LAB 1: Introduction to Geoinformatics

Introduction to ArcGIS
Time for completion: One Week – Due September 6

For this lab, you will use ArcGIS and learn some of the basic functions of this powerful
software. You will produce two maps and submit these maps to the Lab1 DropBox on
ICON.

In this course, we will be working with ESRI's ArcGIS 10 software. ArcGIS is

considered to be the industry standard for professional GIS user, and since version 8.0,
has been a Windows-based GIS program. ArcGIS 10 includes all of the ESRI Desktop
GIS products: geoprocessing framework, labels and annotation, enhanced raster support,
quality, and performance.

ArcGIS 10 is structured around three integrated modules: ArcCatalog, ArcToolbox, and

ArcMap. These modules represent the three basic elements of GIS: data management,
data analysis, and data output/mapping. In this lab we will cover these modules in
greater depth, and discover some of their key functionality.

Open your student folder : Start My Computer S: 44197_GEO Students hawkid

2. Make a new folder for the first lab named ‘Lab 1’. Organization of files will be very
important this semester. Create a new folder for each lab and create subfolders as needed.

3. Copy and paste the folder named ‘Lab1datafile’ from S:\44197_GEO\Lab1Datafile into
the Lab 1 folder you just created in your student folder.

The data that we will be using in this lab are:

Coverages:
usageog - Coverage of the lower 48 states
Shapefiles:
uscnty - Shapefile of counties in the lower 48 states
usriv - Shapefile of rivers in the lower 48 states
usroad - Shapefile of roads in the lower 48 states
Johnson_County_Boundary shapefile
towns – Shapefile of towns in Johnson County
Johnson_V_Centerline – Shapefile of road centerlines
500 yr_floodplain – Shapefile of 500-yr floodplain for Johnson County

Maps:
JCMap - Map file displaying the Johnson County data

1. About ArcCatalog

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Introduction to ArcCatalog
ArcCatalog is the ArcGIS module used for organizing, browsing, and managing your data
and map files, as well as for viewing and editing metadata. 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.

Starting ArcCatalog Now we will start ArcCatalog and explore its contents. To start

ArcCatalog, click on the button and navigate to All Programs -> ArcGIS ->
ArcCatalog10.

What is in ArcCatalog?
ArcCatalog is similar in structure to Windows Explorer -- on the left hand side is a view
of the Catalog "tree" showing how the data is organized. The right hand side provides
options for exploring the contents of the data shown in the Catalog tree. You will notice
that there are different icons used to represent the available folders and their contents.

When ArcCatalog is started up, it automatically looks for folders containing spatial
data. Any spatial data it finds will be given a special icon to indicate the specific type of
data in the file or folder. Specific database tables will also be seen (.dbf and .xls), and
you can configure ArcCatalog to recognize other files as well.

Outside of the areas for exploring the catalog folders and their contents, there are several
menus and toolbars associated with ArcCatalog. To find out what a particular button

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does, hold your cursor over the button for a few seconds. A tool tip will appear telling
the function associated with the button, and a more informative description will appear on
the bottom of the ArcCatalog window -- if you hold your cursor over the upward pointing
arrow (the first button directly under 'File'), you will see a note reading 'Up One Level,'
and the bottom of the window will read 'Go to the next level up in the catalog
tree'. When the tool tip does not provide enough information, you can click the "What's

This?" button and then click most places on the interface to get additional
information. This is useful when you want to find out what a button does without
clicking it.

How data are represented: Some icons of ArcGIS 10 -

*There is an option that can be set in ArcCatalog that applies a special blue icon on top of
any folder that contains GIS data. Enabling this option will decrease the speed at which
ArcCatalog refreshes because the software must check all folders before applying the
icon.

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Connecting to your data
To access your data in ArcCatalog you have several choices. If there is already a
connection to the drive with your data, you can navigate down the catalog tree until you
find your data folder. This, however, has the potential for causing quite a bit of clutter
and confusion if your data is more than one or two folders down from the drive
connection. A second option is to create a direct connection to your data (connect to
folder). A direct connection will help avoid clutter in that you can make a connection
straight to the folder holding your data, rather than having to navigate through other
folders. It is also a necessary step if the drive with your data is not shown in the Catalog
tree (i.e., if you are using data saved on your flash drive).
To connect to your data, click on the " " icon.

