GEO 580

     Log in to your computer, move to your own data directory, and download the lab data to your own account. You can always use ArcCatalog (see below) to copy individual data files within ArcGIS if you corrupt or damage your copies of the data, so don't be afraid to experiment.

The lay of the land, or, 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 are 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.  If spatial data are found somewhere in the folder, an icon with a globe is used to represent this (as seen in C:\, E:\, F:\, G:\nicktemp,and G:\sarah of the above image -- your ArcCatalog window will likely show different items in the catalog).  If no spatial data are found,a regular folder icon is used (such as in the ESRI folder seen on the righthand side of the image above).  There are also icons for Database Connections, GeocodingServices, Internet Servers, and Search Results.

     Outside of the areas for exploring the catalog folders and their contents, there are several menus and toolbars associated with ArcCatalog.  We will explore a number of these in this lab, however we will not examine all of them.  Throughout the lab, it will helpful to you if you spend a bit of time examining these on your own as they become active. 

• To find out what a particular button does, hold your mouse cursor over the button for several seconds.  A note will appear telling the function associated with the button, and a more informative description will appearon 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').

     The following is a list of several icon types that you may encounter while working with ArcGIS 9 (this list is not comprehensive,but does cover the basic icons):

 

	Folder connection containing geographic data (Workspace)		Folder containing no geographic data		Folder containing geographic data - inside a Workspace (second level)
	Map file		Coverage - Polygon		Shapefile - Polygon
	Geodatabase		Coverage - Arc		Shapefile - Arc
	Geodatabase feature dataset		Coverage - Point		Shapefile - Point
	Geodatabase feature class - Polygon		Coverage feature class - Polygon
	Geodatabase feature class - Arc		Coverage feature class - Arc		Grid data
	Geodatabase feature class - Point		Coverage feature class - Tic
	Geodatabase feature class - Annotation		Coverage feature class - Label

     To access your data in ArcCatalog you have several choices -- first, 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 are more than one or two folders down from the drive connection.  A second option is to create a direct connection to your data.  A direct connection will help avoid clutter; 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 are not shown in the Catalog tree (i.e.,if you are using data saved on your network drive).  An example of a direct connection can be seen in the graphic in section1.4.2. -- G:\nicktemp and G:\sarah are both direct connections to local data folders.

• To connect to your data, click on the "Connect to Folder" button. 

Navigate to the folder containing your data for this lab- in this example: D:\data.  Select the folder (it will be highlighted in blue), and then click "OK."  A direct connection to your data folder will now appear in the CatalogTree.

     Try this out and connect to your network drive, or to the local folder that you will be using for your work.
 

     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:

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

     Take a moment or two 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 lower48 coverage and 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 lower48 icon.

     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.

Answer question 3: Do you find the preview tab helpful? Why or why not? 

When previewing tabular data in ArcCatalog, it is possible to search for specific entries in the table.  To do this, open to the table view, and click on the Options button, then Find.      Clicking on the Find option will open the Find window where you can enter a text string to search for.  You can search down the attribute list, up the attribute list, or search all of the attribute list.       Once the first match has been found, you can look for further matches by clicking on the 'Find Next' button.

     As well as finding data, you can also add fields to the table, re-load the table to view recent changes, or export the table as a .dbf file (dBase IV format, a format readable/importable by most spreadsheet and database programs, including Microsoft Excel), and the native format for Shapefiles. The coverage's native format is the INFO table. 
 

     Using the lower48 coverage, if you select the "Metadata" tab you will see any metadata (or data about the data) that is associated with the coverage.  No metadata has been created for any of the data that we are using in this lab, so most of the metadata file is not filled in.  ArcInfo automatically fills in a few fields in the metadata -- under the Spatial and Attribute headings.  In a later lab we will be creating our own metadata.

For the lower48 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 which 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, number of features, and data precision. Projection -- describes the projection of the data Tics & Extent -- describes the geographic extent of the coverage and the location of the four (or more) Tic marks. Tolerances -- Shows the tolerances used when the coverage was last edited      When you are done exploring the coverage properties,click on OK to exit.

     On your own, explore the property sheets for each of the feature classes for lower48.  To do this, expand the lower48 coverage by clicking on the plus sign next to the coverage icon, right-click on the one of the feature classes (arc, polygon, tic, label), and select Properties.

     ArcMap is the ArcInfo module used for creating, viewing, querying, editing, composing, and publishing maps. You will be spending a lot of time using ArcMap.

     Similar to ArcToolbox, ArcMap can be opened via the Start menu (Start -> Programs -> ArcInfo -> ArcMap) or from ArcCatalog(click on the  ArcMap icon).   In addition, you can open ArcMap by double clicking on a map file  in ArcCatalog.

