Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Introduction to ArcCatalog
GISA01
Introduction to ArcCatalog
1.2.1. Purpose
The purpose of this exercise is to give you an introduction to ArcCatalog. ArcCatalog is
an application for managing geographical data. It is used for copying, moving and
deleting data; searching for data; previewing data; and creating new data. It also contains
tools for creating, editing and viewing metadata (data about data such as creation date,
the datas intended use and accuracy etc.). In this exercise you will:
- Learn about folder connections and how to create shortcuts to folders in ArcCatalog.
- Explore and view the contents of files, folders and disks in ArcCatalog.
- Explore the properties of files and folders in ArcCatalog.
1.2.2. Data
The data used for this exercises is the same as for the previous exercise 1.1 Introduction
to Windows Explorer, downloadable from Moodle. The data contains a number of
shapefiles or geographical layers of Nicaragua.
If you have not yet downloaded the data from the previous exercise to your computer,
create a folder in your local working directory called 1_Intro_ArcGIS. Download the data
from Moodle and copy all the data files for this exercise to your newly created folder.
Note: Specific information on how to download and extract the data can be
found in section 1.1.2 Data in exercise 1.1 Introduction to Windows Explorer.
1.2.3. Background
ArcCatalog is one of the three key applications in ArcGIS Desktop. ArcCatalog gives
users the possibility to extract information regarding spatial data contained on a
computers hard drive, on a network, or on the Internet. It can show users what folders
that contain spatial data and what kinds of spatial data they include. It also lets you
preview features and attributes of data. One can also examine and edit metadata, which is
information about the data, such as when and how it was created.
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 1
Introduction to ArcCatalog
1.2.5. ArcCatalog
To the left of in the ArcCatalog main window you can see a catalog tree. This tree
provides you with a view of how the data, files and folders are organized on your
computer. On the right there is a display window with three tabs, Contents, Preview and
Metadata. These tabs let you explore the contents of selected items in the catalog tree in
different ways.
When you first start ArcCatalog, you will automatically be able to access data on your
computers hard disks through folder connections . Folder connections are basically
shortcuts that you can use to access your data more quickly. It is also possible to create
and store connections to specific databases and Internet servers as well as managing
geocoding services and search results.
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 2
Introduction to ArcCatalog
- In the display window, take a look at the different types of folder connections
by looking at the attributes in the column Type.
When a connection is selected, it is possible to access the data to which it is linked. When
you remove a folder connection in ArcCatalog you only remove the connection, you do
not delete any data.
- In the Connect to Folder dialog window navigate to the folder that contains the
folder 1_Intro_ArcGIS in which you saved the exercise data (e.g.:
C:\LUMA_GIS\GISA01\Practical\) and then click OK.
Notice that a folder connection is now visible for the path in the catalog tree. In such a
way, it is rather easy to create connections or shortcuts to data.
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 3
Introduction to ArcCatalog
- Right click the copied folder and select File > Rename. Change its name to
1_Intro_ArcGIS_Working.
- Remove your current folder connection (e.g.:
C:\LUMA_GIS\GISA01\Practical\) by right clicking it and selecting Disconnect
Folder. Its also possible to remove a folder connection by selecting it and then
clicking in the Standard toolbar.
- Create a new folder connection to the working folder
(1_Intro_ArcGIS_Working).
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 4
Introduction to ArcCatalog
- In the Options dialog window uncheck Hide file extensions under the tab
General and click Apply.
Notice that you can now see the extensions of each file listed. This is important in order
to know which type of file you are working with or previewing.
- Take the time to familiarize yourself with the options available by browsing
through the different tabs in the Options dialog window.
Question 1.2.1: How can you include the size of each item and the date when they
were last modified in the ArcCatalog display?
Each type of geographic data has its own set of icons in ArcCatalog, whether the type is
geodatabase, coverage, shapefile, raster, dBase or a map document. Throughout the
course, you will learn more about these different data types.
- Under the Contents tab, take a few minutes to explore the appearance options of
the exercise data.
For a general impression of the geographic extent of the data one can use the Thumbnails
view option. However, to examine the geographic data more closely, the Preview tab is
ideal.
- Select the shapefile Nicaragua and click the tab Preview.
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 5
Introduction to ArcCatalog
Detailed preview is by default set to Geography in the Preview drop down menu at the
bottom. The tools found in the Geography toolbar can then be used to Zoom in , Zoom
out or Pan the data.
Note: If you are not able to see the Geography toolbar in ArcCatalog click View
> Toolbars > Geography in the main menu.
Alternatively, you can switch Preview from Geography to Table to view the attributes of
the theme selected in the catalog tree.
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 6
Introduction to ArcCatalog
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 7
Introduction to ArcCatalog
- Right click the heading of the NAME column and click Freeze/Unfreeze
Column.
The column named NAME is frozen in position and a heavy black line appears to its
right. When columns are frozen, they stay in place while scrolling horizontally and other
columns scroll normally. You can check this by making your window smaller than the
table itself.
Question 1.2.2: What is the area of the smallest polygon in the table Nicaragua and
what does it represent (its name)? The areas in the table are listed as square meters
(m2).
Question 1.2.3: What is the total area (sum) of all the polygons in the table
Nicaragua in square kilometers (km2)? Remember that area values are presented in
m2.
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 8
Introduction to ArcCatalog
Metadata can easily be edited in ArcCatalog (provided the user has writing access) by
clicking Edit Metadata . Metadata can even be imported from various external sources
by clicking the Import Metadata .
14-01-2010 Copyright 2010. Lund University GIS Centre. All rights reserved. 9