Quick Start for ArcMap 9

Open ArcCatalog arc catalog

  1. Launch ArcMap from ArcCatalog by clicking on the icon at the top toarcmap
  2. Click OK to start using a new empty map.
  3. If the Tools toolbar is "floating" separately, drag it to the middle of ArcMap so it is docked between the two windows -the table of contents (TOC) and map display
  4. Arrange the ArcCatalog and ArcMap windows so that you can see both at once, with ArcCatalog on top.

Adding Data 3 different ways

  1. Drag and drop the file C:/GIS Data/usa/background/cntry04.sdc from the ArcCatalog file tree into ArcMap, then minimize ArcCatalog. The layer will show up in the TOC in ArcMap and will be drawn in the Map Display.
  2. Add the C://GIS Data/usa/background/rivers.sdc file by clicking the Add Data buttonadd theme in ArcMap.
  3. Right-click the Layer's data frame in the Table of Contents, choose Add Data, and add the file: C://GIS Data/usa/census/cities.sdc. Say OK through the warning.
  4. Zoom into the United States by clicking zoominonce and then by clicking and dragging a box around the area you want to see or by clicking in the center of the U.S. so that the map display will zoom in at certain intervals. When you are done, you should choose the pointer pointer2to turn off the zoom.
  5. For the last layer, add the data using any of the above methods, and add usa/census/states.sdc. (you may have a warning that you'll say "OK" through).
  6. Notice that layers draw so that points are first, then lines, then polygons. Everyone in here will have different colors for the symbols representing the layers. Check and uncheck these layers in the TOC so that they will draw and undraw.
NOTE: If data shows up in the table of contents but doesn't draw, double-click on the layer name to open the Properties window, click on the General tab, and check the minimum scale that the layer will draw at, and look at the current scale on ArcMap.

Looking at the Data Behind a Map

  1. Right-click on the cities layer in the TOC. Choose Open Attribute Table. This is the attribute data behind the geography of the cities layer --each feature will have it's own varying attribute information attached to it. These fields are what you can choose when you change the symbology (below) to do some thematic mapping. What fields there are depends on where the data came from, etc. We're using the most recent data that came with the GIS software itself.
  2. Go to the Selection menu > Set Selectable Layers and uncheck the layers other than cities and Close. This will make it easier to select only what you need to select.
  3. Click on the left-most cell at the beginning of a row to select it, you will see this row selected in the map display as well. Note: You may have to choose the Full Extent button fullextent to see it since we were already zoomed in.
  4. Click the Select Featuresarc select button in the Tools toolbar and select an area in the map display. The rows attributed to the geographic area will be selected on the table.
  5. Click the Selected button in the Attributes table window to move all of the selected records to the top so that you can view the information easily.
  6. Close the attribute table.
  7. To clear what is selected, go to the Selection menu, Clear Selected Features.
NOTE: When you select something new, the previous selection is cleared.

Find a feature

Search for a feature that matches your search criteria.

  1. Click the Find findbutton in the Tools toolbar
  2. Type "Buffalo" in the Find text box.
  3. Click the "In" dropdown arrow and click cities or selectable layers.
  4. Click Find. As you will see, more than one city named Buffalo appears in the results.
  5. Buffalo will appear in the list of features the tool has found. Right-click Buffalo and click Zoom to feature
  6. Then try choosing Select Feature in the Find search result

Convert Selected Feature to a Graphic

The feature should already be selected from the step above.

  1. Right-click on the selected point and choose Convert Features to Graphics.
  2. Convert "selected" should be chosen
  3. Click to choose "draw the converted graphics and draw the features"
  4. Now that it is a graphic, double-click on the graphic to open up the window with a palette to give it a different symbol, size, and color.
NOTE: By making this symbol a graphic now, if you uncheck the cities layer, the graphic will still show. Likewise, if you choose to "only draw the converted graphic" and you delete the graphic, that point will be missing from the cities layer and you will have to re-add that layer to the data frame if you want every feature.

