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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
Desktop Administration
ArcCatalog
Getting started with ArcCatalog

An overview of 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
Exploring the values in a table
Working with metadata
Searching for items

About search results

Finding items using the Search tool

Searching with geographic criteria

Searching with temporal criteria

Searching with keywords

Exploring the results of your search

Modifying the search results
Working with maps and layers
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

About coverages and INFO tables

Creating a new coverage

Creating a new INFO table

Generating topology

Defining a coverage's coordinate system

Modifying a coverage's tics

Modifying a coverage's extent

Setting a coverage's tolerances

Maintaining attributes

About relationships and relationship classes

Creating a coverage relationship class
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

About managing layers

Changing a layer's text description

Copying layers

Removing layers from the map

Managing group layers

Displaying layers at certain scales

Changing the appearance of the table of contents

Working with data frames

Setting a data frame's coordinate system

Repairing broken data links

Changing a layer's drawing order

Accessing layer properties

Saving a layer to disk

Exporting data to a new coordinate system
Symbolizing your data
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
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
Working with rasters in ArcMap
Working with ArcPad
Working with StreetMap data
GPS Support

Getting started with ArcMap GPS Support

Adding the GPS toolbar

Connecting to a GPS device

Simulating a connection to a GPS device

Using the GPS Position window

Changing the display options

Keeping the current location in the view

Adding a destination

Writing GPS locations to a log
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
Editing in ArcMap
Geocoding
Linear referencing
Getting started with linear referencing
Creating route data
Displaying and querying routes and events

The route identifier field

Querying route data

Route measure anomalies

About hatching

Hatching options

Displaying hatches

Manipulating the text on hatches

Working with hatch styles

Dynamic segmentation

Adding route events
Editing routes
Creating and editing event data
Map projections
Writing geoprocessing scripts
Getting started with writing geoprocessing scripts
Accessing tools within a geoprocessing script

Running tools in a geoprocessing script

Using environment settings

Access to licensing and extensions in a geoprocessing script
Batch processing with geoprocessing scripts

About batch processing with geoprocessing scripts
Messaging and script tools
Data properties and access when scripting
Scripting Object: Properties and methods

IGPDispatch object

Geoprocessor programming model
Properties and Methods
Customizing the user interface
Migrating from ArcView GIS 3 to ArcView 9
Migrating from ArcInfo Workstation to ArcGIS Desktop
ESRI Data & Maps
Extensions
Getting more help

Using this Help system

Getting help within the applications

Contacting Technical Support

Support for users located outside the United States

Accessing ESRI Software Training

Using the GIS Dictionary
Help for developers