Lab 1: Building Network Basics and Introduction to ArcGIS

From: http://www.geo.utexas.edu/courses/371c/Labs/lab1_11.htm

Fall 2017
GEO327G/386G: GIS & GPS Applications in Earth Sciences

Messa Lab 1: Building Network Basics and Introduction to ArcGIS

ges
Part 1 - Network Basics
Syllab Part 2 - Introduction to ArcGIS
us

Sched
The first part of this lab is a chance to get up to speed on the building
ule computer network and hone your skills with Windows. The goals are to
know how to:
Lectur
e  Log onto the network, navigate it, and access your personal storage
space
Lab  Move files and folders among local and remote drives
 Print to the classroom printers or others within the building
Projec  Capture your work (maps, etc.) and paste it into a Word document
ts

The second part is an introduction to the components of ArcGIS 10 Desktop

Trip(s
)
software. It's goals are enumerated within the exercises. Your Lab 1
results are due at the beginning of lab next week.

Part 1 - Geology Building Network Basics

Computers, printers and servers in this building are connected via a high-
speed network. The network is accessed via a UT login user
name and password. Windows software on our network keeps a profile of
your use, so that no matter which machine you use, you should always see
a familiar desktop, one that is customized by you. Today you will establish
(or alter) your profile.

This will allow you easy access to what you’ll need for this and all other
labs. Your TA will lead you through the steps. Please note that the printers
in our classroom are UT network printers that require Bevo Bucks to print.
The printer "drivers" are configured for black and white and color printing -
the former is, of course, cheaper but you will need color for some
assignments. You should install both and make the black and white the
default.

Windows 8

PCs throughout the building use the Windows 8 Professional operating

system. You will need to be able to navigate the drives on the classroom
computers using Windows Explorer, be able to create a directory (folder)
and move and copy files. Each computer has multiple USB ports. A small
USB "pen" or "thumb" flash memory drive is a requisite for this class, and
one that has at least 2 Gb of storage is best for moving, storing and backing
up files.

File and Folder Naming Conventions

Most of the GIS software we will use was recently redesigned to operate
seamlessly within Microsoft Windows 7. In theory, file/folder names should
thus obey Windows rules, with nearly any name (except those using special
characters like back- and forward-slashes, asterices, etc.) allowed. In
practice, some of the software (i.e. some tools within ArcToolbox) still
demands file and folder names that adhere to older DOS naming
conventions. It is thus good practice to avoid names that contain
spaces (e.g. a folder called "My Documents" should not be used but a
folded called My_Documents is OK) or that are longer than 13 characters.
Use an underscore or hyphen instead of a space, e.g. "file_1.txt" or "file-
1.txt" is acceptable; "file 1.txt" is not. The older DOS "8.3" convention
required file names that were limited to 8 characters, followed by a period
and a 3 character extension that denotes the file type. This is still the
safest way to name files and folders when using this software, however few
of us still adhere to it.

All Windows software automatically adds a three character extension to a

file name when a file is saved, though you may not see it when browsing
with Windows Explorer unless you turn off "Hide file extensions for known
file types" in the folder options. You should configure all folders to view
file extensions. Ask your TA for help if you don't know how.

Screen Capture Software

To complete lab exercises and projects, you will need a means of

transferring images from GIS software to Microsoft Word, or to other
applications. Techniques for doing so are in the Software Tips page,
under Tip #2.

Part 2 - Introduction to ArcGIS

N.B. This lab is a very highly modified version of an original created by

Sarah Battersby and Nicholas Matzke for Geography 176B at the UC Santa
Barbara Department of Geography. © 2000, Regents of the University of
California. Used by permission of the authors.

Please see "Understanding the Lab Format" before beginning.

Outline

 Purpose
 Introduction and background
o Computers
o About the software
o Cartography
o Additional information
o Lab equipment
o Other lab information
 Procedures
 o Logging in
o Copying data
o Creating data folders
o About ArcCatalog
 Starting ArcCatalog
 What's in ArcCatalog
 How data are represented
 Connecting to data
 What can be done in ArcCatalog
 Finding data in ArcCatalog
 Managing your data
o About ArcToolbox
 Starting ArcToolbox
 What is in ArcToolbox
o About ArcMap
 Starting ArcMap
 What is in ArcMap
 Adding data / creating a map
 Symbology and data appearance
 Display
 Other slick tricks
 Cartography
 Conclusion
 Map to turn in

1.1 Purpose

To become familiar with the following:

 The three modules of ESRI's1 ArcGIS Desktop software

 Data display
 Basic cartography

And to provide the background necessary for future lab exercises.

1.2 Introduction and background

Computers
ArcGIS software is designed to run on a variety of platforms (no Apple
version, however). This semester our lab computers are running
ArcGIS version 10.3 under Windows 8.

About the software

ArcGIS is an integrated software package available at three different
licensing levels. The lowest and least expensive of these is ArcView, once
strictly a stand-alone program but now also a member of the ArcGIS
family. This is succeeded upward in price by ArcEditor and then
by ArcInfo. All contain the same three modules (see below) but differ in
the type and number of tools available for editing and analysis. We will be
using ArcInfo, considered the industry standard by professional GIS users.
In its current incarnation (version 8 and above), ArcInfo is a Windows-
based GIS program - a significant departure from versions 7.x and below,
which used command-line driven, DOS- or UNIX-based interfaces.

