Collapse all Welcome to ArcGIS Desktop Help Copyright information Acknowledgements GIS Dictionary

What's new in ArcGIS

What's new in ArcGIS 9.3 What's new in ArcGIS 9.3.1 Migration guides

Getting started

Fundamentals of GIS Three views of GIS How maps convey geographic information Georeferencing and coordinate systems Elements of geographic information How GIS represents and organizes geographic information How ArcGIS users work with geographic information Users work with many data types and data formats in ArcGIS Comparing Geoprocessing and Spatial Analysis Introducing ArcGIS Desktop Tutorials Tutorials 3D Analyst Tutorial Animation in ArcMap Tutorial ArcCatalog Tutorial ArcMap Tutorial ArcGIS Publisher Tutorial ArcReader Tutorial ArcScan Tutorial Building a Geodatabase Tutorial Database Servers Tutorial Data Interoperability Tutorial Editing Geodatabases Tutorial Editing GIS Features Tutorial Geocoding Tutorial Geoprocessing Tutorial Geostatistical Analyst Tutorial Getting Started with ArcGIS Tutorial Linear Referencing Tutorial Maplex Tutorial Network Analyst Tutorial Representations Tutorial Schematics Tutorial Spatial Analyst Tutorial StreetMap Tutorial Survey Analyst Tutorial Tracking Analyst Tutorial Toolbars Getting more help Using this Help system Getting help within the applications ArcGIS Desktop Resource Center ArcGIS Desktop Documentation Library Accessing ESRI Software Training Using the GIS Dictionary Contacting Technical Support Support for users located outside the United States Contacting ESRI

Map projections and coordinate systems

Getting started with map projections An overview of map projections Projection basics the GIS professional needs to know About the geoid, ellipsoid, spheroid and datum, and how they are related Identifying an unknown coordinate system Converting Degrees Minutes Seconds values to Decimal Degree values Geographic coordinate systems Projected coordinate systems About projected coordinate systems About map projections Projection types Planar projections Conic projections Cylindrical projections Other projections Projection parameters Geographic transformations Geographic transformation methods Equation-based methods Grid-based methods Supported map projections List of supported map projections Aitoff Alaska Grid Alaska Series E Albers Equal Area Conic Azimuthal Equidistant Behrmann Equal Area Cylindrical Bipolar Oblique Conformal Conic Bonne Cassini-Soldner Chamberlin Trimetric Craster Parabolic Cube Cylindrical Equal Area Double Stereographic Eckert I Eckert II Eckert III Eckert IV Eckert V Eckert VI Equidistant Conic Equidistant Cylindrical Equirectangular Fuller Gall's Stereographic Gauss-Krüger Geocentric Coordinate System Geographic Coordinate System Gnomonic Goodes Homolosine Great Britain National Grid Hammer-Aitoff Hotine Oblique Mercator Krovak Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area Lambert Conformal Conic Local Cartesian Projection Loximuthal McBryde-Thomas Flat-Polar Quartic Mercator Miller Cylindrical Mollweide New Zealand National Grid Orthographic Perspective Plate Carrée Polar Stereographic Polyconic Quartic Authalic Rectified Skewed Orthomorphic Robinson Simple Conic Sinusoidal Space Oblique Mercator State Plane Coordinate System Stereographic Times projection Transverse Mercator Two-Point Equidistant Universal Polar Stereographic Universal Transverse Mercator Van der Grinten I Vertical Near-Side Perspective Winkel I Winkel II Winkel Tripel Vertical coordinate systems About vertical coordinate systems Vertical datums Geoid

Mapping and visualization

An overview of mapping and visualization Using ArcMap Layers, data frames, and the table of contents Starting ArcMap Creating a new map Opening a map Using the table of contents About coordinate systems and map projections Specifying a coordinate system Referencing data in the map Working with data frames Pausing the map's drawing Saving a map and exiting ArcMap Saving to previous versions of ArcGIS Keyboard shortcuts in ArcMap Working with layers Adding layers to a map Adding a layer package to your map Adding x,y coordinate data as a layer Changing a layer's drawing order Changing a layer's text description Setting layer properties Managing group layers Saving a layer to disk Copying layers Displaying layers at certain scales Displaying a subset of features in a layer Repairing broken data links Viewing a layer's metadata in ArcMap Setting HTML pop-up properties for feature layers Navigating and interacting with maps Navigating maps and layout pages Interacting with maps Adding graphics and text to maps Symbolizing data Applying symbology Styles and symbols Animation Using cartographic representations Page layout and map composition Getting started with laying out and printing maps Map elements Grids and graticules Rulers and guides Working with data frames in layout view Creating interactive and paperless maps Map output Map series Designing maps for optimal performance Working with graphs and reports Looking at data with graphs (Pre-ArcGIS 9.2) Looking at data with graphs Creating reports Working with web maps in ArcGIS Publishing optimized map services in ArcGIS Publishing optimized map services Drawing differences between ArcMap and optimized map services Map Service Publication Toolbar error messages Map Service Publication Toolbar warning messages Map Service Publishing Toolbar information messages