Try this out and connect to your flash drive if you are using one for your work.

What can be done in ArcCatalog?

Earlier in the lab, it was mentioned that ArcCatalog is used for "organizing, browsing,
and managing your data and map files, as well as for viewing and editing
metadata." Let's explore that 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 a coverage,
it is GONE - you CANNOT 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-c, and Ctrl-v).

Try this out by copying and pasting your lab data into a new folder.

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
through programs such as 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 - you can use the arrow buttons on
your keyboard, or your 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,
select the usageog coverage. If you then click on the "Contents" tab on the right hand
side of the window, you will see a list of the files that comprise the coverage. You can
also see these files if you click on the plus sign to the left of the usageog icon.

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If you click on the "Preview" tab, you will see a preview of the data geography or the
data attribute table. To change from geography view to table view (or vice versa), change
the value listed in the preview pulldown menu at the bottom of the Window.

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 coverage,
shapefile, or geodatabase and selecting Properties. Try this with the usageog coverage
file.

For the usageog file you should see a window similar to the image on the left. This is the
properties page for the whole coverage - there are individual properties pages for the
feature classes within the coverage that we will explore in a moment.

General -- describes the feature classes inside the coverage and provides information
such as whether or not they have topology, and whether or not they have a feature
attribute table (FAT). Topology can also be built or cleaned from this properties window.

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The topology tolerances are those that were used when the coverage was last edited.

Projection and Extent-- describes the projection of the data and its spatial extent.

When you are done exploring the coverage properties, click on OK to exit.

On your own, explore the properties for each of the feature classes for usageog. To do
this, expand the usageog coverage by clicking on the plus sign next to the coverage icon,
and then right-click each feature classes (arc, polygon, tic, label), and select Properties.

5.0 About ArcToolbox

Introduction to ArcToolbox ArcToolbox is the ArcGIS module used for data
processing, analysis, and conversion. It contains a large set of Tools that allow for more
specialized or complicated operations than those available in the various other
modules. ArcToolbox also provides a means for the user to write scripts and create
customized tools to fit specialized needs.

Starting ArcToolbox

To start ArcToolbox, you can click on the ArcToolbox icon in most of the ArcGIS
Desktop applications.

What is in ArcToolbox?
Although ArcToolbox is one of the major ArcGIS modules, it is actually "embedded" in
the other modules such as ArcCatalog -- rather than standing alone, it can appear as a
floating window, or it can be docked adjacent to other windows like the example below.

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ArcToolbox is organized in a fashion similar to the catalog tree in ArcCatalog. If you
click on any of the tools inside of the toolboxes, a short description of the tool is listed at
the bottom of the ArcToolbox window. By clicking on the + next to a tool heading (Data
Management Tools, Analysis Tools, etc.) you can view the tools available under that
heading. In many cases, tool are also subcategorizes in tool kits that also need to be
expanded before you can view the individual tools.

For an overview of the functions of a tool, right-click the tool and choose help.

To run a tool, simply double-click on the specific tool you want to use. This will open a
window for setting the various file inputs and outputs and other options related to the tool.

Take a few minutes to explore the Toolbox and get a sense of what kinds of tools are
available.

6.0 Using ArcMap

Introduction to ArcMap
ArcMap is the ArcGIS module used for mapping -- creating, viewing, querying, editing,
composing, and publishing maps. ArcMap is what you will be using for the majority of
your GIS work.

Starting ArcMap ArcMap can be opened via the Start menu (Start -> All Programs ->
ArcGIS -> ArcMap) or from any other module such as ArcCatalog (click on the ArcMap

icon in the toolbar). In addition, you can open ArcMap by double-clicking on a

map file in ArcCatalog.

When you first start ArcMap, you may see a Getting Started window highlighting
templates, recent maps and the option for new maps. From this window, you can choose a
number of options. For this lab we will use the "New Maps - Blank Map" template and
the "Browse for more" options frequently. When you want to open an existing map from
this dialog, highlight "Browse for more..." and click OK.