Importantly, ArcGIS at all three levels (ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcInfo) is

structured around three key modules-ArcCatalog, ArcToolbox,
and ArcMap. These three modules represent the three basic necessities of
GIS - Data Management, Data Analysis ("geoprocessing"), and Data
Output/Mapping. This lab examines these three modules, exploring some
of their key functions.

Cartography
This lab also discusses some basic principles of cartography. Those familiar
with cartography will likely find this a review. The intent is to provide
basic guidelines and requirements for all maps that you will hand in. This
is a very cursory introduction; your skills in this area should improve
throughout the semester as you get feedback on your maps. Among many
good web sources, the ESRI Mapping Center is a good place to start for
information on making great maps with ArcInfo. See particularly
the Maps pages for nice examples and techniques to emulate.

Additional Resources
In lieu of software manuals, all ArcGIS v.10.x documentation is now
distributed online at the ArcGIS Help Library. Most of what you will need is
in the "Professional Library", accessible in the menu on the left side of the
web page (illustrated below). This is your ultimate resource, and several
specific links to it are provided throughout the lab. Additional information
on ArcGIS software can be found through the ArcGIS web site, and through
the ESRI Virtual Campus web site, which offers several free modules on
ArcGIS and ArcGIS extensions.

Lab equipment
There is no required lab equipment for this class, though it is recommended
that you purchase a 2 Gb or larger flash drive to back up your lab material
and data. You are expected to store lab files and data on a network drive,
your so-called "r: drive". All students in this and other courses share the
same local hard drive space on the lab computers, so there is the possibility
that work saved on a lab computer could be overwritten or deleted by
others. To prevent this, we recommend copying all of your lab work to
your network storage space (r: drive) and/or a flash drive. Do not consider
any work stored on a computer in this classroom to be permanent. Use
your network storage space!

Note also that all classroom and lab computers automatically reboot each
evening at midnight. This provides a "clean slate" for users each day but
can result in lost work if not saved before then.

Other information about the lab

Be sure you have looked at your TA's Lab Syllabus and the other
information on the Labs page, such asSoftware Tips, Understanding the Lab
Format, Layout Suggestions and the Software Bugs page. Go no further,
READ OR EXPLORE THESE NOW.

1.3 Procedures

1.3.1 The Basics

Logging in, mapping drives and creating folders

Log in on a lab computer. The class folder and your secure network storage space should already
to your profile. To find them, go to My Computer and open the drive "files on austin disk R:". Th
should locate your UTEID, which is your network storage space, and a folder called "geo-class", w
contains a folder with data for this course. This is an essential first step - ask your TA for help if
it.

Creating folders for your labs and lab data

Good computer file management in this class is essential. Good computer file management
is essential. Good computer file management in this class is essential.

There are two options for saving your data and lab work: a portable flash ("thumb") drive or your
storage space on the Austin disk. In later labs, flash drives will work better during lab exercises t
storage (the software still has some bugs when working with data across a network). Flash drives
for portability but can get lost, stolen or broken easily. With many years of experience, your TA
working from a flash drive and backing up all work to your Austin disk space at the end of EACH w

Whichever method you choose, begin today by creating a GIS class folder (give it a name less than
characters long without any spaces) and, within it, a "Lab_1" folder. Do not put this folder or an
within a "My Documents" folder. Follow this convention for all your labs and life will be a little

Once you've created and saved files for a lab, your life will also be much easier if you don't move
the location where they were first stored. This can create broken links to data files, which can u
fixed, but it is easier and simpler to avoid this problem. We reiterate, don't move files or folder
unless it is absolutely necessary.

Note: DO NOT PUT SPACES IN FILE OR FOLDER NAMES; use a "-" or a "_" instead.

1.3.2 The Data

Copying Data

Although it is possible to work directly from the Lab 1 data in the class
folder, DO NOT DO SO. Instead, copy the entire Lab 1 data folder, called
"Lab_1_data", to your Lab_1 folder before beginning. There are a number
of ways to do this - perhaps the fastest is by dragging and dropping
between two Windows Explorer windows. Most importantly, when
transferring these data, COPY THE FOLDER, not the individual files
within it. As will become apparent later, certain types of files become
unusable if copied piecemeal without their hidden counterparts and
without maintaining paths to other files.

Data for this lab are contained in two folders, Austin_Geo and Texas_data,
both of which reside in the Lab_1_data folder.

The Austin_Geo folder contains:

 7 shapefiles (with extensions .shp)

 a layer file (extension .lyr)
 a map document file (extension .mxd).

The Texas_data folder contains:

 state-wide data within a geodatabase (extension .mdb),

 a folder that contains a state transportation coverage
 a folder of geology layers and shapefiles
 a map document file that shows the geology of Texas
 a shapefile, "txtrct", the contents of which you will determine.

Nearly all of these files are accompanied by a number of other files with
various 3 character extension, but having the same file name. The
differences among these data types will be discussed in upcoming class
lectures and is briefly described below. After copying the entire
Lab_1_data folder (~94 Mb) to your Austin disk space or flash drive, you
will browse and preview the various data using ArcCatalog.

1.3.3 ArcCatalog

Introduction to ArcCatalog

ArcCatalog is the ArcGIS module used to organize, browse, and manage

your data and map files, as well as for viewing and editing metadata (data
about the data). In many ways, ArcCatalog is similar to Windows Explorer.
For instance, when you modify a file's location, or create or delete a file,
you do not need to save the changes -- it is done automatically. Since it is
easy to delete files this way, you should be careful to delete only when you
are sure that you will not need the file any longer. Keep in mind that what
you see in ArcCatalog is simply an alternative view of your disk space(s),
one designed specifically for GIS data. Changes to data structure or files
made with ArcCatalog are the same as any changes you might make on your
disk space(s) with other software, like Windows Explorer. The online
resource for help with ArcCatalog can be found here.

