ArcGIS Desktop Tips and Tutorials

Note: For ArcView 3.2, see ArcView Tips and Tutorials

• ArcGIS Tutorials
• GIS Data Available for Download
• General - Working with Files
• Importing GIS data files
• Map and Layout Tips
• Data Creation and Manipulation
• Area calculations
• Raster (grid) data and analysis (including Digital Elevation Models - DEMs)
• Working with 3D data using 3D-Analyst
• GPS Resources and Instructions

ArcGIS Tutorials

• ArcGIS 8.2 Basics
• Working with 2000 Census Data in ArcGIS and Census Tips

General - Working with Files

• Decompressing files compressed with the WinZip utility
• To decompress with Aladdin Stuffit Expander, simply double-click on the file name (this program is installed on all the GIS computers in Sutton Lab)

Importing GIS files

• Importing .e00 (Arc Interchange) files in ArcGIS 9.1

Map and Layout Tips

• Interactively labeling features of a layer so that they turn on and off with the layer
• Trouble Shooting Coordinate Systems in ArcMap
• Defining a Projection/Coordinate System

Data Creation and Manipulation

• Creating a new shapefile in ArcGIS
• Creating a subset  data set of a larger data set (for shape files only)
• Geocoding (address-matching) lists of addresses in ArcGIS
• Georeferencing digital images and scanned maps

Attribute Tables

• Saving Excel files in dBase format

Area Calculations

• Calculating Area, Perimeter and Length in ArcGIS
  (see also the Conversion Table for changing measurement units (Peter Wallin)

Spatial (Raster Grid) Analysis

• Importing USGS Digital Elevation Model (DEM) data
• Working with x, y, and z units in Digital Elevation Models
• Everything You Want To Know About SDTS (from the GeoCommunity web site for tutorials, software utilities, etc., particularly related to DEMs in SDTS format)
• Experimental project: neighborhood boundary perception

3-D Analysis

• Creating a 3-D TIN with ArcGIS 3-D Analyst (do this as the first step to create a slope or aspect grid from contour line data)