Learning ArcGIS for Desktop

Chapter 1. Getting Started with ArcGIS

All over the world, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are used by small and large organizations alike to manage the environment and to support decision-making in different industrial sectors, such as healthcare, transportation, utilities, communications, petroleum, minerals, and even real estate, banking or insurance. GIS tools are also used by the academic and non-academic institutions in their research projects or disciplines (for example, geology, biology, history, environmental sciences, urbanism, cartography, or cadaster).

Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) was founded as a company by Jack Dangermond in the late 1960s. In 1982, Esri released their first commercial software called ArcInfo that had a command-line interface. In the early 1990s, Esri released their first desktop solution with a graphical user interface called ArcView GIS. The ArcView software made the GIS tools more accessible to local administration, academic environments, students, and ordinary users. In 1999, Esri transformed ArcInfo into a modular, scalable desktop and enterprise platform called ArcGIS 8.x. The ArcGIS Desktop 8.x version had three levels of functionality and cost: ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo. All these levels of functionality shared the same three applications: ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcToolbox.

In 2012, Esri released the ArcGIS 10.1 version. Starting with this version, each ArcGIS for Desktop license includes an ArcGIS Online organizational account with a number of named users and service credits. ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based GIS service that gives organizations the necessary tools to collect real-time data and discover, visualize, create, combine, analyze, manage, and share geospatial information (source: www.esri.com).

In 2015, Esri released the ArcGIS Pro application along with the ArcGIS for Desktop 10.3 version. ArcGIS Pro allows users to work with geospatial data in 2D and 3D environments within the same application.

In the last few years, ArcGIS became a powerful integrated Web GIS platform, which gathers different others technologies, such as Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), remote sensing, for example, LiDAR—Light Detection and Ranging, web services, wireless communications, and handheld or mobile devices.

In this chapter, we will cover the fundamental aspects of the ArcGIS for Desktop software. We will explore what is needed in terms of hardware and software. We will also show the reader how to install and activate a 60-day trial of ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced Single Use version. By the end of this chapter, you will be ready to run the software and understand the functionality of the main ArcGIS for Desktop applications. We will cover the following topics in this chapter:

Hardware and software requirements
Installing ArcGIS for Desktop
Exploring ArcGIS for Desktop

Hardware and software requirements

Before you begin installing ArcGIS for Desktop, you need to check whether your computer meets the minimum hardware and software requirements to properly install and run the ArcGIS applications.

Hardware requirements

In this section, we will list the minimum hardware requirements, and we will check the computer system specifications using the System Information tool in Windows 8.

To install ArcGIS for Desktop, we need the following minimum hardware requirements:

Central processing unit (CPU) speed: 2.2 GHz
Processor: x86 or x64 with SSE2 Extensions
Memory/RAM: 2 GB; ArcGIS for Desktop exists only as a 32-bit application and, as such, is limited, only being able to use up to 4 GB of RAM
Screen resolution and display properties: 1024x768 pixels at normal size (96 dpi), 24-bit color depth
Swap space: 500 MB
Disk space: 2.4 GB
Video/Graphics Adapter: 64 MB RAM; ArcGIS for Desktop will work better on a 24-bit capable graphics accelerator with a minimum of 256 MB dedicated video card memory than on integrated graphics
Networking Hardware: TCP/IP Protocol, Network Interface Card (NIC) for the license manager (for Concurrent Use) or authorization information (for Single Use)

Use the System Information panel to get information about your system, as shown in the following screenshot:

To begin, right-click the Start button and select Run.
In the Run box, type msinfo32, as shown in the following screenshot:
Click on OK to open the System Information panel.

Software requirements

In this section, we will list the minimum software requirements and the supplementary disk space necessary to install additional components.

To install ArcGIS for Desktop 10.4, we need the following minimum software requirements:

Operating system: 32-bit or 64-bit versions of Windows 7, 8, 8.1, or 10, and Windows Server 2008, and 2012
Admin privilege: Administrative privileges are required to install this software
Framework: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 or higher must be installed prior to installing ArcGIS for Desktop
Internet Browser: Esri indication is Internet Explorer 9 or higher; however, Mozilla Firefox, or Google Chrome could be also used

The ArcGIS geoprocessing tools require Python 2.7.10, Numerical Python (NumPy) 1.9.2, and Matplotlib 1.4.3 to be installed.

