower features bypanning/zooming aboutthe map, then pan/zoomso that both just fit in thewindow (see figure atright).

These are in sections 29and 32, south of thepoints in the 40_cornersdata set, and southwestof the Cloquet airport.

Find the MeasureDistance icon, and leftclick on it to activate the

measure tool (it is

usually with thepan/zoom tools).

Video: Measure Tool

Use the measure tool to estimate the distance between the gravel pit and thelookout tower (left click, hold, drag, and release).

Measure

theDistancebetweentheLookoutTower and


17/26


17

You can change the measurement units displayed by:

-left clicking on the triangle near the upper middle of the Measure window-left clicking on Distance -selecting the desired units

Now measure some other distances.

Pressing Escape (ESC) clears & startsa new measuring operation.

Measure the area of one of thesections, the numbered red “squares”.How many square miles is a section?

Quit the measure tool (remember, leftclick on the black arrow that is part of

the pan/zoom group).

Use the Zoom and PanIcons to make your mapcover an area similar tothe figure shown to theright.

Now compose and printor export another map.

Switch to the LayoutView as describedearlier, and use theInsert menu to add atitle, North arrow andscale bar.

You may use theselayout zoom tools if youwant to inspect map elements before outputting a layout, for example, to betterplace, size, or align the legend, North arrow, or other

map features, or to resize maps.

If you click on the map, you will see “blue handles”appear at the corners (shown at right). These areyour change points. You can click and drag these toresize the display area, for example, to make spacefor a legend, title, north arrow, or other elements youdon’t want to place over the spatial data.


18/26


18

Create your map similar to the figure below, with a title, name, legend, northarrow, and scale.

NOTE: Do not include the Iverson_drg in your legend.

(Use the < to move the iversong.drg back from “legend items” to “map items” in the LegendWizard)

Export this map as a pdf.


19/26


19

Multiple Data Frames in One DocumentUse FileNew, select Blank Map.In the new Map document, Use Insert DataFrame.

Video: Data Frames

You should now see two icons that areyellow “layer stacks,” one named “Layers”,and a second named “New Data Frame” in the table of contents (TOC).

Right click on the “New Data Frame”,click on Activate in the dropdown menu.Notice that the New Data Frame nowappears in bold in the TOC. Right click on the “Layers”

data frame icon, and activate it. You may have severaldata frames in a map project. Thecurrently active data frame will appear inbold letters in the TOC.

Each data frame specifies a different map, with its own data layers, coverage,and coordinate system, and other map properties

Activate the data frame called “Layers” and use the Add Data to add the vegetation.shp and the iverson_drg.img datalayers found in the \L1 directory


20/26


20

Right click over the data frame named “Layers” in the table of contents From the drop-down menu, select Properties (at the very bottom, just belowActivate)

This should display a Data Frame Properties menu.

Select the General tab.

Specify a Name of “Inset”. Thenleft click on Apply and OK

Your data view and table of contents should be similarto the figure at right. Note that you have changed thenames for your data views in your table of contentswindow.

Select the New Data Frame then right click and Activate this data frame.

Load the vegetation, cl_roads, and streams data layers in this new data frame,

and rename the frame as “Main Panel.”

Activate the layout view, set the page to landscape (File -> Page and PrintSetup…), and left click on one of the data frame panes to activate it. Use theblue edge “handles” to resize it so you have an inset and main panel to create aninset map, similar to that shown below.

Note that you don’t need to print this map, but you should understand theprocess, asnext week andin future labs

you’ll have toproduce multi-panel map.


21/26


21

Part 2: GeoDatabasesYou may wonder about the data layers you have just used for your two maps,Lakes, Roads, and wet_land . These layers are shapefiles, a special file typedefined by ESRI for storing spatial data. Shapefiles are a group of files thatshare a file name but have different extensions, such as .shp or .dbf or .prj.

ESRI subsequently created a more complex data structure, called aGeoDatabase.

You typically create the GeoDatabases (or the simpler/older shapefiles) by left-clicking on the catalog tool:

You may right-click on a folder in the directory tree, then scroll down to New,Personal GeoDatabase (seefigure) to create a newgeodatabase.

Our lab exercises willprimarily use shapefilesbecause they are adequatefor demonstrating most basicconcepts. However, we’ll atleast introduce how to createa GeoDatabase, anddescribe some of the thingsyou may do with them.