     When you first start ArcMap, you may see the"Welcome to ArcMap" window - this window provides the options to 1.) Create a new map, 2) Open the last map you were using, 3) Open an existing map,or 4) Create a new map using a map template.  This quarter we will most often use options 1 and 3 (creating a new map, and opening existing maps). 

     If you do not see the Welcome window, someone has probably turned this option off - don't worry, you can still access all of the options through the main menu.   For the sake of description, open the prepared map file provided with the lab data (BentonCoMap.mxd )- you can open this from the Welcome window, or when ArcMap is open, click on File -> Open File, and navigate to the location of the map file.  You will notice that the BentonCoMap 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.

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 menu you need or don't need (As seen in the image to the right, or goto View->Toolbars). You can also access these toolbars by using the Tools -> Customize menu in the menu bar.

     The left portion of ArcMap shows a tree displayof the layers (the "layer tree") added to the map (and whether or not they are currently displayed).  There are two ways which the included data can be explored - by "Display" or "Source."  You can toggle between the two by selecting the appropriate tab on the bottom of the layer tree: 
     The Display tab shows the layer name,whether or not the layer is displayed (if there is a check mark in the box next to the name, the layer is being displayed), and how the layer is displayed (to see this, click on the + to the left of the name to expand the display). The Source tab shows the appropriate layer icon (same as seen in ArcCatalog), as well as the location (or "source") of the data.

     The right portion of ArcMap provides a view of the data (similar to ArcView).  You can select to view the data in "data view" or in "layout view". At the bottom of the view window three very useful icons appear.  . The globe icon represents the data view , the sheet of paper icon represents the layout view, and the arrows refresh theview.

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

     Try zooming in and out and otherwise exploring the data using the above tools. Notice what the tool does. This can be vital to maintaining consistent cartography when making multiple maps of the same area.
 

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

     The layout view is similar to the layout in ArcView.  A new set of tools are provided for exploration of the layout: 

     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, scalebar, north arrow, and your name.  You will use this map file later in the lab, so you will want to save your changes either in a new Map file, or overwriting the one in your directory

     Note- The Map file does not contain data. It contains information about how your map is layed out, and what data is in your map - You could think of your hard drive as a kitchen, map files as your recipes, the data as your ingredients, and the software as a cook. You write the recipe, or even change it, but the dirty work of baking and cleaning is the responsibility of the cook. (And that makes you the Master Chef....)

     Now that we have spent some time with an already created map file, let's make our own.  In ArcMap, you can not 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. In this instance, since we will not need to use the BentonCoMap 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." 

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

1. Use the "Add data" button on the ArcMap toolbar 
2. Navigate to File -> Add data
3. Drag and drop data from ArcCatalog.  With both ArcCatalog andArcMap 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 inArcMap, drag the data straight from ArcCatalog to the view window in ArcMap. Release the mouse button and drop the data in ArcMap.   If you can not 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 lower48 coverage, and the uscnty,usroad,and usriv shapefiles to your new map file.

     Since it is likely that you will open data from both your network drive or from copies on a local drive (zip or cd), it is helpful to use a "relative path" to your data rather than an 'absolute path'.  This will be handy if you copy your lab data folder to a local drive to work, or if you move it from one drive to another - if you do not store your data sources with relative path names, you will run into the problem of ArcMap looking for the data on the last drive that you used with that particular map - one that might not exist on the computer you are working on. For example, a map created with data located in D:\lab1 will be searched for in D:/lab1 regardless of where the data actually is if an absolute path is used. To continue the cook analogy above, the software(cook) looks for the ingredients (data) at the location specified in the recipe(map file). The absolute location might be "on the third shelf of the refrigerator". If the ingredients are moved, the directions are no good, but the recipe can move around anywhere.  The relative path name tells the software to look for the data in the same relative location to the map file- e.g., in the same location relative to the recipe. So if you keep your recipe with your ingredients, you can move them both to any location you like, and the recipe is still valid.)

     To set your map file to use relative path names, click on File --> Document Properties, select Data Source Options,and "Store relative path names." Click OK.  Note: You will probably want to do this with ALL map files that you create in this course. Because you may shift computers or even computer labs, you will be able to transfer the folder, with its files to any location you want.

     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 tothe layer's name:  . 

     To fix this problem, go to Properties-->Source ,and re-set the appropriate data source by clicking on the "Set Data Source" button. 

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 "on top" of other data layers - just like can be done in ArcView.  This example shows moving the blockgroups_polygon layer "on top" of the railroads_arc layer.

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.  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, graduatedsymbols, proportional symbols), or Multiple attributes (quantity by category).  You can also decide what color(s) and symbol(s) to use to represent thedata. 

