EXPLORING

ARCGIS
CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION TO ARCGIS SOFTWARE 1
2. GEOREFERENCING OF TOPOSHEET 9
3. USING ARC CATALOG 14
4. DIZITIZATION 19
5. USING OF EDITING TOOLS 27
6. EXPLORING DATA ON A MAP 33
7. 3D ANALYSIS 38
8. JOINING & RELATING TABLES 49
9. PRESENTING DATA 54
INTRODUCTION TO ARCGIS
A geographic information system (GIS) is a collection of hardware, software,
geographicdata, and personnel designed to create, store, edit, manipulate,
analyze and display geographically referenced information.

ARCGIS DESKTOP SOFTWARE SUITE

ArcGIS Desktop is accessed using one of three software licenses with varying
levels of functionality:
• ArcView - provides comprehensive mapping and analysis tools with simple
editing and geoprocessing capabilities

• ArcEditor - provides all ArcView functions + advanced editing capabilities

• ArcInfo - provides all ArcEditor functions + advanced geoprocessing and data

management tools

APPLICATIONS

ArcGIS Desktop includes two main applications: ArcCatalog and ArcMap.

• ArcCatalog - used to organize and manage your GIS data. It also allows you to
previewdatasets and view and manage metadata.
• ArcMap - used to view, edit, and analyze spatial data and create maps.

• ArcScene - ArcScene provides the interface for viewing multiple layers of 3D

data, visualizing 3D data on a 2D surface data, creating 3D surfaces, analyzing
3D surfaces

ArcToolbox is a component of ArcCatalog, ArcMap and ArcScene. It contains

tools for geoprocessing, data conversion, and defining map projections.
EXTENSIONS

The ArcGIS Desktop extensions provide you with additional GIS functionality.
Most extensions are optional products that are registered or licensed
individually. A suite of optional extensions is available for ArcGIS Desktop,
adding capabilities for raster analysis, three-dimensional
visualization, advanced map printing, and so on.

COMMON TERMINOLOGY
• Point: a single location having an X, Y (and sometimes, a Z) position (point
features have no area and no length)

• Line : a series of connecting X, Y positions (line features have length, but no

area)
• Polygon: one or more connecting lines that form a single spatial feature
(polygon features have both area and perimeter)

• Attribute Table: a table (much like a spreadsheet) that contains information

about, and is linked to, spatial features. Each spatial feature has one
associated record (row) in the attribute table

COMMON GIS DATA STRUCTURES

• Vector: In a vector data structure, geographic features (such as wells,
roads, national parks, etc.) are represented by points, lines, and
polygons that are defined by a set or sets of [X,Y] coordinates.
• Raster: In a raster data structure, spatial data are stored in a two
dimensional matrix, much like a checkerboard. Each raster, or cell,
contains a value.

USING ARCMAP
ArcMap is the ArcGIS application that you use to display, query, edit, create,
and analyze geographic data.

LAUNCH ARCMAP
ArcMap can be launched independently or from ArcCatalog. Use one of the
following

methods to launch ArcMap with “A new empty map” now:

1. You may launch ArcMap by clicking Start > Programs > ArcGIS > ArcMap.
Whenprompted, select A new empty map.
2. To launch ArcMap from ArcCatalog, click on the ArcMap icon on the
standardtoolbar, then select a new empty map.

THE ARCMAP INTERFACE

Key components of the ArcMap interface are:

• The title bar, menu bar, and toolbars;

• Two side-by-side windows: the Table of Contents and the map display
window;
• The status bar.

The Title Bar at the top of the ArcMap window displays the name of the map
document.
The Menu Bar, located just below the Title Ba contains a series of menu
items: File, Edit, View, Insert, Selection, Tools, Window, and Help.
 Title bar

Menu bar

Clicking on a menu item opens a dropdown menu with numerous options. To

select an option on the dropdown menu, click and release the mouse button on
the option.