Open the prepared map file provided with the lab data (JCMap). When ArcMap is open,
click on File -> Open File, and navigate to the location of the map file. You can also
open this map by finding it in ArcCatalog and double-clicking the icon for the map in the
tree view. You will notice that the JCMap file is not particularly stunning from a
cartographic standpoint. Later in the lab, you will fix up the map to make it a bit more
cartographically pleasing.

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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.

The left portion of ArcMap shows a tree display of the layers (the "layer tree", or the
"Table of Contents" as ESRI calls it) added to the map (and whether or not they are
currently displayed). There are four ways to list the data in the Table of Contents: by
drawing order, by source, by visibility, or by selection. You can toggle among these
options by clicking the buttons at the top of the Table of Contents. You will also find an
options button there as well. These buttons are highlighted below in the red box.

The list by drawing order option allows you to see the layers listed from top to button

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exactly as they are drawn on the screen. The display by source allows you to see the full
path to the data, and is the only option of the four that will allow you to see stand alone
tables that have been added to the map but do not have spatial data visually displayed as
features on the map. The list by visibility option groups layers that are checked versus
layers that are unchecked. The list by selection option allows you to see how many
features are selected in each layer after a selection has been conducted and this option
also allows you to exclude layers from being selected. This is helpful when you want to
select features by drawing a box with the select features tool but you only want to select
features from one layer leaving features from all other coincident layers unselected.

The right portion of ArcMap provides a view of the data. You can select to view the data
in "data view" or in "layout view". These buttons are near the bottom of the map display.
You can also find these options listed under the view dropdown menu.

The tiny map icon represents the 'data view', and the tiny page icon represents the
'layout view'. There is also a refresh and a pause drawing button you can experiment
with.

In the data view, you can zoom in and out, pan, identify, select, etc. the data in this
portion by using the available tools on the Tools toolbar:

Switch to data view and try zooming in and out and otherwise exploring the data using
the above tools.

After exploring the data view, go to the layout view - you can do this by either clicking
on the page icon at the bottom of the view window, or by selecting View-> Layout
View.

The layout view has a set of tools for exploration of the layout:

In layout view, you also may use the tools to zoom in / out / pan, etc. that are available in
the data view. However, these will only affect the spatial data being displayed, not the
layout - just as the layout tools will not zoom in on the geographic area being displayed.
You can also toggle draft mode of frame graphics using the fourth tool from right side,
make active data frame the target for graphics you draw and you can change the layout by
selecting a predefined template.

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To insert a title, legend, neatline, etc. on your map, click on Insert and select the object
that you would like to add. Experiment with adding information to your map - try adding
a title, legend, scale bar, north arrow, and your name. You will use this map file later
in the lab, so you will want to save your changes.

Adding data / creating your own map

Now that we have spent some time with an already created map file, let's make our
own. In ArcMap, you cannot have two map 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.
Since we will not need to use the JCMap for this portion of the lab, click on File -> New
(or you can use the shortcut key "Ctrl-n" or click on the new file button on the menu bar),
and select "Blank document" in the My Template tab.

To add data to a map file, there are several options:

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

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2. Navigate to File -> Add data
3. Drag and drop data from ArcCatalog. With both ArcCatalog and ArcMap open, left
click on the data that you want to add to your map file- hold the mouse button down, do
not release the button yet. If you can see both the Catalog tree in ArcCatalog and the
view window in ArcMap, drag the data straight from ArcCatalog to the view window in
ArcMap. Release the mouse button and drop the data in ArcMap. If you cannot see both
the Catalog tree and the ArcMap view window, click on the data in ArcCatalog, drag it
down over the ArcMap button in the menu bar (still pressing the mouse button) until the
ArcMap window opens. Then drop the data in the ArcMap view window.

Try each of these methods, and add the usageog coverage, and the uscnty, usroad, and
usriv shapefiles to your new map file.

If you are working from a flash drive, it will be necessary to use a "relative path" to your
data. 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 that you used. The relative path
name tells ArcMap to look for the data in the same relative location to the map file- e.g.,
in the same data folder, or wherever it is in relation to the map file).