     For example, if you want to use usroad to display type of road rather than simply a 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. Note that you can also alter all the values at once, by clicking on the symbols column heading.

     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.

     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 lower48 layer can not 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 uscntyand select the Display tab.  Under "% Transparent" enter 75 and click on OK.  Now the state boundaries are shown clearly, and the county boundaries are less pronounced in the display.

     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.

Annotation

     Now try to move or delete only ONE of the labels... Can you? The problem is that the labels are based on a specific feature value, and a point defined by the feature. To change individual labels, they must become a special kind of graphic, ones attached to points in a seperate layer within your rivers shapefile called an annotation layer. This way the points can be changed individually, but still follow around the rivers layer.

Right click on the rivers layer in the table of contents, and Convert Labels To Annotation. Use the Default settings, but select In the map for Store Annotation.. Hit Convert, and using the arrow tool, try to select and move one of the new annotations. This is far easier than maintaining them as automated labels. What happens to the labels when you change the scale of the map by zooming in or out??? What if you want labels that are not attached to your rivers layer??? Or if you want to change the thickness of a single segment of your rivers??? Once again, right click on the rivers layer and look at the option to convert Features to Graphics and think about what it might be good for.. DONT USE IT AT THIS TIME.    

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 counties 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 "options" - by selecting this, you will have available the options seen to the right.       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) 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 Export - Exports the table as a .dbf file (dBase IV) Appearance - Changes the way in which the table is viewed (i.e.,selected record highlight color)

     Choose the Select By Attributes option, and then write a query to select the counties that meet the following criteria:

• Name - Washington County
• Population per square mile (1990) - at least 115
• Area - greater than 800
• Not located in Arkansas

     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: 

     Notice that the selected counties are highlighted not only in the attribute table, but on the display map.

ELEMENTS:

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 not be used for areas unless you specifically need to do so.

2. Titles:
    A. Should usually be in upper case.
    B. Should not be sentences, but should be simple and to the point.
    C. Should not be the focal point of your map.
    D. Should almost always be black or dark text.
    E. Should be placed in a location on the map so that they do not obstruct any other portion of the map.
    F. Sub-titles should be smaller than main titles.

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 Benton County, meters for the OSU campus.
    C. Metric measurements are more suitable for scientific work, and are more acceptable for international distribution
    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 a 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.  For Example - If mapping a state, a arrow is not needed, because we can usually expect people to know which way is North.

6. Legends:
    A. Legends should be unobtrusive
    B. Legends should only show defined features that are not obvious.  For example black points are usually associated with landmarks such as cities, particularly if labeled.  You can assume that people understand this. (i.e. people have smarts)
    C. Legends do not need a heading 'Legend' or 'Key', but a legend title may be appropriate. This is particularly true if the legend units or classes are not obvious.

7. Text on Map:
    A. Text should NEVER cross other text or other features of the SAME color. (If absolutely necessary, use the ArcMap symbols->properties Mask tag. Choose Halo, and properties, and a color the same as the background behind the text)
    B. Labels for natural features such as streams, lakes etc. should be written in italics.
    C. Text should be readable!

8. Source
    A. It is appropriate to mention the projection and source of your data if known, and if at appropriate scale. This information should appear in SMALL lettering near the bottom of your map if possible.

8. Name on Map:
    A. 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. Since this is a class, include the date, time and lab section with your name.

9. White Space: 
    Do not waste space.  Try to find the balance between too much white space, and cluttered data.

PRINTING:
1. Print in Black and White first, color later.
    A. This saves money. In the non-academic world this can be a MAJOR issue, particularly with large formats. Kinko's charges ~$5 per square foot on a high quality plotter. That translates to $75 for a 3 foot by 5 foot poster! Color Printing is far more expensive than black and white printing. Wait until you are almost finished with your map to print a draft in color.
    B. If your map is difficult to read in black and white, it most likely will not look good in color, or may not have a suitable Figure to Ground Ratio. (In other words your map may not have enough contrast, or may have too much white space).
    C. Examine your black and white map, marking errors (Red is a good color to mark with). Strongly consider having someone who has not stared at the same map for hours look at the map for possible errors.

2. Don't wait until the last minute to print!
    A. When everyone prints at once, the network slows down. Complex fills and images take much longer for a printer to process than simple fills, and simplified vector features.
    B. If you are printing on a plotter, expect to spend 10% of your total time being frustrated by the plotter malfunctioning, or causing problems. In recent years printer drivers have improved significantly, reducing the time required to print.

Map 2-
     Using the cartographic guidelines listed above, correct the cartographic errors (what errors?) in BentonCoMap, turn in your corrected map.