Changing Symbology

    1. Right click the cities symbol in the Table of Contents and pick a new color.
    2. Next, double-click on the cities name, bringing up the Properties window, and click on the Symbology tab.
    3. Click on the button with the current symbol to bring up the symbol selector window.
    4. Change the symbol to something else, like a star. NOTE: Changing the symbol may change the color, so you may have to change it again. You can also click on the symbol itself in the table of contents to change the symbol type, size, etc. (like changing the color above) and click OK for the changes to take effect.

Change the method of classification.

While still in the Layer Properties window, click quantities on the left side of the Symbology tab. Graduated colors is the default.

  1. In the Value drop-down, choose POP2000 to map the population of the cities in 2000. You may change the color ramp if you wish.
  2. Look in the classification area and at the numbers of classes. Click the Classify button and experiment with different classification types and different number of classes. The histogram will change for each type. Click OK and Apply and the changes will preview on the map display. Click OK when you are satisfied with the look.

Labels

  1. Reopen the Layer Properties Dialog box for the cities layer and click the Labels tab.
  2. Check the box to "label features in the layer". This is also where you can choose what to label by going into the drop-down arrow next to Label Field. Label AREANAME for this example.
  3. Change the font and size of the label while in this tab.
  4. Click Apply and OK. If you are zoomed out too far, the map will seem busy, so you may want to click on "Scale Range" and enter an "Out Beyond" scale that is lower than what the map scale currently is.
  5. Right click on the layer name in the table of contents and choose Label Features (it should already be checked). Now it will unlabel all of the features. You can use this method to label or unlabel features all at once.
  6. To label a few select objects, click on the arrow beside the tolabel in the bottom left of the screen to find the label button label Each label you add is then a separate graphic that you can click on and move around as well as change the individual colors of, etc. If you want to change the properties of all elements, go to Edit, Select All Elements and use the toolbar on the bottom of the screen to pick the font, size, etc.
NOTE: Label placement depends on map scale and that depends on the size of your map display area -so more labels will sometimes appear the more you zoom in.

Magnifier and Overview functions

A floating magnifier and an overview picture is available by going under the Window menu. These functions are useful in helping you view the map display either magnified or to it's fullest extent without having to change the extent on the map display itself. It is also helpful when trying to label a small feature. Experiment with these functions.

NOTE: You can right-click on the magnifier title bar to change the degree of magnification.

Joining Data Tables

In order to map attribute data that is other than what comes with some geographic layers, one must join this data to the data in an already-existing table. One of the fields in the table that you add must have the same information as one of the columns in the table you will join it to -so that it can be linked to it geographically.

  1. Minimize ArcView and open Internet Explorer.
  2. Go to the Digital Mapping Station Webpage at: http://www.lib.udel.edu/ud/digital/microcopy/gis/dms.htm
  3. Right-click the file called visited.csv, "Save Link Target" as a file in C://temp, and open it in Microsoft Excel. The file contains state names and a "Y" or "N" as to whether or not the state has been visited and whether or not it will be visited again. You may correct this for yourself and save the file in the C:\temp folder as a Comma Delimited file with the extension .csv.
  4. Click Yes through the warning and close Excel and Internet Explorer and maximize ArcMap again.
  5. Add the table as you would add a layer. You will notice the TOC switching to the Source tab since we're getting this data from a table source.
  6. Next, right-click on the states layer and choose Joins and Relates, Join.
  7. Follow through the next window choosing for #1 the field of STATE_NAME, #2 is the table visited.csv, #3 is the field of STATE_NAME.
  8. Click OK, click yes in the create index window and open the attribute table for States. Scroll to the end and you should see the new field called "visited.VISITED"
  9. Close the attribute table.

NOTE: when you join tables, you'll also want to make sure that the cells are formatted the same -choose string or text.

Making Queries(to view something visually)

Select by Attributes

  1. From Selection menu, choose Set the Selectable Layers and uncheck all layers but states and Close
  2. Go to Selection, Select by Attributes.
  3. Chose states as the layer
  4. Double-click on VISITED in the Fields box (scroll to the bottom of it).
  5. Click the = sign once and click on the Get Unique Values button
  6. Double-click the 'N' in Unique Values for the layers selected that you have not visited yet.
  7. Click Apply and Close.

Now, all of the states not visited are selected. You may have to zoom in or out to see all of them. You can also open the Attribute Table for more information on these states.

