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Welcome to ArcGIS Desktop Help
Copyright information
GIS Dictionary
What's new in ArcGIS Desktop 9.1
What was new in ArcGIS Desktop 9.0
Getting started

What is ArcGIS Desktop?

ArcGIS geodatabase

ArcGIS geoprocessing

ArcGIS geovisualization

ArcGIS Desktop extensions

GIS data structure types

Data types supported in ArcGIS
Desktop Administration
ArcCatalog
Getting started with 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
Exploring the values in a table
Working with metadata
Searching for items
Working with maps and layers

About maps, layers, and graphs

Opening a map from ArcCatalog

Adding data to maps

Creating a layer

Creating a group layer

Repairing the data sources in a layer

Joining attributes to the layer's data
Working with shapefiles
Working with CAD data

About CAD data

Defining a coordinate system for CAD data

Supported AutoCAD entities and MicroStation elements
Working with coverages
Working with rasters in ArcCatalog
ArcMap
Getting started with ArcMap
Creating maps

Basics of making maps

Creating a new map

Adding layers to a map

Adding coverages, shapefiles, and geodatabases to a map

Adding data from the Internet

Adding data from a GIS server

Adding TINs as surfaces

Adding CAD drawings

About coordinate systems and map projections

Specifying a coordinate system

About creating interactive maps

Referencing data in the map

Applying a coordinate transformation to a CAD layer

About displaying layers

About presenting attribute data

About map scale

Map layout

About the map tools

About World files

Adding x,y coordinate data to a map
Managing layers
Symbolizing your data

Drawing all features with a single symbol

Drawing features to show categories

Managing categories

Ways to map quantitative data

Setting a classification

About symbolizing data to represent quantity

Drawing features to show quantities

Drawing features to show multiple attributes

Importing the symbology of another layer

Using the Eye Dropper tool

Drawing TINs as surfaces

Drawing CAD layers

Drawing a layer transparently

Working with reference scales

Working with symbol levels

Working with variable-depth masking
Working with text

An overview of working with text

Adding new text to a map

Working with data frame contents in layout view

Organizing annotation into groups

About labeling

Displaying labels

Prioritizing and positioning labels

Specifying the text of labels

About building label expressions

Using text formatting tags

About annotation

Using feature-linked annotation

A comparison of annotation groups vs. geodatabase annotation

About coverage annotation pseudo items

Displaying geodatabase annotation

Displaying CAD and VPF annotation

About editing CAD and VPF annotation

Displaying coverage and SDE 3 annotation

About editing coverage and SDE 3 annotation

Displaying MapTips
Working with graphics

An overview of working with graphics

Drawing points, lines, and circles

Selecting graphics

Moving, rotating, and ordering graphics

Aligning, distributing, and grouping graphics

Joining graphics
Laying out and printing maps
Working with styles and symbols

About styles

Finding the styles you need

Creating new symbols and map elements

Modifying symbols and map elements

Saving the current styles

Organizing style contents

Creating line symbols

Creating fill symbols

Creating marker symbols

Creating text symbols

Working with color

Working with color ramps
Working with tables
Looking at data with graphs
Creating reports
Querying maps

About querying maps

Identifying features

Displaying a Web page or document about a feature

Making hyperlinks with relative pathnames

Selecting features interactively

Using Select by Attributes

Using Select by Graphics

About building an SQL expression

SQL reference

Selecting features according to their location

Specifying how selected features highlight

Displaying information about selected features

Exporting features

The Buffer Wizard versus ArcToolbox buffer tools

How the Buffer Wizard works with coordinate systems

Adding the Buffer Wizard to the Tools menu

Using the Buffer Wizard to create buffers around features

Using the Buffer Wizard to buffer from selected graphics

Joining the attributes of features by their location

Using selection layers
Analyzing geometric networks

Geometric networks and ArcMap

Opening a geometric network

Symbolizing network features

Adding network features

Enabling and disabling features

Adding the Utility Network Analyst toolbar

About the Utility Network Analyst toolbar

Flow direction in a network

Displaying flow direction

Setting flow direction

About tracing on networks

Tracing operations
Working with rasters in ArcMap
Working with ArcPad
Working with StreetMap data
GPS Support
Tablet PC
ArcReader

An overview of ArcReader

Table of contents, data frames, and layers

Getting help in ArcReader

Starting ArcReader

Opening a map in ArcReader

Controlling the look and feel of ArcReader

Viewing a map in data view and layout view

Using the ArcReader table of contents

Working with data frames and layers

Moving around on the map

Moving around a 3D globe

Using spatial bookmarks

Opening the magnifier window

Exploring data and features on a map

ArcReader messages

Printing from ArcReader

Closing and exiting ArcReader
Geoprocessing in the ArcGIS environment
Geoprocessing tool reference
Building a geodatabase
Getting started with building a geodatabase
Creating new items in geodatabases
Importing data