To set your map file to use relative path names, click on File -> Map Document
Properties, and check the box at the bottom to "Store relative path names to data sources.
Note: You will probably want to do this with ALL map files that you create in this
course.

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: For example,

To fix this problem, right-click the layer in the Table of Contents and choose Data -
Repair Data Source, then browse to the location of the data. You can also achieve this by
viewing the Source tab of the Layer Properties dialog.

Order of data layers: Depending on the order in which you added the data, your states
may be "on top" of your counties - you can change this by clicking and dragging data
layers up or down.

This example shows moving the blockgroups_polygon layer "on top" of the railroads_arc
layer. Data layers can only be dragged up or down from the List by Drawing Order
option for 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 properties window. Note: The ArcMap
properties window will provide different information than was found in the ArcCatalog
Properties window.

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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 the display 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, and labels), but you will
want to take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the other functions in the
properties window.

Symbology: Under the symbology tab are the options for changing the display of
data. 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.

For example, if you want to use usroad to display type of road rather than simply
location - double-click on usroad to open the Properties window, and click on the
Symbology tab. As the default, usroad is drawn as a single symbol -since we want to
show all of the different road values, we will use Categories -> Unique values.

Let's divide the road by administrative class (Value Field = ADMN_CLASS). To add
these values to the display, select "Add all values." If you do not want all of the values to
be displayed, you can add values individually using the "Add values" button. To change
the symbology of other data layers (even of other types of data -- shapefile, coverage, or
geodatabase) the process is the same.

To change the representation of Interstate, State Highway, and US Highway, double click
on the line next to the name and select an appropriate line symbol from the Symbol
Selector. Change to appropriate symbols. Since there are no "other values," you can
deselect the all other values symbol. When the display is to your liking, click OK.

Display
An important feature on the display tab is the option to set transparency. This allows for
a layer to be seen through another layer - for instance, with the uscnty layer displayed,
the usageog layer cannot be seen. By setting the top layer to some level of transparency,
both layers can be seen. With the transparency function, you can even display a raster
layer transparently to give a 3-D effect!

To explore this, we'll make the uscnty layer partly transparent. Open the properties
window for uscnty and select the Display tab. Under "% Transparent" enter 75 and click
OK. Now the state boundaries are shown clearly, and the county boundaries are less
pronounced in the display.

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Labels
Using the labels tab under properties is an easy way of inserting the names of features on
a map. We will try this out with the usriv layer and add labels for river names. Go to the
labels tab in the usriv property window. To insert labels, check the "Label Features" box
and select which field to use for labeling (we will use "Name"). From here you can
change the style, symbol, font, font size, and location of the labels by selecting from the
button options under "Label" in the window. Take a few minutes to explore these options.

While ArcCatalog allowed us to find text strings in attribute tables, as you can see in the
image to the right, ArcMap provides significantly more options for querying data. Let's
explore these options using the attribute table from the counties shapefile.
Right-click on the uscnty shapefile,and select "open attribute table." This will open a
new, floating window containing the attributes of the shapefile. The window has a button
for "Table Options" near the top left of the table - by selecting this, you will have
available the options seen to the right.

Some of the functions explained:

Find & Replace - to find text strings in the attribute table and/or replace them with
another string
Select By Attributes / Select All / etc. - allows for writing a query to select records
matching the criteria specified in a structured query, allows for changing of the
selection
Add Field - allows for fields to be added from ArcMap (rather than switching to
ArcCatalog)
Turn All Fields On - allows for fields to be turned on that were previously turned off via
the field properties of the layer
Show Field Aliases - shows the alternate, more user-friendly name for a field (if earlier
specified)
Arrange Tables - options for displaying more than one table at a time
Restore Default Column Widths - allows for altered fields to be returned to their default
widths
Restore Default Field Order - field can be reordered by dragging them left or right in
the table. This option allows you to return to the default order
Joins and Relates - allows tables to be joined or related, also can remove joins and
relates
Related Tables - lists which tables are connected as "Related tables"
Create Graph / Add table to map layout - options for displaying the attribute table data
Reload Cache - Re-loads the table, in case of changes
Print - sends table to a printer
Reports - allows access to two different report generating applications
Export - Exports the table as a .dbf file, text file, or a number of other formats commonly
used in ArcGIS
Appearance - Changes the way in which the table is viewed (i.e., selected record
highlight color)