Starting ArcCatalog
Start ArcCatalog by navigating to All Programs -> ArcGIS -> ArcCatalog.
The lay of the land, or, What is in ArcCatalog?

ArcCatalog is similar in structure to Windows Explorer -- on the left-hand

side is a view of a Catalog "tree" showing how data are organized. On the
right hand are options for previewing the contents of the data shown in the
Catalog tree. You will notice that there are different icons for different
data sources. Simple folder icons link to and allow browsing of local disk
space(s). Other icons store links other data sources, some on the internet.
As seen above, these are Database Connections, Toolboxes, GIS Servers,
and Database Connections (not discussed at this time).

At the top of Window are several menus and toolbars. We will explore a
number of these. Other toolbars can be displayed (or turned off), by using
the "Customize">Toolbars menu option at the top of the window.

To determine what a particular tool does, hold your cursor over the button
for several seconds. A gray "tip" will appear, telling the function associated
with the tool. A more informative description appears at the bottom of the
ArcCatalog window. For example, if you hold your cursor over the bent
upward pointing arrow (the first button directly under 'File'), you will see
the tip:"Up One Level"; the bottom of the window will, at the same time,
read 'Go to the next level up in the catalog tree' (the ArcCatalog window
must be the active window for this to work).

Question 1:
What is the function of each of the tools below? You will see these icons

as you go through the lab. (Answer this and all other

questions in the MS Word Lab 1 question and answer sheet that you copied
to your y: drive.)

Introduction to the various symbols-icons in ArcGIS

The following is a partial list of several icon types that you will encounter while working with
ArcCatalog. These icons provide a quick way to determine data types without having to browse f
contents. This list is not comprehensive, it covers the basics. A more complete list, is available i
"Exploring our World" in the digital books folder.

Map document file (.mxd) Raster data; jpeg, tif, etc.

Geodatabase Coverage - Polygon Shapefile - Polygo

Geodatabase feature dataset
Geodatabase feature class - Polygon
Geodatabase feature class - Arc
Geodatabase feature class - Point
Geodatabase feature class - Annotation
Coverage - Arc Shapefile - Arc
Coverage - Point Shapefile - Point
Coverage feature class - Polygon
Coverage feature class - Arc
Coverage feature class - Tic
Coverage feature class - Label

Connecting to your data

To access your data in ArcCatalog you have several choices -- first, if there
is already a connection to the disk space with your data, you can navigate
down the catalog tree until you find your data folder. If no such
connection exists, you must create one. You can make connections at any
level of your disk space tree but it often most useful to create a direct
connection to your data at the lowest level. A direct connection will help
avoid clutter because you can make a connection straight to the folder
holding your data, rather than having to navigate through other folders. An
example of a direct connection can be seen in the graphic in section 1.3.3.:
note that the connection is to "Z:\geo-class\GEO-
327g_386g\2014_Fall_Lab_data" not simply to "Z:\geo-class\GEO-
327g_386g".

 Connect to your Lab_1 data, using the "Connect to Folder"

button ; do not connect directly to the class folder.
Navigate to the folder containing
your data for this lab- in the
example to the right (note: has not
updated for Fall 2017
folders) Z:\...\2014_Fall_Lab_data\L
ab_1_data. Select the folder (it
will highlight in blue), and then
click "OK".
A direct connection to your data
folder will now appear in the
Catalog tree.

Try this out again by connecting to a flash drive, and/or a folder within the
class folder.

What can I do in ArcCatalog?

Earlier in the lab, it was mentioned that ArcCatalog is used to "organize,

browse, and manage your data and map files, as well as for viewing and
editing metadata." We'll explore it a bit more:

For organizing data, ArcCatalog is quite easy to use. However, if you

delete, move, or otherwise alter the data using ArcCatalog, it is permanent
(i.e., if you delete something from your GIS folder, it is GONE - you can not
retrieve it). Data organizing in ArcCatalog is very similar to that in
Windows Explorer - you can drag and drop coverages, shapefiles, or
geodatabases into new workspaces, or you can use the Windows
shortcut keys (Ctrl-X and Ctrl-V).

Try this out by copying and pasting your lab data into a new folder. (Delete
the old folder when done.)

Browsing through your data is simple using ArcCatalog - the Catalog tree
displays, in a hierarchical fashion, all of the items in the Catalog - much
like how data browsing is done with Windows Explorer. A folder that
contains files will have a box with a plus or minus sign to the left of the file
name. This indicates whether or not the folder has been expanded.

Take a moment to explore the data in the Catalog tree - use the arrow
buttons on your keyboard or the mouse to navigate. While navigating, pay
attention to the changes that take place on the right hand side of the
ArcCatalog window.

The right hand side of the Catalog allows you to examine the data further.
For instance, in the "Texas_data" folder, click the
"USGS_TX_boundaries_GRS80.mdb" geodatabase. If you then click on the
"Contents" tab on the right hand side of the window (shown above), a list of
the feature datasets and feature classes in the geodatabase are displayed
as icons (c.f. the icons in the table above). You can also see these if you
click on the "plus" sign to the left of the USGS_TX_boudaries icon on the
left hand side, so it's not very interesting to see these on the right.