ArcMap includes a variety of Toolbars. Click on the View menu item and select
Toolbars to see all of the toolbars that are available to you. A check mark next
to the toolbar name indicates that it is visible. For now, be sure that the
Standard Toolbar and the Tools Toolbar are turned on, as shown below:

The Standard Toolbar contains buttons that give you fast and easy access to
many of the Menu Bar options. Click on the button to execute a particular
operation.
The Tools Toolbar includes tools that allow you to interact with the data
displayed in the map display window to carry out specific tasks. Typically, the
pointer changes when a tool is used.

ArcMap provides a number of other toolbars, such as:

Draw - for drawing graphics and adding text

Editor – for editing spatial data

Layout – for working with layouts

Effects – for altering the display of spatial data

You can access the toolbars list without using the View menu by right-clicking any toolbar or
the statusbar. To quickly hide or turn off a toolbar, click its Close button.

The Status Bar, located at the bottom of the ArcMap window, gives
information about the function of a button or a tool when pointed over it. The
status bar also displays the coordinate position of the mouse pointer

The Table of Contents, located on the left side of the ArcMap window, lists all
of the layers that you have added to your map and shows the symbols that are
used to represent the features in each data layer. The check box next to each
layer name indicates whether it is currently displayed in the map display
window to the right of the Table of Contents (i.e., whether it is turned on or
turned off). The order of layers within the Table of Contents is also important.
Each data layer represents a specific type of feature such as Boundaries,
Villages, Water Bodies, Road, Rail, Power Lines etc.

ADD AND REMOVE DATA LAYERS

To illustrate basic features of the ArcMap interface, add a shapefile and a TIFF
image to your “new empty” ArcMap map document, as follows:

1. Click the Add Data button on the standard toolbar. In the Add Data dialog,
navigate to X:\Exercise folder, highlight india_ds.shp or india_raod.shp, and
click the Add button. Notice that the respective data layer is added to the
Layers data frame in the Table of Contents.
2. Use the same procedures to add a Toposheet, DDN_53j16.jpg located in
X:\Exercise2\ folder, to your map. For now, click OK to bypass the Spatial
Reference warning window that pops up.
3. To remove a data layer, right-click on the name of the layer in the Table of
Contents window and select Remove from the context menu that appears.

Pan control

Zoom in Zoom out control

4. Panning : Panning tool is used to move within data (Left, Right, Up, Down)
without changing its extent.

5. Zooming : It is used to Zoom In and Zoom Out the image on map.

CHANGING SYMBOLOGICAL LOOK OF THE LAYERS

ArcMap provides many tools to aid in the display of layers. With these tools,
you can make attractive maps but, more importantly, the tools allow you to
explore and analyze the data in the layer in a wide variety of ways.
ArcMap displays the layer using system-defined defaults. However, these
defaults can be adjusted. An overall color scheme can be selected from a set of
predefined color schemes, or the color scheme can be changed interactively.

• Select India_St layer, right-click on the layer name in the

Table of Contents, and choose Properties at the bottom of the menu.

• Click the Symbology tab at the top of the dialog window.
• Select Categories on the left and select Unique values as the Category type
to display. The Layer Properties window should now look like this:
• Under Value Field, use the dropdown list to select the STATE field.

• Under the Symbol field, uncheck the <all other values> symbol and then
press the Add All Values button at the bottom of the window area. All of the
values from the STATE field will be added. The Layer Properties dialog should
now look like this:

• Click OK and view the results in the map display.

DATA VIEW AND LAYOUT VIEW

ArcMap provides two different ways to view a map: data view and layout view.
• Data view is used when you want to browse, edit, and/or analyze the
geographic data
on your map.
• Layout view is used to prepare finished maps for printing, presenting and
publishing maps.

