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 Toolbars Core ArcMap toolbars ArcCatalog toolbars Extension toolbars ArcScene toolbars ArcGlobe toolbars ArcReader toolbars Getting more help

Map projections and coordinate systems

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 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 Getting started with animation Animation concepts Building animations Playing animations Editing animations Saving, exporting, and loading animations Common animation work flows Using cartographic representations Page layout and map composition 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

Editing and data compilation

An overview of editing and data compilation Getting started with editing About editing your geodatabase in ArcMap Adding the data you want to edit Editing ArcSDE geodatabases The structure of vector datasets Adding the editing toolbars Starting and stopping an edit session The sketch construction tools Using the snapping environment About setting distance units Setting direction measuring systems and units Editing features that have z-values Shortcut keys for editing in ArcMap Frequently asked questions about editing Common editing tasks Creating new features About creating new features Creating point features and vertices Creating lines and polygons Creating segments using angles and lengths Creating segments using angles from existing segments Creating segments that are circular arc curves Creating segments by tracing features Creating buffers Mirroring features Combining features from different layers Intersecting features Merging and separating features Copying parallel line features Creating a fillet curve between two lines Creating cul-de-sac lines Creating lines with the Traverse window Creating lines with the 2-Point Line window Creating lines with the Offset Line window Editing existing features Editing attributes Editing attributes Copying and pasting attributes Deleting attributes Editing with default values and attribute domains About updating data using SQL Editing annotation Editing dimension features About editing dimension features Creating dimension features Modifying a dimension feature's geometry and style Using a digitizer Spatial adjustment An overview of spatial adjustment Adding the Spatial Adjustment toolbar Setting up the spatial adjustment Working with links Working with link files and control point files Previewing and performing the adjustment Transferring attributes between features Editing topology About topology Topology rules Topology error fixes Basic topology tasks Creating a map topology Editing features in a topology Editing shared geometry Topology validation Topology errors and exceptions Correcting topology errors Finding features with shared topology elements Clearing selected topology elements Changing the symbology for topology features Making new features with topology tools Editing relationships and related objects COGO An overview of COGO Common COGO workflows About COGO descriptions Adding COGO fields to a feature class Traverse file format Offset points file format Applying a ground to grid correction Reporting COGO descriptions Using the Curve Calculator command Using the COGO Area command Splitting features into COGO lines

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 Displaying tables and attribute information

Geoprocessing

What is geoprocessing? A whirlwind tour of geoprocessing Geoprocessing tools Geoprocessing framework Frequently Asked Questions about geoprocessing Fundamental tool concepts Using geoprocessing tools An overview of using tools Using the tool dialog Managing toolboxes Managing tools and toolsets Batch processing Using tools in the command line Tool layers Automating your work with models 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 An overview of documenting tools and toolboxes An overview of the Documentation Editor Entering topics in the Documentation Editor Using the page editor Documenting models Documenting scripts Viewing documentation for tools Changing tool dialog appearance Referencing a compiled help file Exporting tool documentation to an HTML file 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 An overview of geoprocessing with ArcGIS Server Key concepts for geoprocessing services Guide to related geoprocessing with server topics Input and output data types Creating models for geoprocessing services Preparing map documents containing tool layers Defining output symbology for geoprocessing tasks Defining symbology for input feature sets Publishing geoprocessing services Managing the jobs directory Deploying services on multiple computers - LocalJobsDirectory Data access considerations for geoprocessing tasks Creating tasks for the UNIX/Linux environment Creating script tools for geoprocessing tasks Using geoprocessing tasks in Python scripts Spatial reference considerations for geoprocessing services Performance tips for geoprocessing services Checklist for authoring and publishing geoprocessing services Python scripts to zip and unzip data Geoprocessing service examples 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 Designing a geodatabase An overview of geodatabase design Geodatabase design steps Using ArcGIS Data Model designs Documenting your geodatabase design Modeling feature classes A note about the use of UML for geodatabase design Design Tips 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 Working with geodatabases using SQL An overview of working with ST_Geometry storage using SQL Spatial relationships Spatial operations Geometry properties SQL implementation differences for the ST_Geometry type Using spatial types with SQL SQL functions reference

Data management with ArcCatalog

An overview of ArcCatalog About workspaces Getting started with ArcCatalog Starting ArcCatalog Browsing through the Catalog What's in the Catalog Repositioning the Catalog tree Stopping ArcCatalog Building the Catalog Managing the Catalog's contents The Contents tab Working in Details view Changing the columns in Details view Modifying the default settings for exploring contents Exploring an item's properties Organizing your data Converting data to a different format Exploring an item's geography Previewing an item's geographic data Exploring data in Geography view Creating thumbnails Searching for items Working with metadata About metadata Metadata standards and the ArcGIS metadata format ArcGIS support for the ISO 19139 metadata standard Exploring an item's metadata Changing the default stylesheet Printing metadata Creating and updating metadata Metadata synchronization Writing metadata documentation Importing and exporting metadata with ArcCatalog Importing and exporting metadata Editing metadata Using the FGDC metadata editor Using the ISO metadata editor Managing enclosures Requirements for publishing metadata to an ArcIMS Metadata Service Adding information required by the ArcIMS Metadata Service Publishing metadata to an ArcIMS Metadata Service Managing published metadata documents Changing a published document's properties Adding custom places to a Gazetteer Metadata Service Customizing metadata

Image and raster data management

Data support in ArcGIS

Extensions

Geocoding and address management

Linear referencing

Network analysis

Mobile GIS

Interoperability and standards support

Overview of interoperability Overview of OGC and ISO support ESRI protocols and programming interfaces GML support in ArcGIS An overview of GML support in ArcGIS How to work with GML in ArcGIS Using the GML simple features profile Using supported GML profiles Adding new GML profiles Working with WFS within ArcGIS WFS support in ArcGIS An overview of WFS support in ArcGIS Adding support for WFS in ArcGIS Desktop How to work with WFS using ArcGIS Desktop WCS support in ArcGIS An overview of WCS support in ArcGIS WMS support in ArcGIS KML support in ArcGIS

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