For something a bit more interesting, click on the "Preview" tab to see a
preview of the data or the data attribute table. To change from geography
view to table view (or vice versa), use the "Preview:" drop-down menu at
the bottom of the Window, outlined in red below. The screen capture
below shows a Preview of the "counties" feature dataset.
Question 2

When previewing data, a previously grayed-out toolbar at the top of the

window becomes active. Why? What do the tools do? Are they always
active when previewing data?

Click on the "Description" tab and browse to

"protected_areas">"state_parks". The right window, as seen below,
shows "Metadata" for this dataset, including a thumbnail image, Summary,
Description, Credits, Access and Use Limitations. The metadata can be
edited (or created) using the "Edit" tool at the top of the Description tabs.
If the metadata must meet a certain standard (e.g. such standards exist for
Federal datasets) than it can be "Validated" with the "Validate" tool. It can
similarly be "Imported" from another data source.
Finding data and tools - The Search window

New in ArcGIS version 10 is a robust search capability. If set up and used

properly, it allows quick access to data and tools that might otherwise be
very hard to find. Search is accessed through a search window, available
in both ArcCatalog and ArcMap. We will try it first in ArcCatalog.
Click the search window icon near the top of the ArcCatalog
window. This brings up a window that is docked on the right side of the
ArcCatalog window. It can be undocked by clicking the pin in the blue bar
at the top of the window, then dragging the window by the blue bar to a
new location. It can be collapsed and hidden while docked by clicking the
"pin" icon in the blue bar, and it can be re-docked by dragging the window
back into ArcCatalog.

**A data search will only be successful if the data storage

area/folder/internet resource/etc. is first indexed.** You will want
search capability for your network drive, so it needs to be indexed. With
appropriate modification, duplicating the steps below will allow searching
of other locations as well.

 Open the "Index/Search Options" (in red below);

 Use the "Add..." button to browse to your network disk space and
then click "Select".
 Set the Indexing Options so that new items on your disk space are
Indexed every 60 minutes and are Re-Indexed from scratch every 6
days, starting at 1 AM.
 Click Apply and Indexing will begin. Click OK and indexing
continues while you work on other things.

Once indexing is complete, the software searches by file names, words in

metadata ("Tags") and key words in the software (for software tools). This
will be an extremely valuable tool as the semester progresses; learn to use
it!

After waiting a few minutes to build an Index, give it a try: We will search
for Data, so click the underlined "Data" (shown with red box below) before
typing in "Texas counties". The result should look something like that
below. Mousing over a result provides a preview of the data; clicking the
green link will take you to it in the ArcCatalog tree.
Question 3:
Within the USGS_TX_boundaries geodatabase, the "counties">"texas_counties_shape"
feature dataset's attribute table contains fields for AREA and PERIMETER. The values are in
square meters and meters, respectively. Use Table Preview to find areas and perimeters of
the counties in the table below. Convert your answers into square kilometer and km. Hint:
right-clicking on a column heading in the table allows you to sort/reorder the table rows.

County Area (square km) Perimeter (km)

Travis
Llano
Williamson

Question 4:
Examine the metadata for the geo.shp file in the Austin_Geo folder. Where did these data
come from and upon what are they based?

Managing your data

Managing your data is also done in ArcCatalog. You can examine and/or
modify the properties of your data simply by right-clicking on the file icon
in the Catalog tree and selecting "Properties. Do this for
thefaults.shp shapefile in the Austin_Geo folder.

Different file types have different Properties windows. For shapefiles, like
that you are now examining, you should see a window like the one below.
The tabs contain various types of properties:

General -- for shapefiles, a name and alias (a more complete or

different name) is listed. The same tab for a coverage
(see highways_dd in the Texas_data folder) or geodatabase contains
other information, discussed in later labs.

Fields -- lists the attribute table field (column) names and their types
and properties. Clicking on the "Name" Field Name brings up a
description of the Field Properties, (a Text field with a length of 20
characters, as shown in the image on the left. Field Properties will be
 discussed later.

Indexes -- contains a list of fields for which indexes can be created,

speeding search and query operations.

XY Coordinate System -- all spatial datasets (e.g. points, lines, areas)

are stored as tables of x and y (also sometimes z) coordinates.
Coordinates are referenced to a set of X and Y axes (a coordinate
system), and to a particular model of the shape of the earth (a datum).
This tabs show the datum and coordinate system used by the dataset.

Explore the Properties for the highway_dd coverage and the geo.shp file.

Question 5:
What is the "Spatial Reference" (i.e. XY Coordinate System) for highway_dd and geo.shp?

1.3.4 ArcToolbox

Introduction to ArcToolbox
ArcToolbox is the ArcGIS module for geoprocessing. ArcToolbox also
provides an option to write scripts and create customized data processing/
analysis/conversion tools.

Starting ArcToolbox

To start ArcToolbox, click the toolbox icon in the ArcCatalog toolbar.

What is in ArcToolbox?
As you can see when looking at ArcToolbox, it provides tools for
"geoprocessing" - Data Management, Analysis, and Conversion. Let's
explore the organization of ArcToolbox a bit more:
 ArcToolbox is organized in a fashion
similar to the catalog tree in
ArcCatalog. By clicking on the + next to
a toolbox heading (Data Management
Tools, Analysis Tools, etc.) you can open
that toolbox to view its tools or other
toolboxes. In the figure to the left, the
"Analysis Tools" toolbox is open to show
the "Extract", "Overlay", "Proximity" and
"Statistics" toolboxes.

