Arc Objects

Arc Objects is the development platform for the

ArcGIS family of applications such as Arc Map,
Arc Catalog, and Arc Scene.

Arc Objects is a framework that lets you create

domain-specific components from other
components.

Arc Objects provides an infrastructure for

application customization that lets you
concentrate on serving the specific needs of
your clients.
ARCOBJECTS AND THE
ARCGIS DESKTOP

ArcObjects is the development platform for

Arc GIS Desktop.
The Arc GIS Desktop systems each contain
a configuration of applications,such as Arc
Catalog, Arc Map, Arc Toolbox, and Arc
Scene, and can host a variety of extension
products such as ArcGIS Spatial
Analyst,ArcGIS Geostatistical Analyst,
ArcGIS 3D Analyst and others.
 Arc Map , Arc Catalog
Arc Map is used for mapping and editing tasks as
well as map-based analysis.

Arc Catalog is used for managing your spatial

data holdings, defining your geographic data
custom schemas, and recording and viewing
metadata.
ARCOBJECTS FRAMEWORK

Arc Objects is built using Microsofts Component

Object Model (COM) technology.

It is possible to extend Arc Objects by writing

COM components using any COM-compliant
development language.

You can extend every part of the Arc Objects

architecture in exactly the same way as ESRI
developers do.
Interpreting object model
diagrams
Arc Objects object model diagrams are based on the UML
notation, an industry-diagramming standard for object-
oriented analysis and design.
The development environment,Visual Basic or
other, lists all of the many classes and
members but does not show the structure of
those classes.
These diagrams complete your
understanding of the Arc Objects components.
 Classes and objects
There are 3 types of classes shown in the UML diagrams
abstract classes, co classes, and classes.
A coclass represents objects that you can directly create
using the object declaration syntax in your development
environment. In Visual Basic, this is written with the
Dim pFoo As New FooObject syntax.
A class cannot directly create new objects, but objects of
a class can be created as a property of another class or by
functions from another class. Eg. FeatureCursor
An abstract class cannot be used to create new objects,
but it is a specification for subclasses.Eg: line could be
an abstract class for primary line and secondary line
 Type inheritance
Type inheritance defines specialized
classes that share properties and
methods with the super class and
have additional properties and
Line
methods.

Primary Line Secondary Line

This diagram shows that a primary line (creatable
class) and secondary line (creatable class) are types
of a line (abstract class).
 Instantiation

Instantiation specifies that one

object from one class has a
method with which it creates an
object from another class.
Pole Transformer

A pole object might have a method to create a transfor

 Customization
Showing and hiding toolbars using the Customize
dialog box
1. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
The Customize dialog box appears.
You can also double-click any unoccupied area
of any toolbar to display the Customize dialog box.
2. If it is not visible, click the Toolbars tab.
The presence or absence of a check mark next to the
toolbar name indicates its visible state.
3. Check and uncheck the check boxes.
Creating a new toolbar

In the Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box, click

New.
In the dialog box that appears, specify Chapter One
Examples as the name of the new toolbar or use the
default setting.
Store the toolbar in the document by changing the
name of the Save in dropdown list from Normal.mxt to
Untitled or the name of the current project.
Click OK.
The newly created toolbar appears near the top of the
application window.
 Adding buttons to a

toolbar
Make sure the toolbar you just created is visible.
If it is not visible, display the Customize dialog box.
Click the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.
Select the Pan/Zoom category from the Categories list.
Scroll to the bottom of the Commands list.
Select the Zoom in command and drag it to the
toolbar. Release the command when the arrow cursor
with a small box below it appears.
Continue adding commands from the Pan/Zoom
category
You may switch to other categories to select
commands.
Resize the toolbar so that its width allows the display
of two commands per row.
Note that you can dock the toolbar or drag it to any of
the toolbar drop sites on the application window.
 Renaming a toolbar

