Introduction to ArcGIS I

Two days

Overview

Welcome to ArcGIS®. Here begins the foundation for becoming a successful ArcView®, ArcEditor™, or ArcInfo™ user. This course covers fundamental GIS concepts as well as how to query a GIS database, manipulate tabular data, edit spatial and attribute data, and present data clearly and efficiently using maps and charts. Participants learn how to use ArcMap™, ArcCatalog™, and ArcToolbox™ and explore how these applications work together to provide a complete GIS software solution.

Audience

This course is for those who are new to ArcGIS and new to geographic information systems in general.

Goals

• Display feature and tabular data
• Work with georeferenced spatial data
• Query features using logical expressions
• Find features using spatial relationships
• Edit spatial and attribute data
• Associate tables with joins and relates
• Produce maps, reports, and graphs

Topics covered

ArcGIS overview: Capabilities and applications; Interacting with the interface; Basic display

Spatial data concepts: Representing spatial data and descriptive information

ArcGIS data model: Geodatabases; Shapefiles; Coverages; Feature types; Attributes

GIS software: Components; Functions; Applications

Spatial coordinate systems and map projections: Georeferencing data; What map projections are; How ArcMap works with map projections

Querying data: Selecting and identifying features; Creating reports and graphs

Map displays: Creating; Symbolizing; Scaling; Adding map elements

Prerequisites and recommendations

Participants should know how to use windowing software. This course provides the fundamental ArcGIS knowledge and experience needed to enroll in Introduction to ArcGIS II.