To use a tool, double-click on the

icon for the tool. Doing so brings up a
"wizard" window that provides brief
explanations of the fields where you will
enter information. It also contains a
"Help" button that takes you to a full
explanation of the tool. We will have
many occasions to use tools within some
of the toolboxes, beginning next week
with Data Management Tools for
Projection and Transformation.

As stated above, one of the principle

differences among the three licensing
levels of ArcGIS (ArcView, ArcEditor,
ArcInfo) is the type and number of tools
available in ArcToolbox. Our ArcInfo
license includes every tool available.

With so many tools available, searching

for the right tool by simply looking in
each tool box becomes onerous. A
better approach is to instead use
"Search" window described above, but
with the "Tools" option instead of the
"Data" option.
Take a few minutes to explore the toolbox and the "geoprocessing" options
provided. Few will make sense to you now, but you will at least get a feel
for their vast numbers.
Question 6:
Use the Search window to find a list of "projection" tools (use "projection" as the keyword).
a.) What toolbox contains the "Define Projection" tool?

Open the Define Projection tool wizard window.

b.) What does the Define Projection tool do?

1.3.5 ArcMap

Introduction to ArcMap

ArcMap is the ArcGIS module for creating, viewing, querying, editing,

composing, and publishing maps. We've saved the best for last...
Starting ArcMap

Similar to ArcCatalog, ArcMap can be opened via the Windows Start menu
(Start -> All Programs -> ArcGIS -> ArcMap) or from ArcCatalog (click on

the ArcMap icon). In addition, you can open ArcMap by double

clicking on any map document file visible in the catalog tree of
ArcCatalog or Windows Explorer.

When you first start ArcMap, you get the "Getting Started" window - this
window provides the options to: 1) Create a new empty map; 2)Open an
existing map; or 3) Create a new map using a map template. This semester
we will most often use options 1 and 2.

The other important feature of this opening window, as shown above in the
red box, is the "Default geodatabase for this map:". By default, this is set
to a location on the local computer, usually your My Documents\ArcGIS
folder (this is automatically created when you open the software), where
you may or may not be able to find your work. Read the "What is this?"
hyperlink, highlighted by the red arrows above, for a complete explanation
of this feature. In later labs, when we begin to work with Geodatabases,
you will change this default location.

Using the "Browse for more..." option, open the prepared map
document Austin_Geo_G-Y.mxd in theAustin_Geo folder. You can open this
from the Welcome window, or when ArcMap is open, click on File ->
Open..., and navigate to the location of the map file.

From within ArcMap, Open ArcCatalog and Search with the buttons at the
top of the window (shown below). Dock them on the right side of the
ArcMap window, and reduce them to tabs.

What is in ArcMap?

Before going any further, careful read and study A Quick Tour of
ArcMap, an excellent summary of the basic features of ArcMap. As you do
so, refer to your the map document open in ArcMap.

Some important highlights:

 The top portion of the ArcMap window contains the menu and
toolbars. You can change which toolbars are displayed by right-
clicking on the top portion of the window (the gray part) and
selecting which toolbars you need or don't need. They can be
docked or undocked by dragging the left end of the toolbar.
 The left portion of ArcMap is the Table of Contents (TOC). It
shows a layers icon that denotes a Data Frame. As the name
suggests, a Data Frame is a conceptual rectangle that encloses all
of the data that are needed for a particular analysis, for
display, or for part or all of a printed map. Most of these data
will occupy layers, but others may simply be database tables.
Like the files we examined in ArcCatalog, Data Frames have
properties that can be explored by a right-click on the Data
Frame name, or by asking for "Data Frames Properties..." beneath
the View menu at the top of the window. Map documents can
have more than one Data Frame, but only one at a time can be
displayed or analyzed. The Austin_Geo map document has a
single Data Frame, titled "Garner&Young NAD83" (F.Y.I. Garner
and Young are the authors of the original paper map and NAD83 is
the datum for the coordinate system of all the map data).

 Below the Data Frame name is an expandable tree of five layers,

which are presently unexpanded but turned on for display. There
are several ways to view the TOC - presently they are displayed
by Drawing Order; the topmost layers are drawn on top of the
bottom-most layers. The layers can be also be viewed by source,
visibilty and selection (to be explained later). You can toggle
between the views by selecting the appropriate icon at the top of
the Table of Contents window, shown below in the red box.
  With the "Drawing Order" view, the TOC shows the layer name,
whether or not the layer is turned on (a check in the box next to
the name indicates such), and symbology for the layer (to see this,
click on the + to the left of the name to expand the tree; the
expanded tree is shown above). Alternatively, the "Source" view
shows the location (or "source") of the data. We generally work
with the TOC in Drawing Order rather than Source mode, but Source
mode is useful when trying to keep track of where data are stored,
and it is needed to see stand-alone tables. A third choice, "List by
Selection", provides an important way to choose which layers are
available for "selection" by tools we will explore later.
 The central portion of the ArcMap window provides a view of the
layers that are turned on in the TOC, in other words, the map!
Three very important small buttons in the lower left
corner of the map viewing window provide a means of viewing data
in "Data View" , "Layout View" or a way to refresh (redraw) the
view. The left icon brings the 'data view', the middle icon brings the
'layout view' and the circular arrows redraw the map window.
These buttons are easily lost among everything else, but they are
extremely handy. The same functions are available under the
"View" menu at the top of the ArcMap window.
 While in either Data View or Layout View, you can zoom in, out,
pan, identify, select, measure etc. map data in the map viewing
window by using the tools of the "Tools" toolbar:

Tools Toolbar - I like to dock this on the left side of the ArcMap window.