Note

ArcGIS for Desktop installation wizard will automatically install the Python components.

Installing ArcGIS for Desktop

In this section, we will cover the steps necessary to obtain and install a 60-day trial of ArcGIS for Desktop (Advanced Single Use) on Windows.

Esri license authorizes to run ArcGIS for Desktop as the following:

Single Use: This is when software and its extensions are authorized to run on a single computer.
Concurrent Use: This is when a license server manages a given number of floating licenses through a computer network. The computers that have ArcGIS for Desktop installed are authorized by the license server to run the applications (for example, ArcMap) using the ArcGIS License Manager.

Obtaining a 60-day trial of ArcGIS for Desktop

Follow these steps to obtain a trial of ArcGIS for Desktop:

Open your browser and type in the following address: www.esri.com.
Navigate to Products | ArcGIS for Desktop.
Click the orange 60-Day Free Trial button or click the Free Trial tab, as shown in the following screenshot:
Provide the required information and click the START TRIAL button.
You will receive a confirmation e-mail from Esri Customer Service with the subject Esri—Activate Your Free ArcGIS Trial. Check your e-mail and use the link to activate your ArcGIS Online account.
Choose and type the username and password for your public account. In the Organization field, specify the name of your organization (for example, Student_Your Name).You will be the administrator of your own organization.
Note
Do not select an existing organization from the drop-down list. If you select the name of an organization from the drop-down list, you will need to request permission from the selected organization.
Carefully read the Terms of Use and check I accept the terms & conditions. Click the CREATE MY ACCOUNT button.
In the Set Up Your Organization page, complete the form with the required information and click the SAVE AND CONTINUE button.
Click on the GET THE APPS button to download the components of ArcGIS for Desktop, as shown in the following screenshot:
We will download the ArcMap component, as shown in the following screenshot:
Click on the DOWNLOAD button and save the archived software to your hard disk. The download process may take a while depending on your internet speed. Please note that you will receive an authorization number for the ArcMap application. We also recommend that you download all the other components, such as ArcGIS Pro and Data Interoperability, for further study.
Note
If you want to obtain an Esri Technical Certification and need to learn for more than 60 days, we recommend that you purchase a license ArcGIS for Desktop Home from the following link:
http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/arcgis-for-home.

Installing on Windows

Now, we will install and activate ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced Single Use. Remember that the term "Advanced" refers to the license level of the applications that are included with ArcGIS for Desktop: ArcMap, ArcCatalog, ArcGlobe, and ArcScene. Follow these steps to install this software:

Double-click the self-extracting .exe file named ArcGIS_ Desktop_103x_xxxxxx.exe and click the Run button to unpack the installation files.
In the second panel, select the destination folder for the extracted files and click Next. Keep the Launch the setup program option checked and click the Close button to start the installation wizard, as shown in the following screenshot:
Follow the next panels to install ArcGIS for Desktop. The installation may take several minutes.
Click on the Finish button to exit and launch ArcGIS Administrator Wizard, which is shown in the following screenshot:
The ArcGIS Administrator Wizard window will help you to activate the ArcGIS for Desktop before using it.
Tip
If you accidentally closed the Administrator Wizard window or you want to authorize the product later on, you can manually start ArcGIS Administrator by navigating to Start | All Programs | ArcGIS | ArcGIS Administrator. Select Desktop and check the Advanced (ArcInfo) Single Use option.
Click Authorize Now. In the Authorization Options panel check I have installed my software and need to authorize it. Click Next and check the Authorize with Esri now using the Internet option.
Click on Next and for the next two panels, complete the forms with the required information. Click on Next to see the panel, Software Authorization Number.
Enter the software authorization code that you received in the Esri Customer Service e-mail or the one displayed on your public account in the Trial Downloads section.
Tip
To return to the download page, log in in to your public account using the username and password that you chose in the previous section. Click on your name in the upper left-hand corner of the site and select the Trial Downloads link.
Click on Next and check the I do not want to authorize any extensions at this time option. Go to the next panel, select all available extensions, and add them into the Evaluation Software Extensions list, as shown in the following screenshot:
Go to the last panel to initiate the authorizing software. Click on Finish when the authorizing process is complete. To close the ArcGIS Administrator window click on OK.

Now, your ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced Single Use is ready to run.

Depending on your ArcGIS for Desktop version, please download and install the latest patches (bug fixes) or service packs (compilation of bug fixes) from http://support.esri.com/en/downloads/patches-servicepacks.