In the Toolbars tab, click the name of the

toolbar whose name you want to change.
Click the Rename button.
In the dialog box that appears, specify
My Own Tools as the new name.
Note that you can only rename toolbars
youve created.
Click OK.
If you decide not to rename the toolbar,
click Cancel.
Removing buttons from a toolbar
Make sure the toolbar you just renamed, My Own
Tools, is visible.
If it is not visible, display the Customize dialog
box.
Drag some of the commands off the toolbar.
Even though youve removed the buttons from the
toolbar, they are still available in the Customize
dialog box.
 Adding a menu to a
toolbar
Make sure the My Own Tools toolbar is visible.
If it is not visible, display the Customize dialog
box.
Click the Commands tab and choose the
Menus category from the Categories list on
the left-hand side of the dialog box.
In the Commands list at the right-hand side of
the dialog box, click Selection.
Drag and drop it to the left of the Zoom In
button on the My Own Tools toolbar.
Click Close in the Customize dialog box.
Click Selection on the My Own Tools toolbar
and note the menu that appears.
 Saving changes to a
template
You can save your work to a document or template.
Changes saved to a document are specific to the
document, whereas changes saved to a template will be
reflected in all documents based on the template.
Click the File menu and click Save As.
Navigate to the Templates folder of the <installation
directory>\bin folder.
Click the Create New Folder button.
Type a new name for the folder and double-click it.
Type the template name, click ArcMap Templates (*.mxt)
from the Save as type dropdown menu, then click Save.
 WRITING MACROS IN VBA

You can use the VBA integrated development

environment to create macros to help you automate
tasks you perform repeatedly or to extend the
applications built-in functionality.
With the Visual Basic Editor, you can edit
macros, copy macros from one module to
another, rename the modules that store the
macros, or rename the macros.
 Creating a macro

Click the Tools menu, point to Macros, then click Macros.

In the Macros dialog, type name in the Macro name text
box and click Create.
The application creates a new module named Module1
and stubs in the Sub procedure.
Enter some code.
Switch back to ArcMap by clicking the File menu,
clicking Close, and clicking Return to ArcMap.
Click the Tools menu, point to Macros, then click Macros.
Select the Module1. Name macro and click Run.
 Adding a macro to a
toolbar
Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
In the Toolbars tab, ensure that the toolbar is visible.
Click the Commands tab and select the Macros category.
Click the name of project in the Save in dropdown menu.
The commands list to the right of the dialog box lists
Project.Module1.Name.
Drag the macro name to the toolbar you created.
The macro appears with a default icon.
To change its properties, right-click the icon.
In the context menu that appears, click Change Button
Image and choose a button from the palette of icons.
Close the Customize dialog box.
Click the button to run the macro.
 Calling built-in Commands
Calling existing commands involves working with the
ArcID module.
Using the Find method, the code locates the unique
identifier (UID) of the command in the ArcID module.
Steps
1. Click the Tools menu, point to Macros, then
click Visual Basic Editor.
2. In the Module1 module, create a Sub
procedure with the following code:
3. Add the macro to a toolbar or menu.
4. Run the macro.
 Code for FullExtent
Sub FullExtentPlus()
Dim intAns As Integer
Dim pItem As ICommandItem
With ThisDocument.CommandBars
Set pItem = .Find(ArcID.PanZoom_FullExtent)
pItem.Execute
intAns = MsgBox(Zoom to previous extent?, vbYesNo)
If intAns = vbYes Then
Set pItem = .Find(ArcID.PanZoom_ZoomToLastExtentBack)
pItem.Execute
End If
End With
End Sub
 Creating a Command in VBA