If your USB drive does notshow up, left click on theconnect to folder option in the Catalog (see right arrow in the figure, above), andnavigate through the menu tree to your drive.

Create a new personal GeoDatabase

You will now create files to hold data layers, data tables, or other information.


22/26


22

Right click on the GeoDatabaseyou just created, the scroll downto New, then Feature Dataset inthe set dropdown menus

In ESRI’s parlance, a Feature

Dataset is a collection of relatedspatial data, usually data layersand other geometric constructs.You may want to hold clusters ofdata together, for example, datalayers on river locations, lakesalong those rivers, and damsassociated with each lake. Theriver, lake, and dam data areFeature Classes, and additionaltables and network connections

may also be stored in the featuredataset.

You may create a new feature dataset, feature class, or table by selecting File >New, then the GeoDatabase item you’d like to create. You’ll be prompted by aseries of menus asking you to specify the characteristics of the item.

In this example, name it something like MyData


23/26


23

Enter a name, and click Next.

Specify a coordinate system(here Projected-County-Minnesota-Anoka Feet), thenNext

Leave the Vertical at the default, and left click on Next

Accept the defaults for theTolerances on the next window,and left click on Finish.

You’ve just created an emptyfeature dataset. I find the description confusing, because it doesn’t contain anydata yet. You have to put what ESRI has called feature classes (which willcontain data) within this feature dataset.

You do this by right

clicking on the“mydata” featuredataset you justcreated, and scrollingto New, Feature Classon the dropdownmenus that appear:

Name the featureclass, don’t bother with

an alias, and select thetype – typically point,line, or polygon forvector, although morecomplex options,which we won’tdescribe, are alsoavailable. Create a polygon feature class, then left click on Next.


24/26


24

Specify the data fields for thefeature class. ObjectID andSHAPE are typically definedby default for basic featureclasses. You may add new

fields (variables) that holdinformation about eachfeature. For example, for astream feature class, I coulddefine the stream_size,order, type, name, etc. Iwould specify an appropriatedata type for each, e.g.,stream_size as a longinteger, order as a shortinteger, type and name as

text, etc.

Click Finished.

When you click finished, you should now get aview that shows your new feature database,and a nested feature class in a GeoDatabase,as on the right. The feature class doesn’t haveanything in it (we will cover data entry in

another lesson), but these are the creation steps. The shapefiles we will use areadequate for the simplest of datasets and operations, and are most appropriatefor this introductory class. Most of the operations we introduce in this class canbe well-supported with the simpler shapefiles. However, there are advantages forthe more complex GeoDatabases for larger, more complex, longer-lived data.

Topologies in GeoDatabasesOpen a new project (Blank Map), and display the following layers found in theL1\Example_topology GeoDatabase, in the testdata feature dataset:-point_layerX-line_layerC

-line_layerD-layerA-layerB

These are very simple data layers that we’ll use to introduce vector topology.

Now, we want you to look at the video topology.


25/26


25

In particular, we want you to:1) examine the data layers, using the selection tool , and

specifically note:-the polygon overlap in layer A,-the lack of containment of all polygons of layers A by layer B-the adjacency of line_layerC and line_layerD to the polygon layers,

-the partial containment (coverage of) the point_layerX by layerA

Clicking on objects with the selection tool will show a cyan outline of thefeatures. Note that as you alternately click on polygons, you can see howfeatures overlap.

2) Now use the Add Data button, add the Example Topology Database, testdata,testdata_topology. Answer no to the question about adding the participatingdata sets, you’ve already added them.

3) Note how the rulesare applied to theother data layers.Note that the errorsand highlighted inRED.

You can look at thetopological rules byright-clicking on thetopology in the tableof contents, thenselectingProperties, at thebottom of the drop-down menu, and theSelection tab (see

right). This lists therules, and the data pane shows where the rules are broken in red.


26/26


4) Create a layout ofthe data andtopological errors,with an appropriatelegend and name,

scale bar, northarrow, export this toa pdf, and turn it in.The data view willlook something likethe figure right:

To Turn In (viaMoodle)

Remember, you have four maps to turn in:1) The lakes and roads map,2) The wetlands map, and3) The Cloquet Forestry Center Map.4) The topology/errors example map.

L1 Intro ArcGIS

Documents

Transcript of L1 Intro ArcGIS