Editing and data compilation

Tables and attribute information

Understanding tables and attribute information An overview of tables and attribute information About tabular data sources Common tables and attributes tasks Keyboard shortcuts for working with tables Creating tables and managing attribute information Creating new tables About ObjectID fields Adding and deleting fields Editing values in a table Making field calculations Working with date fields Reloading the table cache Exporting records About joining and relating tables Joining tables Relating tables Joining the attributes of features by location Creating spatial data from tables Working with Microsoft Excel files in ArcGIS Working with Microsoft Access files in ArcGIS Displaying tables and attribute information Previewing a table in ArcCatalog Adding and viewing tables in ArcMap Setting field properties, aliases, and table display options Navigating to and finding records in a table Sorting records in a table Selecting records in a table Summarizing data in a table Printing a table Adding a table to a layout Viewing statistics for a table Creating a graph from a table Creating a report from a table

Geoprocessing

What is geoprocessing? A whirlwind tour of geoprocessing Geoprocessing tools Geoprocessing framework Frequently Asked Questions about geoprocessing Fundamental tool concepts An introduction to the fundamental tools Overlay analysis Proximity analysis Table analysis and management Surface creation and analysis Statistical analysis Extracting data Using geoprocessing tools Automating your work with models An overview of models Opening ModelBuilder Creating a simple model Saving a model Model concepts and terms Using ModelBuilder Controlling the flow of processing Model Iteration Automating your work with scripts An overview of writing geoprocessing scripts Getting started with writing geoprocessing scripts Accessing tools within a geoprocessing script Creating script tools Batch processing with geoprocessing scripts Data properties and access when scripting Working with AMLs Scripting object: Properties and Methods Geoprocessing environments Documenting tools and toolboxes Sharing tools and toolboxes An overview of sharing tools and toolboxes Methods for distributing tools Pathnames explained: Absolute, relative, UNC, and URL A structure for sharing tools Sharing and connecting to UNC pathnames Accessing ArcSDE data in tools Techniques for sharing Python scripts Managing intermediate data in shared models Sharing stylesheets Checklist for sharing tools and toolboxes Geoprocessing with ArcGIS Server Keeping track of geoprocessing history Advanced modeling through simulations

Geoprocessing tool reference

Geodatabases and ArcSDE

An overview of the geodatabase An overview of the geodatabase Essential readings about the geodatabase Table basics Feature class basics Raster basics Types of geodatabases Client and geodatabase compatibility Common geodatabase tasks Architecture of a geodatabase Architecture of a geodatabase Geodatabase storage is based on relational principles Where does the application logic belong? The geodatabase is object-relational Geodatabase storage in relational databases Geodatabase transaction management Geodatabase XML Designing a geodatabase Building a geodatabase Creating a geodatabase Defining the properties of a geodatabase Adding datasets and other geodatabase elements Working with geodatabase datasets Data management workflows, transactions, and versioning Geodatabase data storage and schema Administering ArcSDE geodatabases Administering File and Personal geodatabases An overview of administering file and personal geodatabases File geodatabases: compressing vs. compacting Compacting file and personal geodatabases About compressing file geodatabase data Upgrading file and personal geodatabases File geodatabases and Windows Explorer File geodatabase size and name limits File geodatabases and locking Working with geodatabases using SQL

Data management with ArcCatalog

Image and raster data management

Understanding raster data Supported raster data Properties of raster data About raster dataset properties Raster pyramids Raster dataset statistics Raster compression About reduced resolution dataset files About auxiliary files About proxy files Defining a raster's coordinate system Raster dataset colormaps Bit depth capacity for raster dataset cells NoData in raster datasets World files for raster datasets Designing a raster database Building and managing a raster database Raster display and visualization Raster analysis and geoprocessing About analyzing raster data Making selections using the geodatabase raster catalog Raster conversion Core geoprocessing tools for raster data About environment settings for raster data Specifying raster storage environment settings Specifying raster analysis environment settings Specifying the snap raster environment setting Serving raster data