Exploring ArcGIS for Desktop

As you saw in ArcGIS Administrator Wizard, ArcGIS for Desktop has three levels of functionality: Basic (formerly ArcView), Standard (formerly ArcEditor), and Advanced (formerly ArcInfo). All these three products comprise two main applications: ArcMap and ArcCatalog. These two applications look and work the same for the three license levels but are differentiated by the functionality that they provide. The 10.3 version of ArcGIS for Desktop released a third new application called ArcGIS Pro in January 2015.

Note

This book will not cover the ArcGIS Pro concepts.

If you want to learn about ArcGIS Pro, we recommend the book Learning ArcGIS Pro, Tripp Corbin, Packt Publishing, which can be found at https://www.packtpub.com/application-development/learning-arcgis-pro.

ArcCatalog

The ArcCatalog application allows users to explore, manage, and even document their spatial or nonspatial data. The interface of ArcCatalog is shown in the following screenshot:

Catalog Tree shows the folders and data files, geodatabases, database connections, GIS servers, and custom and system toolboxes. Think of the Catalog Tree as the Windows Explorer of ArcGIS. The Catalog Tree window can be accessed in the ArcMap application, too.

The Preview window allows you to view and explore the geometric shapes and attributes of features stored in the dataset selected in the Catalog Tree.

ArcCatalog has three options to view the selected items in the Preview window:

Contents: This is a quick view of the content of a selected item in the Catalog Tree (for example, a folder or geodatabase content)
Preview: This is used to view and explore the geography (geometry) and attributes of features stored in the dataset selected in Catalog Tree
Description: This is used to view and edit the information about data, known as metadata or "data about data"
Note
This book includes datasets that you will need to complete the exercises here. Before you can work with these datasets, you have to download them from your account at http://www.packtpub.com.
If you purchased this book elsewhere, then you can visit https://www.packtpub.com/books/content/support and register there to have these files e-mailed directly to you.
This training dataset will require at least 10 GB of free space on your working hard disk. Extract the training data from the archive on your working disk in a new folder named LearningArcGIS.

Follow these steps to add some publicly available data from NaturalEarthData.com:

From www.naturalearthdata.com/downloads/, download the following themes after navigating to Medium scale data (1:50m) | Cultural—Admin 0-Countries (click the Download countries button) and Populated Places (click the Download populated places button). Also, download the Natural Earth 1 with Shaded Relief raster from the Raster\Natural Earth 1 section.
Unzip the archive files to <drive>:\LearningArcGIS\Chapter1\NaturalEarthData.
Tip
If you didn't succeed in downloading and unzipping the data, you can find the necessary datasets at <drive>:\LearningArcGIS\Chapter1\Results.

Follow these steps to explore the data in the ArcCatalog application:

Start the ArcCatalog application by navigating to Start | All Programs | ArcGIS.
To see the downloaded datasets in the panel from the left-hand side of the window named Catalog Tree, click Connect To Folder from the Standard toolbar. Go to <drive>:\LearningArcGIS\Chapter1 and click OK. In Catalog Tree, expand the NaturalEarthData\ ne_50m_admin_0_countries folder and select the polygon shapefile named ne_50m_admin_0_countries.shp, as shown in the previous screenshot.
If you don't see the file extension of shapefile (*.shp), go to the Customize menu, select ArcCatalog Options, click the General tab, and uncheck the option, Hide file extension. Click OK to close ArcCatalog Options.
Note
The shapefile format (.shp) is an Esri vector data format. Even if ArcCatalog displays it as a single file, shapefile is a set of differently-related files that store geometric and attribute information of the geographic features. For more information about the shapefile format, please refer to ESRI Shapefile Technical Description, ESRI White Paper-July 1998 at https://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/shapefile.pdf.
In the right-hand side of the window, select the Preview tab to see the map of the countries. Use the Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Pan tools from the Geography toolbar to explore data in the preview window.
From the Geography toolbar, click the Identify tool. Then, click on any country in the preview window. The Identify Results window shows the attributes of the country that you have just clicked.
If you want to see the attributes for all countries, click the drop-down arrow next to Preview from the bottom of the preview window and select Table. You can now see the attribute table of all 241 countries.
Let's examine these attributes. Scroll through the table and select the name field. We will search the United Kingdom value in the selected field. Click the Table Options button from the bottom left corner of the preview window and select Find. In the Find window, for Find what, type United Kingdom. Check the Search Only Selected Field(s) option and click Find Next to search for the record. The record with the FID=77 value and the name =United Kingdom field is underlined in the attribute table. When finished, click Cancel to close the Find window.
Return to the geography view mode by selecting Geography from the drop-down arrow next to Preview.
Repeat these steps to explore the shapefile named ne_50m_populated_places.shp and the shaded relief file named HYP_50M_SR_W.tif.
Tip
The shapefile's green icon next to the shapefile's name indicates what type of geometry is stored in it: point, polyline, or polygon. Also, the color of the icons is tied to the data format. For example, the geodatabase icon is gray, and the CAD files are blue.
Close the ArcCatalog application.