A table in the Help files explains the function of each of the tools in this
toolbar.

Zoom in and out and otherwise explore the data using the above tools. Use
the ArcMap Help menu at the top of the ArcMap window for a full
explanation of the Select Features and Identify Tools, two of the most
useful but least intuitive tools on this toolbar. The globe and blue arrow
tools are also invaluable - they will return you to either a view of the entire
data set or to the previous viewing extent. Get used to using these tools-
they are far more effective and efficient than the magnifying glasses for
many operations. (Conversely, I find the fixed zoom in and out tools of
little use.)

Before going further, read and study "Using data frames".

Notice that as you zoom in and out, line thicknesses, labels, etc. change
size. When zoomed way out, some things become nearly invisible. What
controls this, and will you have to redo all the symbols every time you want
to look at or print a map at a different scale? No. The answer is contained
in a map "reference scale". All symbols, labels, etc. are drawn to their
proper relative sizes only at an assigned "reference scale" for the map.
Zooming out and in takes you away from the reference scale and symbols
appear either too small or too large. To restore the symbols to their
proper relative size, either 1) return the display to the reference scale,
or 2) reset the reference scale to match the scale of the display.

Both of these extremely important functions are accessible by a right-

click on the Data Frame name (i.e. Garner&Young NAD83) in the TOC,
then selecting the "Reference Scale" option and either "Zoom To Reference
Scale" or "Set Reference Scale", as seen below.
I set the reference scale for this map at 1:24,000. Zoom to some other
scale, either way out or in, and reset the reference scale ("Set Reference
Scale") by the technique described above. Notice the effect. Get used to
performing this very important function.

After exploring the map in Data View, go to the Layout View - you can do
this by either clicking on the sheet of paper icon at the bottom of the view

window , or by selecting View->Layout View from the menu at

the top of the ArcMap window.

Before going any further, carefully ready and study "A quick tour of page
layouts".

Layout View gives a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get preview of a printed

page. A page, its margins, a set of rulers and the Data Frame layers that
are turned on are shown. The size of the page that is displayed, landscape
vs. portrait mode, etc. are set under the File ->Page Setup menu. We will
explore Page Setup properties during a later lab - for this lab leave them
alone.

The actual Data Frame is visible by clicking on the map, which brings up a
dashed box with blue vertices that can be used to enlarge or reduce the
size of the Data Frame. Try it and see.

A somewhat confusing aspect of Layout View is a new set of tools on

a Layout Toolbar, shown below. While these tools superficially appear to
perform nearly identical functions to those of the Tools Toolbar, they do
not.

The Layout toolbar. I keep this docked on the right side of the ArcMap
window.

The key thing to remember about these tools is that they operate on the
page itself, not the Data Frame. For example, zooming with the magnifier
tool of the Tools toolbar will change the map scale (displayed near the top
of the ArcMap Window), whereas zooming with the magnifier on the Layout
toolbar simply gives you a closer look at the page; the scale of the data
frame remains the same.

Try it and see. First, get the entire map visible in the Data Frame of the
Layout View. One way to do this is by typing in an appropriate scale in the

scale window near the top of the ArcMap window.

1:200,000 works nicely for these data.

 Now, using the Magnifier and blue Back Arrow key of the Tools
toolbar, alternately zoom in and return to different scales, noting
the change in the area of the map displayed on the page and R.F.
scale in the scale window.
 Return the map to a scale of 1:200,000.
 Next, do the same with the two similar tools on the Layout
 toolbar. Note the difference - the scale does not change in the
scale window, meaning that you are simply seeing a magnified view
of the page, not changing the scale or region of the map that will
eventually be printed.

Two particularly useful layout tools are the Zoom to 100% and Zoom
Whole Page tools.

Question 7
Explain what the "Zoom to 100%" and "Zoom Whole Page" tools do.

While in Layout View, to insert a title, legend, neat line, etc. on your map,
use the "Insert" menu, shown below, and select the object that you would
like to add.

Experiment with adding information to your map - from the "Insert" menu
try adding a title, legend, scale bar, north arrow, and your name. The
drawing tools at the bottom of the window can also be used to insert text,
draw and fill boxes, polygons, etc, and to format text. You may want to
use this map file later in the lab, so save your changes. Do so with a new
file name in your Lab_1 folder.

Adding data / Creating your own map

Now that you have spent time with a pre-made map file, it's time to make
your own.

In ArcMap you cannot have two map document (.mxd) files open at the
same time, so to open a new map file we either need to open a new
ArcMap window or close the existing map file. In this instance, since we
will not need the Austin_Geo_G-Y map document for this portion of the
lab, click on File -> New (or you can use the shortcut key "Ctrl-n", or click
on the new map file button on the menu bar), and select "Blank
document."
Before proceeding, read Adding layers to a map.

Highlights:
Three ways to add data to a map:

1. Use the "Add data" button on the ArcMap toolbar

2. Navigate to File -> Add data
3. The quickest method: Drag and drop data from ArcCatalog. With
ArcCatalog open within ArcMap, left-click and hold onto the data file in the
ArcCatalog tree that you want to add to your map - hold the mouse button
down, do not release the button yet. Drag the data straight from
ArcCatalog to a Data or Layout View window in ArcMap, or into the TOC.
Release the mouse button and the data will load into ArcMap.