Data support in ArcGIS

An overview of data support in ArcGIS Data formats supported in ArcGIS CAD data Coverages What is a coverage Summary of coverage feature classes Coverage resolution (precision) How coverages are stored Creating a new coverage Understanding and maintaining attributes in a coverage About fields (items) in coverage attribute tables Creating a new INFO table About the coverage extent Coverage tics Defining a coverage's coordinate system Coverage topology Coverage tolerances Coverage relationships and relationship classes Coverage data limitations Importing an ArcInfo interchange file (E00) NetCDF: multidimensional, time series data Shapefiles About shapefiles, dBASE tables, and file types Shapefile file extensions Creating new shapefiles and dBASE tables Adding and deleting fields in shapefiles Creating and updating indexes in shapefiles Defining a shapefile's coordinate system How to salvage a corrupt shapefile Terrains

Extensions

About ArcGIS Desktop extensions Evaluating ArcGIS Desktop extensions 3D Analyst Getting started with 3D Analyst 3D Analyst concepts Creating 3D views 3D surfaces TIN surfaces Raster surfaces Terrain surfaces 3D features 3D navigation 3D navigation tools Displaying rasters, terrains, and TINs Displaying features in 3D 3D symbology Displaying 3D graphics Interactive 3D analysis tools Geoprocesing with 3D Analyst Data Interoperability ArcGIS for AutoCAD ArcGIS Publisher Getting started with Publisher Creating data packages Creating custom applications ArcReader ArcScan Getting started with ArcScan Interactive vectorization Automatic vectorization Cell selection Raster cleanup Vectorization options and settings ArcSketch A whirlwind tour of ArcSketch Getting started with ArcSketch Creating and modifying features Managing Symbols Business Analyst Geostatistical Analyst JTX Overview of JTX Using JTX Configuring JTX Administering JTX Maplex Military Analyst Military Overlay Editor About MOLE What's new in this release Installation and setup Accessing the Installing and Getting Started with Defense Solutions guide MOLE documentation and additional ways to get help Using MOLE with 2D maps Using MOLE with 3D maps The MOLE geodatabase schema Using MOLE in terrain analysis Tracking, real-time, and MOLE Using MOLE with ArcSDE Using MOLE with ArcIMS Other ESRI applications compatible with MOLE Advanced topics Frequently asked questions Network Analyst PLTS Welcome to PLTS for ArcGIS What's new in PLTS for ArcGIS Getting started with Foundation Production procedures Managing map documents with the product library Creating a geodatabase Editing data in PLTS Symbolizing data Validating data with GIS Data ReViewer Generating grids with the Grid Manager Creating map series with MPS-Atlas Working with PLTS cartographic elements Creating map series with Map Production System Geoprocessing tools in PLTS for ArcGIS PLTS for ArcGIS Aeronautical Solution PLTS for ArcGIS Defense Solution PLTS for ArcGIS Nautical Solution PLTS for ArcGIS product specification development Schematics Working with ArcGIS Schematics Schematics Designer Spatial Analyst Survey Analyst Tracking Analyst Getting started with Tracking Analyst Working with temporal data Symbolizing temporal data Displaying temporal data Tracking Tools Charting temporal data Creating and applying actions Working with real-time data

Geocoding and address management

Getting started with geocoding An overview of geocoding Definition of the address locator Understanding geocoding What is an address? The geocoding work flow The geocoding framework The process of geocoding Customization of the address locator Common geocoding tasks Preparing for geocoding Understanding address locator styles Commonly used address locator styles Preparing reference and address data Standardizing your reference data Building an address locator Defining the address locator components Creating an address locator Modifying an address locator's settings Managing address locators in ArcMap Managing address locators in ArcCatalog Migrating address locators created with ArcGIS prior to version 9.2 Locating addresses Additional geocoding techniques Keeping an address locator current Updating your reference data Versioned data and the address locator Rebuilding address locators Distributing your address locator Adjusting your address locator file Exploring the address locator file Why change your address locator file? Changing default settings Changing default settings in the address locator template file Table schema and the locator file Accommodating alternative reference table schema Modifying the query Accommodating changes in the geocoding rule base files Address Locator Properties dialog box About StreetMap data

Linear referencing

Network analysis

Using the Network Analyst extension Analyzing geometric networks What is a geometric network? Creating and managing geometric networks Editing geometric networks Analyzing geometric networks

Mobile GIS

Interoperability and standards support

Customizing and developing with ArcGIS

An overview of customizing ArcGIS Customizing the user interface About customizing the user interface Basic user interface elements Hiding and showing toolbars Creating custom toolbars Changing a toolbar's or menu's contents Changing a command's appearance Creating shortcut keys Setting toolbar options Saving your customizations Writing macros using VBA Extending ArcGIS desktop applications

Guide to data that comes with ArcGIS

Licensing and desktop administration

GIS Servers and services