ArcMap

The ArcMap application allows users to visualize, create, edit, query, and analyze spatial or nonspatial data. ArcMap works with map document files. A map document file (.mxd) stores the reference to the data source (for example, the reference to the ne_50m_admin_0_countries.shp shapefile), the reference to your symbol styles, how your data is displayed and symbolized on a map, and other properties related to your data.

Tip

A map document does not store a copy of your data.

The ArcMap interface is shown in the following screenshot:

In ArcMap, a Data frame is a container for the layers displayed on a map. Think of the data frame as a classic map. All layers from a data frame will be displayed in the same coordinate system, which is the property of the data frame. In one map document, you can have multiple data frames with different coordinate systems.

A Layer is a visual display of your dataset in ArcMap. For example, you can add the same shapefile, named ne_50m_admin_0_countries.shp, three times in ArcMap, and the Table Of Contents window will automatically display them as three layers, symbolized with different symbols, as shown in the following screenshot:

A layer can be stored in a map document (*.mxd) or as an individual layer file (*.lyr). ArcMap has two methods of map display: Data View and Layout View. In the Data View mode, you can view, create, edit, symbolize, and analyze data from only one data frame at a time. In the Layout View mode, you can use multiple data frames to create final professional maps (map layout) for print or digital view.

Note

Note that all steps in this subsection have to be completed in one session.

Follow these steps to add spatial data as layers to ArcMap:

Start the ArcMap application by navigating to Start | All Programs | ArcGIS or using the ArcMap button on the Standard toolbar, in ArcCatalog application.
In the ArcMap-Getting Started window, select the Blank Map user template from New Maps | My Templates, as shown in the following screenshot:
Click on OK. The ArcMap interface will open with an empty and untitled map document.
Click on the Add Data button from Standard toolbar. Double-click Folder Connections and select the HYP_50M_SR_W.tif raster from <drive>:\LearningArcGIS\Chapter1\NaturalEarthData\HYP_50M_SR_W. Click the Add button.
The land cover raster has been added in the Table of Contents window as a layer in the default data frame named Layers. To change the name of the data frame, click the word Layers to select it, then click it again, and type Natural Earth 1:50m.
Tip
If you accidentally double-click the data frame's name, the Data Frame Properties window will be opened. If you double-click the layer's name, the Layer Properties window will be opened.
Change the name of layer from HYP_50M_SR_W.tif to Land cover&Shadedrelief by following the previous step.

Let's try another way to add data to a map document:

Click on the Catalog tab on the left-hand side of the ArcMap interface. The Catalog window can be also opened using the Catalog button from the Standard toolbar.
In the Catalog window, double-click Connect to Folder and select the ne_50m_admin_0_countries.shp shapefile from <drive>:\LearningArcGIS\Chapter1\NaturalEarthData\ne_50m_admin_0_countries. Drag the selected polygon shapefile and drop it into the map display area.
Repeat the previous step to add ne_50m_populated_places.shp shapefile to Table Of Contents as a layer.
You can reordering map layers in Table Of Contents by clicking the layer and dragging it below or above the existing layers. You can order the map layers, only if they are in List by Draw Order. You cannot adjust the layer order in Table of Contents if they are listed in the following ways of listing layers: List By Source, List By Visibility, and List By Selection.

We will now change the name and symbols of the last two layers:

In Table of Contents, right-click the ne_50m_admin_0_countries.shp layer and select Properties.
In the Layer Properties window, click the General tab; and for Layer Name, replace the existing name by typing Countries. Changing the layer name does not change the name of the source dataset. Click Apply.
Click on the Symbology tab, and for Symbol, click the rectangular symbol button to open the Symbol Selector window, as shown in the following screenshot:
In the Symbol Selector window, select the Olive style and click OK to close the Symbol Selector window.