An overview of importing data

Importing feature classes

Importing tables

How data converts

Registering SDE layers and tables with the geodatabase

About loading data into existing feature classes and tables

Work flow strategies for loading data

Loading data in ArcMap

Loading data in ArcCatalog

About importing data from another geodatabase

Copying feature datasets, classes, and tables to another geodatabase

Exporting selected features and records to another geodatabase

Sending data to another user

About exporting geodatabase data to an export file

Exporting feature datasets, classes, and tables to an export file

Importing feature datasets, classes, and tables from an export file

Exporting features or records to an export file

Loading features or records from an export file

Updating DBMS statistics
Topology
Subtypes and attribute domains
Defining a relationship class
Geometric networks

What is a geometric network?

Geometric networks and ArcCatalog

An overview of creating geometric networks

Network connectivity rules

Creating a new geometric network

Building a geometric network from existing simple feature classes

Creating new feature classes for your geometric network

Establishing connectivity rules

Managing a geometric network

About Verify Network tools and commands

Identifying network build errors
Managing annotation
Dimensioning
Working with a versioned geodatabase
Disconnected editing
Building geodatabases with CASE tools
Building a raster geodatabase
Editing in ArcMap
Getting started with editing in ArcMap

An overview of editing in ArcMap

The structure of vector datasets

The sketch construction tools

Shortcut keys for editing in ArcMap

Adding the editing toolbars

Adding the data you want to edit

Starting and stopping an edit session

Selecting features

Moving features

Rotating features

Deleting features

Copying and pasting features

Setting the number of decimal places displayed for measurements

About editing your geodatabase in ArcMap
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

Using the snapping environment

Creating edit sketch geometry with the Traverse tool

Traverse file format

About setting distance units

Setting direction measuring systems and units
Using a digitizer
Creating features from other features
Editing existing features
Editing topology
Editing attributes
Spatial adjustment
Editing geometric networks
Editing relationships and related objects

About editing relationships and related objects

Editing relationships and related objects
Editing annotation
Editing dimension features
Geocoding
Linear referencing
Getting started with linear referencing

An overview of linear referencing

The need for linear referencing

About storing features as relative locations

Segmented data

Routes and measures

Route locations and route events

Linear referencing and topology

Adding the Route Editing toolbar

Accessing the Route Events Geoprocessing wizard

Accessing the Create Routes wizard

Accessing the Calibrate Routes wizard
Creating route data
Displaying and querying routes and events
Editing routes
Creating and editing event data

About creating and editing event data

Creating event tables in ArcCatalog

About overlaying event data

Overlay events

About aggregating event data

Aggregating route events

About transforming event measures

Transforming event measures

About locating features along routes

Locating features along routes

Editing event tables in ArcMap
Map projections
Writing geoprocessing scripts
Customizing the user interface
Migrating from ArcView GIS 3 to ArcView 9
Migrating from ArcInfo Workstation to ArcGIS Desktop
ESRI Data & Maps
Getting started with ESRI Data and Maps
Canada
Europe

Europe Cities

Europe Countries

Europe Ferries

Europe Level 1 Provinces

Europe Level 2 Provinces

Europe Level 3 Provinces

Europe Major Roads

Europe Major Water

Europe NUTS 0 Demographics

Europe NUTS 1 Demographics

Europe NUTS 2 Demographics

Europe NUTS 3 Demographics

Europe Places

Europe Railroads

Europe Railroad Stations

Europe Roads

Europe Urbanized Areas

Europe Water

Germany ZIP Code Areas (one-digit)

Germany ZIP Code Areas (two-digit)

Germany ZIP Code Areas (five-digit)
Mexico
World
StreetMap USA

About StreetMap USA
Image data
United States (census)
United States (hydrography)

United States Drainage Systems

United States Lakes

United States National Atlas Water Feature Areas

United States National Atlas Water Feature Lines

United States Rivers (generalized)

United States Rivers and Streams

United States Water Bodies
United States (landmarks)

United States Geographic Names Information System Buildings

United States Geographic Names Information System Cemeteries

Untied States Geographic Names Information System Churches

United States Geographic Names Information System Golf Locales

United States Geographic Names Information System Hospitals

United States Geographic Names Information System Locales

United States Geographic Names Information System Populated Places

United States Geographic Names Information System Schools

United States Geographic Names Information System Summits

United States Hospitals

United States National Atlas Historic Earthquakes

United States National Atlas Volcanoes

United States Parks

United States TANA/GDT Institutions

United States TANA/GDT Large Area Landmarks

United States TANA/GDT Park Landmarks

United States TANA/GDT Recreation Areas
United States (other)
United States (transportation)
Extensions
Getting more help
Help for developers