Try each of these methods to add the texas_counties_shape feature class

(in the geodatabase under the "counties" feature dataset), and
the clip_TX_Faults and txtrct shapefile to your new map file. Answer OK
to any warning messages that may appear.
Question 8
What data are contained in the txtrct shapefile? Where did they come
from?

Order of data layers: Depending on

the order in which you added the data,
your counties may be "on top" of your
faults (in which case the latter would
not be visible on the map). You can
change this by clicking and dragging
data layers "on top" of other data
layers, just as you might do in
Photoshop or Illustrator.

This example shows moving

the clip_TX_Faults on top of
the texas_counties_shape layer.

Learn more about Table of Contents functions in this valuable link: Using the
table of contents.

Data properties:

In ArcMap, to view the Properties of a data layer, double click on the data
layer's name. This will take you to the very important Layer Properties
window. Note: The ArcMap Layer Properties window will
provide differentinformation than was found in the ArcCatalog Properties
window.

You can also do this by right-clicking on the data layer and selecting the
Properties option. From the properties window you can view and modify
numerous properties of a dataset - including the layer's transparency,
labeling options, symbology, and source. This lab will only cover a few of the
options (display, symbology), but you will want to take a few moments to
familiarize yourself with some of the other tabs in the properties
window. The Layer Properties windows is perhaps the single most important
tool for understanding, symbolizing and displaying data layers. Get used to
viewing Layer Properties by routinely right-clicking on the layer name in the
TOC.

Symbology: Under the symbology tab are the options for how data are
symbolized. From here you can decide to display the data as Features (single
symbol), Categories (unique values, unique values many fields, or match to
symbols in a field), Quantities (graduated colors, graduated symbols,
proportional symbols), or Multiple attributes (quantity by category). You can
also decide what color(s) and symbol(s) to use to represent the data.

To see a short overview of symbols and styles read Using symbols and styles.

For example, the fault layer actually contains dashed faults, dotted faults,
and a few hidden contacts. We would like them to display differently
("uniquely"). To do so,

 double-click on Clip_TX-Faults in the TOC to open the Properties

window, then click the Symbology tab. As the
default, Clip_TX_Faults is drawn as a single symbol.
 Since we want to show all of the different types of "faults", we will
use Categories -> Unique values. Before we can do so we need to
know what information there is about fault types stored with this
file. This information is in the files "Attribute Table".
 A quick look at the Faults Attribute Table (right click, "Open Attribute
Table"; this could also be done by previewing the table in ArcCatalog)
shows that the fault line types are contained in a field called LTYPE
and described in the field LONG_DESC. Although we could use either,
we want to symbolize using the LONG_DESC field because it contains
a written description of the line types that will show up in the symbol
legend - it will save us some typing.
 So... after going back to the "Symbology" tab in the Layer Properties
window for the Faults layer, from the "Show" window
select Categories, then "Unique Value", then in the "Value Field"
choose LONG_DESC from the drop-down list (see the picture below).
To see each of the unique values in the LONG_DESC field, click the
"Add All Values" button.
 Hidden contacts aren't faults, so we'd like to remove them from the
map. To do so, click on "hidden contacts" in the "Value" column of
the Symbology widow and then click the "Remove" button. To add
them back in we can use the "Add Values.." button or "Add All Values"
button. We can selectively add any or all of the line types with the
"Add values" button. To change the symbology of other data layers
(even of other types of data -- e.g. coverages or geodatabase) the
process is generally the same.
Question 9:
What other information is provided by the symbology tab for the LONG_DESC field? From
this window, in what ways can we change data representation?

Symbology and data appearance (Cont.)

 To change the fault line types and colors, double click on the line
next to the name and select an appropriate line symbol from the
Symbol Selector. Standard fault symbols are available in a pallet that
can be loaded into the Symbol Selector by clicking the "Style
References..." button and selecting "Geology 24K". Change all fault
values to appropriate symbols by first using the search in the symbol
selection window to search for "fault". See the diagram below for
hints.
 Colors and line width can be adjusted as well. Uncheck the <all other
values> symbol in the symbol column of the Symbology tab. When
everything is to your liking, click OK and examine the result, both in
the TOC and the map view window.
Display

An important feature of Layer Properties is a Display tab that allows the

option to set transparency. This allows for a layer to be seen through
another layer. For lab this week, this is not a critical feature, but we will
find it very useful in coming labs. To explore this, we'll make
the texas_counties_shape layer partly transparent.

Open the properties window for this layer and select the Display tab. Under "
% Transparent" enter 75 and click OK. This noticeably dims the counties and
their boundaries, making the faults more visible for display. We might also
be able to visually determine the extent to which Texas census tracts
coincide with Texas counties this way, by making either the census data or
county data dim enough to see through. Try it and see.
 Saving and Reopening Map Documents

Since it is likely that you will open data from both your network drive and
from copies on your local drive, it is helpful to use a relative path to a map's
data layers. This will be handy if you copy your lab data folder to a local
drive to work, or if you move it from one drive to another. If you do not store
your data sources as relative path names, you will run into the problem of
ArcMap looking for the data on the last drive which you used (e.g., if you
create a map document with your data located in Y:\Lab_1\; and you then
copy the entire folder to another drive, when you open the map file from the
new folder, it will still look for the data in Y:\lab1). A relative path name
tells ArcMap to look for the data in the same location relative to the map
document file- e.g., in the same data folder, or wherever it is in relation to
the map document file.