Once invoked, a command usually performs some direct

action without user intervention.
A command is a type of UIControl.
Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands tab and
change the Save in dropdown menu to the name of your
project or to Untitled.
In the Categories list, select UIControls.
Click New UIControl.
In the dialog box that appears, choose UIButtonControl as
the UIControl Type, then click Create and Edit.
 Adding code for the
UIControl
The application adds an entry in the Object Box for the
UIButtonControl and stubs in an event procedure for the
UIButtonControls Click event.
Youll add code to this event to zoom the display to the
extents of the dataset.
Private Sub UIButtonControl1_Click()
Dim pDoc As IMxDocument
Set pDoc = ThisDocument
pDoc.ActiveView.Extent =pDoc.ActiveView.FullExten
pDoc.ActiveView.Refresh
End Sub
 Adding code for the
UIControl
Click the Tools menu, click Customize, then click
the Commands tab.
In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands
tab and change the Save in dropdown menu to the
name of your project or to Untitled.
In the Categories list, choose UIControls and drag
the UIButtonControl you created to a toolbar.
Close the Customize dialog box.
Try the new command by zooming in on the map
and clicking the button.
 Creating a tool in VBA

1. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.

2. Click the Commands tab and change the
Save in combo box to the name of your
project or Untitled.
3. Choose UIControls from the Categories list.
4. Click New UIControl.
5. In the dialog box that appears, choose
UIToolControl as the UIControl Type, then click
Create and Edit.
 Changing button
properties
Right-click any toolbar and click Customize
in the context menu that appears. Click
the right mouse button to determine
whether a context menu is available.
Right-click the button whose properties
you want to change.
In the context menu that appears, click
Change Button Image and choose an
image. The image you chose appears on
the face of the button.
Close the Customize dialog box.
Thank you..
 Arc Objects Problem Solving Guide
DEFINE THE ARCOBJECTS PROGRAMMING TASK
1. Describe the problem in Arc Objects terms.
2. Identify subtasks.
3. Decide where to write the code.
4. Search for a related sample or recommended methodology.

LOCATE THE CORRECT OBJECT MODEL

1. Identify a subtask.
2. Extract keywords.
3. Search for the correct object model diagrams.
4. Review all related documentation.

NAVIGATE THE OBJECT MODEL DIAGRAM

1. Review the structure of the object model diagram.
2. Trace the flow between classes and assemble code.
 Writing Code Using Arc Objects

In general, there are three ways to write Arc Objects

code:
As a VBA macro in an ArcGIS application
As an ActiveX COM component such as a DLL or
OCX
As a standalone EXE
 Writing VBA macros in ArcGIS
Advantages
Its fast and easy to create, test, and debug
macros inside Arc Map and Arc Catalog.
The standard ESRI type libraries are already
referenced.
Important global variables, such as the
Application and Document, are available.
Its simple to assemble UI forms using VBA
and ActiveX components.
Its straightforward to integrate VBA code
with new Arc Objects UIControls.
Its relatively easy to migrate VBA code to
VB ActiveX DLL projects.
 Writing ActiveX COM components
Advantages
They can be easily delivered to end users via custom
setup programs.
You can hide Arc Objects code in a binary file and then
deliver the functionality to end users with a setup program.
You can extend and customize virtually every aspect of
the ArcGIS technology.
Disadvantages
Have to acquire and use another COM-
compliant development tool
Do not have direct access to the Application
and ThisDocument global variables.
It is often more difficult to debug the code.
 Standalone Applications
Advantages
You can use the ESRI Arc Objects Map control to simplify the
embedding of Arc Objects functionality in your application.
You can design a highly customized user interface specific to
your application.
You can quickly create small, lightweight applications.
Disadvantages
You cannot take advantage of the extensive functionality that
ESRI has built into the existing ArcGIS applications such as
Arc Map or Arc Catalog.
You cannot use Arc Map documents or templates
to their fullest capacity.
None of the extensions, including the Editor, can
be used.
Arc Map Core Objects
Arc Map Document
 APPLICATION COCLASS
The Application object directly manages a collection of
objects, MxDocument, AppDisplay,SelectionEnvironment.
When you first start Arc Map, the Application object is first
created, and then it in turn instantiates all of the objects it
manages.
The IApplication interface provides access to the MxDocument
object, the StatusBar object, the Templates object, the currently
selected tool, the Visual Basic Editor.
The IMxApplication interface provides access to the remainder
of the objects the Application automatically creates, including
AppDisplay,Paper Co Class, Printer, and
SelectionEnvironment. Additionally, IMxApplication exposes
methods for exporting the current map document or copying it
to the system clipboard.
 MXDOCUMENT COCLASS