You may have noticed that the Countries layer is obscuring the shaded relief layer in the map display. You will now add transparency to the Countries layer symbols:

In the Layer Properties window, click the Display tab; and for Transparent, type 50. Click the Apply button to apply the changes to the layer and click OK to save the applied changes and close the Layer Properties window.
Use the Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Pan tools from the Tools toolbar to inspect the results in the map display area.
Click on the Find tool from the Tools toolbar and set the parameters, as shown in the following screenshot:
Check whether the Features panel is active; and for the Find text box, type Mumbai. For the In drop-down list, select the Populated_places layer (ne_50m_populated_places.shp), and for the In field drop-down list, select NAME. Click Find. At the bottom of the Find window, right-click the displayed result and select Zoom To. The city has been centered in the map display.
If you want to see the attributes of the point feature, right-click the search result and select Identify. In the Identify window, scroll through the fields list and search for the ADMoNAME field to see the name of the country. Click Cancel to close the Find window.
Let's confirm the country name using the information stored in the Countries layer. Click the Identify tool and click the map display. For Identify, from the drop-down list, select the Countries layer (ne_50m_admin_0_countries.shp).

Now let's explore another part of the world using their geographic coordinates, as shown in the following screenshot:

The coordinate system of our datasets is WGS 1984, which is a geographic coordinate system, and units of measurement are expressed in degrees. Let's search for a location using geographic coordinates:

Select Go To XY from the Tools toolbar. By default, the geographic coordinates are expressed as Degrees Minutes Seconds. You can change this to Decimal Degrees by clicking the drop-down arrow from the top of the Go To XY window. Under the field Long:, type 5 degrees, and for Lat:, type 50 degrees. Press the Enter key.
Click the Add Labeled Point button under Go To XY window to add a graphic point with information about its geographic coordinates in the map display.
To get some additional information about the area around the point, select the Identify tool and click the green graphic point. For Identify window, from the drop-down list, select the Countries layer. What is the name of the country that you selected?
Close the Identify window.

Before closing the ArcMap, save your map document work, symbols, and green point labeled into an ArcMap Document (*.mxd):

From Main menu, go to File | Save As....
Go to <drive>:\LearningArcGIS\Chapter1\NaturalEarthData.
Name the file as MyChapter01.
Exit ArcMap by selecting File | Exit from the Main menu.

ArcToolbox

The ArcToolbox window is embedded in both applications: ArcCatalog and ArcMap. ArcToolbox contains collections of toolboxes, toolsets, and system tools for data management and analysis, cartography, data format conversion, and other tasks, as shown in the following screenshot:

To increase its efficiency, ArcToolbox should be used in conjunction with the Search and Results windows. Both are available in ArcCatalog and ArcMap applications, from the Geoprocessing menu.

Some tools require their corresponding extensions to be enabled. For example, if you want to use the 3D Analyst processing tools, you should manually enable the 3D Analyst extension before working with them. To enable this extension in the ArcCatalog application, click the Customize menu and select Extensions. In the Extensions window check the 3D Analyst extension and click Close. The same step is also available in the ArcMap application.

Getting help

Getting help while you are working with ArcGIS for Desktop applications will increase productivity. If you are stuck or you want to quickly get more information about a tool or a button, then use ArcGIS Help which is accessible from all ArcGIS for Desktop applications.

There are three tabs in the upper right-hand corner of the ArcGIS Help window:

Contents: This is where the help topics are organized into books on the left-hand side panel
Favorites: This stores a list of your favorite or most-viewed help topics
Search: This searches for a help topic by entering one or more keywords
Tip
To discover the ArcGIS community (for example, Web help, blogs, and forums), use ArcGIS Resource Center, which is available at http://resources.arcgis.com.

Kindle Customer May 08, 2017

Make sure you can download the codes and errata from the website of the publishing company before you buy . 4.3 GB of data needs to be downloaded which can be quite time consuming and disruptive even with a decent home based broad band connection.Normally a CD containing codes comes along with such books. Customer service of the publisher is useless and all about taking you for a ride.Indeed sad to see a well written book being sold by people who has not even got a clue on who the end user would be.

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Learning ArcGIS for Desktop: Create, analyze, and map your spatial data with ArcGIS for Desktop

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