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Querying data in ArcMap
Choose the Select By Attributes option, and select the "Help" option in the new
window. Read the help file on building a query and then write a query to select the
counties that meet the following criteria:

Name - Washington
Population per square mile (1990) - at least 115
Area - greater than 800
Not located in Arkansas
Hint - you can write the query as one string, or you can use the procedure options (Create
new selection, Add to current selection, Remove from current selection, Select from
current selection). If you have not had much practice writing queries, you may wish to
write each part of the query separately and use the select from current selection option.
When doing searches of this type, it can be handy to display only those records
selected. To do this, change the option to show selected by clicking the buttons at the
bottom of the table:

(VERY) Basic principles of cartography

Cartographic Guidelines
1. Data in maps:
A. The data should take up a majority of the area, you should avoid excess white space.
B. Inclusion of unnecessary data should be avoided, most often simple is better.
C. Bright, flashy colors such as red should be used sparingly unless you specifically need
to do so.

2. Titles:
A. May be in upper case.
B. Should not be sentences, but should be simple and to the point.
C. Should not distract from 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. Scalebars:
A. NEVER have a scale bar that extends all the way across a page. Scalebars should not
be the focal point of the map. They are for reference only.
B. Scalebars should use appropriate measurement systems. Example: km for Johnson
County, meters for UI campus.
C. Avoid using English measurements on maps (miles, feet, yards). Metric is more

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 compatible with the rest of the world.
* Note: This is very subjective. You should always consider the primary audience for
your map.
D. Use intervals that make sense. Units of 2,5,10, 20 are common. For example, do not
use 23.4.

4. Borders:
A. Maps need borders, they should usually be black.
B. Borders are known as "neatlines."
C. Neatlines should be large enough width to be clearly seen from a distance.

5. North Arrows:
A. North Arrows should be unobtrusive.
B. North Arrows are not always needed. If mapping a state (or other large, well known
area), an arrow may not be needed, because we can usually expect people to know
which way is North (again, depends on who are your readers). I would expect you to
use North arrows however…

6. Legends:
A. Legends should be unobtrusive
B. Legends should show defined features on the map.
C. Legends do not need a heading 'Legend' or 'Key'.

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. can be written in italics
C. Text should be readable! Watch font size…

8. Name on Map: Unless map is being published, names should be kept outside of the
map. Your name can go underneath the neatline on the bottom right side.

9. WHITE SPACE: Try to find the balance between too much white space, and
cluttered data.

Your maps for Lab 1:

Map 1
Using the usageog, uscnty, usriv, and usroad data, zoom to your favorite state and make
a map of it. Follow the above listed principles of cartography. Include as many features
(e.g., rivers, roads) as possible to make the map interesting.

Map 2 Using the cartographic guidelines listed above, correct the cartographic errors in
JCMap and turn in the resulting map.

Exporting your map as a JPEG

When you are happy with the symbology choices and map layout, export your map as a

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JPEG file so that you can upload it to the ICON site for grading. Do not upload the
mxd (ArcMap document). Instead you will insert the jpeg images of each map into
a Word document (see below).

File Export Map… Save in your lab1 folder. Set save as type drop-down menu to JPEG.
Open the JPEG and do a final check that all map elements are included and you are
happy with the layout. If you have forgotten a map element, update the layout in ArcMap
and export it again. Be sure to do a final save of your document before you close ArcMap.
Once you have exported your JPEG you should include it in your lab write-up. To do this you
will need to have your Word document open. While in Microsoft Word go to:
Insert  Picture  find  your  JPEG  in  your  class  folder  and  select  this.

8.0 To turn in
Please turn in an MS Word document with the maps inserted into the Word doc.

1. One map of your favorite state as described above. Describe your choice of state and
your design decisions behind creating the map.

2. One corrected JCMap. Discuss the corrections/revisions you made to JCMap.

Please submit your completed lab to the dropbox on ICON by midnight on Sept 6th.
Please name your file with your lastname plus lab number (e.g., StewartLab1) for clarity.

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