The Arc Map document is called MxDocument; its role

is to control the representation of data.
The Arc Map application automatically creates this
object when the application first starts.
MxDocument specifically creates and manages the
following objects: an empty Map, a PageLayout, the
TOCCatalogView, the TOCDisplayView.
You can obtain a reference to the MxDocument through
IApplication::Document.
 Views
View is the main application window, or the place where all data is drawn.
Arc Map currently has two different views,data view and layout view
Objects implement the IActiveView interface to establish themselves as views.
The data view corresponds to a Map object, and the layout
view corresponds to the PageLayout object.
Either of these objects can be set as the documents active
view, and only one view is visible at a time.
 Checking Type of View
The following VBA code checks the type of active
view:
Dim pMxDoc As IMxDocument
Set pMxDoc = Application.Document
If TypeOf pMxDoc.ActiveView Is IMap Then
MsgBox "Active View is a Map"
ElseIf TypeOf pMxDoc.ActiveView Is IPageLayout Then
MsgBox "Active view is the PageLayout"
End If
 Application Extensions

The Application object directly manages the life of

all application extensions.
Application extensions are those extensions
registered in the ESRI MxExtension objects;
All extensions are automatically created and
destroyed in synchronization with an Application
object.
Use the IExtension interface to query the
properties of an extension or implement this
interface to create your own custom extension.
Getting Reference to an Extension
Public Sub CheckEditState()
Dim pEditor As IEditor
Dim pUID As New UID
pUID = "esriCore.Editor"
Set pEditor =
Application.FindExtensionByCLSID(pUID)
If pEditor.EditState = esriStateEditing Then
MsgBox "Active Edit Session Present"
End If
End Sub
 TOCDISPLAYVIEW AND
TOCCONTENTSVIEW COCLASSES

Contents views are tabs in the Arc Map

table of contents.
ArcMap ships with two contents views:
display view and source view.
The Display tab is the TOCDisplayView
object, and the Source tab is the
TOCCatalogView object.
Developers can add new contents views
by creating their own custom object that
implements the IContentsView interface.
 MAP COCLASS

Every map document contains at least one Map

object.
Only one Map can have focus at a time, and this
Map is called the focus map.
IMxDocument provides access to all of the Map
objects loaded in the document;
IMxDocument::FocusMap returns a reference to the
Map currently with focus, and IMxDocument.Maps
returns the entire collection of Map objects.
MapSurround objects are elements that are related
to a Map. Types of map surrounds include Legends,
NorthArrows, and ScaleBars.
 SELECTIONENVIRONMENT COCLASS

Controls properties related to creating and drawing

selections.
A SelectionEnvironment object is automatically created
by the Application object when the application starts.
Access to the Application objects
SelectionEnvironment is through
IMxApplication::SelectionEnvironment.
 Change Default Selection Color
Public Sub ChangeDefaultSelectionColor()
Dim pMxDoc As IMxDocument
Dim pMxApp As IMxApplication
Dim pSelectionEnv As ISelectionEnvironment
Dim pRgbColor As IRgbColor
Set pMxApp = Application 'QI
Set pMxDoc = Application.Document
Set pSelectionEnv =
pMxApp.SelectionEnvironment
Set pRgbColor = New RgbColor
pRgbColor.Red = 255
Set pSelectionEnv.DefaultColor = pRgbColor
End Sub
 Display Objects
FEATURE RENDERER
A feature renderer is a method for drawing feature layers.
Use symbols and colors to visually display features, possibly based on one or
more attributes.
Types of feature renderers:
SimpleRenderer uses the same symbol for each feature.
ClassBreaksRenderer allows classes of numeric attribute values to be defined
A different symbol is specified for each class.
UniqueValueRenderer uses a different symbol for each unique attribute value
ProportionalSymbolRenderer modifies the size of the symbol in proportion to
an attribute from a field.
DotDensityRenderer displays a scattering of marker symbols in polygon
features, the density of which reflects the value of an attribute.
ChartRenderer displays pie, bar, or stacked bar charts that are comprised from
one or more attribute fields.
ScaleBreaksRenderer switches renderers depending on the map viewing scale
 Get a Feature Renderer
To get to a feature renderer object in Arc Map from a layer, QI to
IGeoFeatureLayer and get the Renderer property.
A simple renderer is the default renderer object
when a new feature class is loaded.
' Check if the layer is a feature layer
If Not TypeOf pLayer Is IGeoFeatureLayer Then Exit Sub
Set pGeoFeatureLayer = pLayer

