ArcGIS includes four application programs: ArcCatalog, ArcGlobe, ArcMap, and ArcScene. ArcCatalog is a utility program for file browsing, data importing and converting, and file maintenance functions (such as create, copy, and delete) — all with special features for GIS source data. You will use ArcCatalog instead of the Microsoft Windows utilities My Computer or Windows Explorer to manage GIS source data. ArcGlobe provides 3D capabilities to work seamlessly on a 3D globe. ArcMap is the primary interface for building, viewing, and analyzing conventional two-dimensional (2D) maps. ArcScene is comparable to ArcMap but for 3D maps.
GIS analysts use ArcMap to compose a map from basemap layers, and then carry out many kinds of analysis and produce several types of GIS outputs. A map composition is saved to a map document file and has a name, chosen by the user, and the .mxd file extension. For example, you will soon open the first map document in the chapter, Tutorial1-3.mxd.
A map document stores pointers (paths) to map layers, data tables, and other data sources for use in a map composition, but it does not store a copy of any data source. Consequently, map layers can be stored anywhere on your computer, local area network, or even on an Internet server, and be part of your map document. In this book, you will use data sources available from the data you will download from the Esri Press “Book Resources” webpage (see the following section).
Exercise data and software
Data for the book is available to download on the Esri Press “Book Resources” webpage, esripress.esri.com/bookresources. Click the appropriate book title, and then click the data link under “Resources” to download the exercise data. A 60-day trial of ArcGIS for Desktop software and extensions is available for readers at esri.com/trydesktop. You must download the data and have access to ArcGIS 10.2 for Desktop software to complete the tutorials in this book.
Learning about ArcGIS
The following tutorials will acquaint you with the functionality and user interface of ArcMap and ArcCatalog. You will start by using ArcCatalog to browse through the data sources used in figure 1.1, and then examine the completed project itself. In the remaining chapters, you will learn how to build, modify, and query data.
In the tutorials that follow, you need to be at your computer to carry out the numbered steps. Screen captures accompanying the steps illustrate important dialog boxes and output. Occasionally, we have added “Your turn” exercises after a series of steps. It is critical that you do these brief exercises to internalize the processes covered. Note that the appearance of the user interface is contantly changing, depending on your operating system and customization choices, so the windows in this book may not appear exactly like the windows on your screen.
Tutorial 1-1
Exploring the ArcCatalog user interface
1 Start Windows, and then click Start to start your programs. Click All Programs > ArcGIS > ArcCatalog 10.2. Depending on how ArcGIS has been installed, you may have a different navigation menu or a name other than ArcGIS. The left panel of ArcCatalog is called the Catalog tree. It is used to navigate to the data on your computer or network server, much like Windows Explorer.
2 Use the Connect to Folder tool on the ArcCatalog toolbar to make a connection to the \EsriPress\GISTHealth folder. In the Connect to Folder dialog, browse to GISTHealth and click OK. This will create a connection you will use to navigate to the tutorial data for the rest of this book.
3 In the Catalog tree, browse to \EsriPress\GISTHealth\Data\ by clicking the small plus signs (+) to expand the folders in which the GISTHealth data is installed. The default location for this folder is C:\EsriPress\ GISTHealth\Data, but it may be in a different location depending on where you or your instructor installed it. If you cannot find this folder, make sure it was installed properly.
4 After navigating to the Data folder, expand the United States geodatabase, UnitedStates.gdb. The right panel, called the Catalog display, contains three tabs: Contents, Preview, and Description. When you click the Contents tab, the datasets in the current folder are listed. The datasets currently listed represent spatial data, and the icon next to each file name indicates what type of geometry the data is built in: point, line, or polygon. (See facing page.)
5 In the Catalog tree, click USStates and click the Preview tab. Previewing data this way allows you to get a quick glimpse of the data without actually loading it into a map. You can also use this tab to preview the contents of a table.
6 At the bottom of the Catalog display, click the Preview arrow, click Table, and then use the horizontal scroll bar to view the attribute fields in the table. Each record in the table corresponds to one of the state polygons you previewed in the preceding step, and as you can see, there are quite a few attributes stored for each state, most of which are demographic. For example, by reading across the table, you could identify that the state of Washington is in the Pacific subregion and had a population of 5,894,121 in 2000 and 6,756,150 in 2010. We used the STATE_NAME attribute to label states in figure 1.1.
7 Click the Description tab at the top of the Catalog display. This tab describes metadata, which is data about data.
8 In the Catalog display, click the Contents tab.
Other folders in the \EsriPress\GISTHealth\ Catalog tree include Maps, where original map document files are located; MyAssignments, where you will save files to chapter folders if you are working in a classroom and are required to complete the assignments at the end of each chapter; and MyExercises, where you will save files as you complete tutorial exercises in each chapter. MyExercises contains a subfolder called FinishedExercises, which includes tutorial exercises completed by the book’s authors that you can use as needed.
YOUR TURN
Explore additional layers in UnitedStates.gdb. When you are finished, click the toggle key that has the minus sign (-) to the left of the UnitedStates.gdb folder icon in the Catalog tree to collapse that folder. Then close ArcCatalog.
Tutorial 1-2
Reviewing data source types
You will do most GIS file maintenance work in ArcCatalog, although it is instructive to view GIS files in a conventional file utility program. In this tutorial, you will examine two common Esri file formats used in GIS: a shapefile and a file geodatabase. A shapefile map layer has three or more files that have the same name but different file extensions, all stored in the same folder. A file geodatabase is a folder that has one or more map layers (and possibly other kinds of data) stored as feature classes. Both of these data types are common in the GIS industry, where the file geodatabase is a more modern format. Other less common GIS and spatial data formats that can be stored in this folder include an ArcInfo coverage and a CAD DXF (drawing exchange format). You will learn more about these formats in chapter 4.
1 On the taskbar, click Start, and then click Computer. The path to Computer may differ depending on which operating system you are using.
2 Browse to where your GISTHealth folder is installed (for example, C:\EsriPress\GISTHeath\).
3 Double-click Data > DataFiles to view the available data files.