To switch between data and layout views:

1. Click the View menu item and select either Data View or Layout View from
the context menu that appears.

2. Alternatively, you can use the Data View and Layout View buttons located
in the lower left portion of the view window to switch between these two
views.
3. When you switch to Layout View, the Layout toolbar is automatically added
to the ArcMap window. These tools allow you to zoom in and out, pan, and
zoom to set extents
Georeferencing of Topo Sheet

1. Open Notepad and key in the four corners of the Toposheet (in Degree
Decimal) bas shown below.

2. Save the file in the desired folder for e.g. X:\Exercise Data with any name
like DDN_53j16.txt

3. Then Open Arc Map software.

Click on Start -> All Programs -> Arc Gis -> Arc Map

4. Click on “A new empty map” as shown below. Then Click OK button.

5. In Arc map window Click on Tools � Add XY Data…as shown below.

6. Click on Browse button and add the file created in notepad before as shown
below.
 Click on Browse button
and add the Notepad
file created before.
Then Click on Edit
Button

7. Then Click on Edit Button to add Co-ordinate system as Spatial Reference

Properties window opens as shown below.
8. On this window Click on Select � Geographic Coordinate Systems � Asia
�
Everest - India and Nepal.prj and Click on Add Button.

9. The Co-ordinate system is added as shown in above image. Then Click on

Apply-> OK ->OK ->OK button. The Points are plotted in Arc Map Window as
shown below.
10. The Point frame is ready as shown above. But this point file is in
Geographic Coordinate System. If you want it to be changed into Projected
Coordinate system follow the steps given below.
11. Right Click on Layers in Table of Contents on the Left side of Arc Map
Window. Then Click on Properties…. as shown below.
12. Data Frame Properties window open. Click on Coordinate System Tab.
Then Click on New � Projected Coordinate System… as shown below.
13. A “New Projected Coordinate System” window opens as shown below.
13 a) Fill the Details as: -
• Name – Polyconic
• False Easting – 100000
• False Northing – 100000
• Central Meridian – 72.875
• Latitude of Origin – 24.625
• Linear Units – meters
• Geographic Coordinate System
• Click on the Select button :- Browse for Coordinate System
Window appears
• Select Asia – Everest – India Nepal.prj
• Click Add � Finish.

14. To complete the task of converting Geographic to Projected we have to do

transformation. For that click on Transformations... button as shown below.
 New

15. The Click on New -> OK -> OK -> Apply -> OK. Transformation is
completed.
16. Now your point file has been transformed to Polyconic Coordinate system
and has to be exported into a shape file.

17. Right click in Table of Contents on the point file created. DDN_53j16.txt
Events.->Data -> Export Data as shown below.
18. An Export Data window opens as shown below.
19. In this window click on “the data frame” and give the file name and the
desired path as shown above and click OK -> Yes button.
20. The file is now added to your Table of Contents as shown below. Remove
the old file by Right Click on the old file and click on Remove.

21. Now we will add the Toposheet on which Georeferencing has to be done.
Click on Add button in Arc Map window and add the Raster file where ever
placed in the system.
22. For geo-referencing we have to open two toolbars (EDITOR &
GEOREFERENCING) for that right click on above side of Arc map window
and switch on the desired toolbar as shown below.
23. Place the toolbars in Arc Map window according to your wish.
24. To make the Toposheet visible Click on Georeferencing button -> Fit to
display as shown below.
25. The toposheet will get added as shown below.

26. For better accuracy we have to enable Snapping function with the controls
points file. For that click on Editor button -> Start Editing as shown below.
27. Then again click on Editor Button -> Snapping button. A new window open
in which you have to check on the Vertex for enable editing as shown below

Close

Vertex Button then

Close this snapping
toolbar

28. Now as the Snapping is Enabled it will give you better accuracy while
adding link points.
29. Click on Add control point button. First place a point on Toposheet and

then snap the corresponding point feature.

30. Add all the four points and then click on Georeferencing toolbar � Recify
button as shown below.
31. As you click on Rectify button a new window opens as shown below.

32. In this window set the following: Output Location, Name & Format (TIFF)
and click on Save button. Leave the rest of the setting as default.

33. Your toposheet has been georeferenced.