ArcGIS Desktop Tutorial
ArcGIS Desktop version 9.2 ArcInfo™ functional level
(includes ArcView® and ArcEditor™ functionality) tutorial.
This tutorial was designed for ArcGIS Desktop version 9.2 ArcInfo™ Functional
Level (includes ArcView® and ArcEditor™ functionality). It has adapted some of
the concepts present within ESRI's Getting to Know ArcGIS Desktop book
in order to allow a user to quickly get started with ArcGIS™ applications
without actually having to go through the ESRI tutorial exercises. Instead, this
tutorial is designed to help the user bring in their own spatial data of
interest and manipulate it in a variety of ways. There are six sections that
describe some of the common operations a user may need to know in order to
manipulate and/or analyze their spatial datasets.
The tutorial was created by Stephan Pollard, M.A. Geography (University of
Arkansas, 1997) and Ph.D.. Environmental Dynamics (University of Arkansas, 2006)
and Sohayla Hamon, M.A. Geography (University of Arkansas, 2002).
Latest version may be found here: http://libinfo.uark.edu/gis/tutorial.asp
The following describes the content of each section contained within this
introductory ArcGIS tutorial:
- ArcGIS Applications Description:
- Gives a brief description of the common uses and functions that each ArcGIS
application (ArcCatalog™, ArcMap, and ArcToolbox™) has to offer.
- Data Retrieval:
- Describes some of the sources of spatial data along with some of the types
of spatial data that can be found. The Geospatial Data and Attributes webpage
should be further consulted if the user wishes to acquire links to United States
and international data resources (free, governmental, and proprietary).
- ArcGIS Supported Data Formats:
- Describes the data formats that may be used within any of the ArcGIS
applications. Some data types may be automatically brought in, and others may
need to be brought in using an import utility. Explains how to open data.
- Viewing Data in ArcCatalog:
- Familiarizes the user to the ArcCatalog interface. Explains how to open data
within the ArcCatalog application and view the data in spatial and/or tabular
format.
- Viewing Data in ArcMap:
- Familiarizes the user to the ArcMap interface. Explains the various ways in
which a user can open and view their spatial data set. Describes the concept of
overlaying spatial data sets with the same coordinate system information, and
the process of arranging a data set so that it can be made visible. It also
describes what is contained within a data set's attribute table, and the many
ways in which the user may view and/or manipulate the attribute layer's
contents.
- Using ArcToolbox:
- Describes the ArcToolbox interface and the variety of tools available to the
user.
- Symbolizing Features and Rasters:
- Describes how the user may quickly change a feature's or a raster's
symbology. In more detail, it describes how to change a feature's symbology
using categorical attributes.
- Classifying Features and Rasters:
- Describes the process of classifying features and rasters using one of the
four scaled symbology methods: Graduated Color, Graduated Symbol, Proportional
Symbol, and Dot Density.
- Labeling Features:
- Describes the two main types of labels (dynamic and interactive) and how
each can be created and manipulated.
- Identifying, Selecting, and Finding Features:
- Describes how to quickly retrieve information about features through the
processes of identifying, selecting, and/or finding.
- Selecting Features by Attributes:
- Describes how to perform an attribute query that will automatically select
features within the map display that meet specified criteria.
- Selecting Features by Location:
- Describes how to perform queries that will select features within the map
display that meet a particular location and/or spatial relationship requirement.
- Creating ArcMap Layers from Selected Features:
- Describes how to create a layer that contains only features that have been
selected by one of the many selection methods.
- Selecting Features:
- Describes the steps taken to clip multiple features from a data layer using
the features of another data layer, using ArcToolbox.
- Clipping Features:
- Describes the steps taken to clip features within one layer based on the
features within another, using ArcToolbox.
- Dissolving Features:
- Describes the steps taken to dissolve multiple features within a data set
into one feature, using ArcToolbox.
- Exporting Data:
- Describes a way in which the user can create a NEW DATASET that contains
ONLY selected features within an existing data set.
- Projecting Data for Display in ArcMap:
- Describes the necessity of changing data layer's coordinate system
information (if they will be used within the same GIS) so that they match each
other. It describes what ArcMap does by default if they do not match.
- Projecting and Defining the Coordinate System or Spatial Reference:
- Describes the process of ACTUALLY creating a new data layer of identical
features but with a different coordinate system. ArcToolbox is used to describe
this process.
- Buffering Features:
- Describes how to create a distance buffer using the Buffer Wizard in ArcMap.
- Overlaying Features:
- Describes the concept of GIS overlay operations. Explains how to perform a
union overlay as well as an intersect overlay, using ArcMap's GeoProcessing
Wizard.
- Calculating Attribute Values:
- Explains how new values may be created within a layer's attribute table,and
gives examples as to why this operation may be useful.
- Using a Map Template to Create a Map:
- Explains what map templates are, how they can be used, and what types of
templates are available. Describes the process of adding all map elements to a
map template.
- Creating Maps Without Using a Map Template:
- Describes the process of creating a map without using a map template.
Explains how to add map data, a map title, a north arrow, a scale bar, and a
legend to the map layout and manipulate their properties.
- Selecting Print Options:
- Describes how to select the appropriate parameters in order to print the
size and shape map preferred.