' Check if there is a simple renderer and get a reference to it

If Not TypeOf pGeoFeatureLayer.Renderer Is ISimpleRenderer
Then Exit Sub
Set pSimpleRenderer = pGeoFeatureLayer.Renderer
 Color Objects
Objects that support the IColor interface allow precise control
over any color used within the ArcObjects model.
You can get and set colors using a variety of standard color
modelsRGB, CMYK, HSV, HLS, and Grayscale.
RGBCOLOR COCLASS
To get and set the red,green, and blue components of a color
Interface- IRGBColor
CMYKCOLOR COCLASS
Colors can be specified for output in terms of
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black.
Interface- ICMYKColor
Symbol Objects
 Types of Symbols
ArcObjects uses three categories of symbols to draw
geographic features:

Marker symbols,
Line symbols,
Fill symbols.
Display Objects
 Display Objects

Allow application developers to easily draw graphics on

a variety of output devices.
Allow you to render shapes stored in real-world
coordinates to the screen, the printer, and export files.
Use the IDisplay interface to draw points, lines,
polygons, rectangles,and text on a device.
Access to the display objects DisplayTransformation
object is provided by this interface.
 To Pan Map Display

Private Sub UIToolControl1_MouseDown(ByVal button As

Long, _ByVal shift As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y
As Long)
Dim pScreenDisplay As IScreenDisplay
Dim pActiveView As IActiveView
Dim pMxDoc As IMxDocument
Set pMxDoc = Application.Document
Set pActiveView = pMxDoc.FocusMap
Set pScreenDisplay = pActiveView.ScreenDisplay
pScreenDisplay.TrackPan
End Sub
DISPLAYTRANSFORMATION COCLASS

Manages the map-to-device transformation

Defines how real-world coordinates are mapped to an
output space.
Maps DisplayTransformation has a SpatialReference
object that manages the Maps current coordinate system.
A reference to the SpatialReference object is set
through
IDisplayTransformation::SpatialReference.
 IDisplayTransformation

To prepare a transform for use, follow these

steps:
1. Set the full map extent with the Bounds
property.
2. Set the visible map extent (zoom
rectangle) with the VisibleBounds property.
3. Set the output area of the device using the
DeviceFrame property.
4. Set the resolution of the output device
using the Resolution property.
Rubber Band Objects
 IRubberBand Interface
IRubberBand interface, allow the user to digitize geometries
on the display using the mouseeither to create whole new
geometry objects or to update existing ones.
Examples-Dragging an envelope, forming a new polyline, or
moving a point.
IRubberband interface has two methods
TrackExisting
Move existing geometries
TrackNew
Create new geometries
 TrackNew method
Private Sub UIToolControl1_MouseDown(ByVal button As
Long, _
ByVal shift As Long, ByVal x As Long, ByVal y As Long)
Dim pRubberLine As IRubberBand
Dim pGeom As IGeometry
Dim pMXDoc As IMxDocument
Set pMXDoc = ThisDocument
Set pRubberLine = New RubberLine
Set pGeom=pRubberLine.TrackNew
pMXDoc.ActiveView.ScreenDisplay, Nothing)
End Sub