To set your map document to use relative path names, click on File>Map
Document Properties, then check "Pathnames: Store relative path names to
datasources". Click OK. Note: You will probably want to do this with ALL
map files that you create in this course. Do this routinely when beginning
a new map document.

Occasionally, even if you set the map file to use relative path names you will
still have problems with broken sources. These will be indicated by a
red ! next to the layer's name, e.g.

To fix this problem, click on the red exclamation point and reset the source
to the appropriate location by browsing to the data's location. ArcMap is
somewhat smart - if you fix one broken source location, others will be fixed
automatically if they too are at the same location.

Other Slick Tricks in ArcMap

 When you have zoomed to an area of interest, you can set a spatial bookmark. A spatial bookmark
will allow you to zoom to exactly the same area whenever you want. To set the bookmark, select
View -> Bookmarks -> Create. To return to a bookmarked view, select the bookmark from the list you
create under View->Bookmarks.
 "Overview" and "Magnifier" window are available under the Window menu. Try them; they're very cool
and self explanatory.

(VERY) Basic principles of cartography(courtesy of David Jones and M. Helper) -see also Layout
Guidelines and the "Best_practices_Maps" folder in the class folder.

1. Data in maps:
a. The data should take up a majority of the area; avoid excess white space.
b. Inclusion of unnecessary data should be avoided; simpler is better.
c. Bright, flashy colors such as red should not be used unless you specifically need to do so.
2. Titles:
a. Should usually be in upper case.
b. Should not be sentences, but should be simple and to the point. For maps, a title should
contain the subject of the map (e.g. Geologic Map of ....) AND the location (...Travis County,
Texas)
c. Should not be the focal point of your map.
 d. Should almost always be black or dark text.
e. Should be placed in a location on the map so as to not obstruct any other portion of the map.
3. Scale bars:
a. NEVER have a scale bar that extends all the way across a page. Scale bars should not be the
focal point of the map, they are for reference only.
b. Scale bars should use appropriate measurement systems. Example: km for Travis County,
meters for the UT campus.
c. Use intervals that make sense. Units of 2,5,10, 20 are common. For example, do not use
intervals of 23.4, or even 23. Note that the ESRI default scale bar properties allows the
interval values to change when the scale bar is lengthened or shortened. You will always
want to change this default so that the interval is fixed to avoid awkward interval values. The
default scale bars are also (IMHO) too thick and use characters that are too large.
4. Borders:
a. Maps need borders, they should usually be black.
b. Borders are known as "neat lines."
c. Neat lines should not detract from the focus of the map, i.e. overly thick or dark.
5. North Arrows:
a. Should be unobtrusive.
b. Are unnecessary and misleading on maps of large areas at small scales, i.e. where lines of
longitude would show noticeable curvature.
c. The default size of the ESRI default north arrows are universally too large - scale them down
on your maps. Likewise, the original intent of map north arrows was not decorative; they
were the practical means of precisely orienting a map! Some of us still use them that way...
6. Legends:
a. Legends should be unobtrusive
b. Legends should only show features that are not labeled on the map or aren't obvious from
universally recognized symbols.
7. Text on Map:
a. Text should NEVER cross other text or other features of the SAME color.
b. Labels for natural features such as streams, lakes etc. should be in italics.
c. Text should be legible! Save or print your final product at the reference scale of the map so
that all symbols and text are properly scaled.
8. Name on Map:
a. Unless the map is being published, names should be kept outside of the neat line. For this
class your name can go above the neat line in the upper right corner.
9. White Space:
a. Do not waste space. Try to find the balance between too much white space, and cluttered
data.
10. Color:
. Selection of colors for map data can make all the difference... A particularly good source of
color advice for cartography is Cynthia Brewer's ColorBrewer 2.0 site, which includes
suggestions for colorblind safe palettes.

Your map for Lab 1:

Using no more than 4 of the data files in the Lab_1_data folder, construct a color map.
Follow the above listed principles of cartography and those in the layout guidelines. In
addition to the above, the map should have a title, scale bar, explanation, your name and the
date completed.

1.4 Conclusion

In this lab, the basic functions of ArcGIS's ArcCatalog, ArcToolbox, and

ArcMap were explored. You may not yet feel comfortable navigating the
software, the Geology Building network, and the lab computers, but you
 will. True mastery (if there is such a thing) comes only with prolonged
practice. Keep at it - spend as much time as possible working with the
software and with these computers.

As with any new software, these basics do not come close to being
comprehensive - to really grasp the software, you will need to spend quite a
bit of time just exploring, trying out different functions, seeing what works
(and what doesn't), and just clicking on buttons, menus, bits of data, and
especially the help files. Don't be afraid to explore. You can always Exit and
start over.

1.5 To Turn In

 The question sheet (available in the Lab_1_data class folder), with

typed answers
 Your map

1
From an ESRI publication: "Founded in 1969, ESRI ( Environmental Systems
Research Institute) is the leading developer of GIS software with more than
300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI software is used in all 200 of the largest
cities in the United States and in more than 60 percent of counties and
municipalities nationwide. Headquartered in California, ESRI has regional
offices throughout the United States, international distributors in more than
90 countries, and more than 2,000 business partners. ESRI’s goal is to develop
comprehensive tools that enable users to efficiently manage, use, and serve
geographic information to make a difference in the world around them. ESRI
also provides consulting, implementation, and technical support services.
ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com." Back

Last updated September 24, 2017

Comments and questions to helper@mail.utexas.edu
Geological Sciences, U. Texas at Austin