Select by Location

Find the cities located on these selected States.
    1. Go to Selection, Select by Location
    2. Select features from Cities that are completely within selected features of the states layer.
    3. Use selected features should be checked.
    4. Click Apply, Close.

Interactive Selection Method

If you select a feature to find a point within it, you may want to remove the larger selected part or if you want to add something to the current selection, then you'll want to experiment with this option.

NOTE: When you are done, remember to go back into this menu and unselect this option; it does not go back to the default.

If you would like to turn these selected areas on and of and give them their own symbology, you may turn them into their own feature by right-clicking and choosing Data, Export. You will give this new feature it's own name.

Creating a Buffer

Buffers create a zone of specified distance around more than one feature allowing you to analyze proximity of other features. If you want to see which major cities of the states you haven't visited fall in close proximity to each other, you can use this tool. In this version of ArcGIS, the Buffer Wizard has been hidden, so we have to customize the interface to place it on the toolbar. You can follow these first steps to customize the way ArcMap looks to you.

  1. Go to Tools, Customize, Commands tab, and scroll down to click on Tools
  2. Find the Buffer Wizard in the options on the right-hand side.
  3. Click and drag the Buffer Wizard icon and let go on top of the toolbar, so that it will add it there.
  4. Close the customize window
  5. Open the Buffer Wizard
  6. Click the option to buffer "the features of a layer". Make sure that "Use only selected features" is checked.
  7. Click the dropdown arrow, and choose cities as the layer to buffer.
  8. Click Next. The buffer wizard gives you options for specifying the buffer distance and for the number of buffers to create.
  9. Click the option to buffer "As multiple buffer rings" and choose 3 rings, 25, and miles in between each ring .
  10. Click Next.
  11. Click Yes to dissolve the barriers between buffers
  12. Click the option to save the buffer "in a new layer." You can type a name for this new layer or use the one provided.
  13. Click Finish and ArcMap will create the buffer and display it.

NOTE: You can uncheck this buffer layer just as you would other layers

View Statistics

Go to Selection, Statistics and choose the layer and field you want statistics for. If the option is greyed-out, it means you have to select an area you want statistics for. The Sum field reports the totals. For example, if you want the total number of states that are selected. Choose the layer States and the Field pop2000 and it will give you the minimum and maximum populations for those selected areas. Close the window when finished.

Making a Layout

    1. Go to Layout View either by going to the View menu, Layout View or by clicking on the Layout button in the lower left corner of the map display tolayout.
    2. Click on the data frame in the map display -handlebars should appear.
    3. Change the layout from Portrait to Landscape by going to File, Page and Print Setup or, if you'd like, change the scale by typing in the scale you need in the scale area.
    4. Change the size of the layout by adjusting the handlebars.

Create an Inset Map

    1. Right click on the data frame "Layers" in the TOC and choose Copy and then go to the Edit menu and choose Paste to create a second data frame in the layout to make an insert. It pastes directly on top of the original.
    2. Click the View menu, Data Frame Properties , click the Size and Position tab, check the "As Percentage" box and make it 40 percent for both width and height and click OK. Since the map inset is selected, it is active in the table of contents (it is bold).
    3. Double-click on the states layer, go to the Symbology tab and change to Quantities, Graduated Colors, and the Value as: POP00_SQMI.
    4. Click Apply
    5. Rename this inset data frame in the Data Frame Properties Dialog by going to the General tab, and name it Inset.
    6. Click on the Frame tab in this same dialog window to give the inset any border, background, or drop shadow you choose, then click OK.
    7. From Insert menu, choose Title, and type a title and hit enter for it to be accepted (you may double-click on the title in the layout to customize it after this). Make sure the right data frame is selected (either inset or c:temp) when you do these functions.
    8. Insert, legend. If you do not like a layer showing up in the legend, delete it from the Table of Contents, by double-clicking on it slowly so that it becomes editable and delete it (can do this after the legend is added to the layout as well).

Saving Your Work in ArcGIS

Save your work as an ArcMap Document (.mxd) – This saves your progress in ArcMap. Does not save GIS data, just references its location on disk.

You may export your map in many image formats including: PDF, JPEG, and TIF.

Map Templates (.mxt) – If you are going to create several maps with a similar layout, the template can be a time-saving tool.

 

 
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