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Welcome to ArcGIS Desktop Help
Copyright information
GIS Dictionary
What's new in ArcGIS
Getting started
Fundamentals of GIS data

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
Introducing ArcGIS Desktop
Tutorials

Tutorials

Getting Started Quickstart tutorial index

3D Analyst tutorial index

Animation in ArcMap tutorial index

ArcGIS Publisher tutorial index

ArcReader tutorial index

ArcScan tutorial index

Building a Geodatabase tutorial index

Data interoperability tutorial index

Database servers tutorial index

Editing geodatabases tutorial index

Editing GIS features tutorial index

Geocoding tutorial index

Geoprocessing tutorial index

Linear Referencing tutorial index

Maplex tutorial index

Representations tutorial index

Spatial Analyst tutorial index

StreetMap tutorial index

Tracking Analyst tutorial index
Toolbars
Getting more help

Using this help system

Getting help within the applications

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
Geographic coordinate systems

About geographic coordinate systems

Spheroids and spheres

Datums

North American datums

What happens to features at +/-180 (dateline)?
Projected coordinate systems

About projected coordinate systems

About map projections

Projection types

Planar projections

Conic projections

Cylindrical projections

Other projections

Projection parameters
Geographic transformations
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-Kruger

Geocentric Coordinate System

Geographic Coordinate System

Gnomonic

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 Carree

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

An overview of ArcMap

Data frames

Map layers

Symbols and styles

Text

Cartographic representations

Map layouts and map printing

Graphs, reports, and animations

Common tasks within ArcMap

Shortcuts for common tasks within ArcMap
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 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
GIS service layers
Navigating and interacting with maps
Navigating maps and layout pages
Interacting with maps
Adding graphics and text to maps
Symbolizing data
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
Working with graphs and reports
Editing and data compilation
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
Automating your work with scripts

An overview of writing geoprocessing scripts
Getting started with writing geoprocessing scripts
Accessing tools within a geoprocessing script
Batch processing with geoprocessing scripts
Messaging and script tools
Data properties and access when scripting
Working with AMLs
Scripting object: Properties and Methods
Geoprocessing environments
Documenting tools and toolboxes
Sharing tools and toolboxes
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

Table basics

Feature class basics

Raster basics

Types of geodatabases

Common Geodatabase Tasks
Architecture of a geodatabase
Designing a geodatabase
Building a geodatabase
Data management workflows, transactions, and versioning
Geodatabase data storage and schema

How geodatabases are stored in a DBMS
Feature geometry and raster data storage
Inside a geodatabase in Oracle
Inside a geodatabase in SQL Server
Inside a geodatabase in DB2

An overview of the geodatabase schema in DB2

Feature classes in a geodatabase in DB2

Feature datasets in a geodatabase in DB2

Raster datasets and raster catalogs in a geodatabase in DB2

Relationships between datasets in a geodatabase in DB2

Keyset tables in a geodatabase in DB2

Versioned tables in a geodatabase in DB2

Locators in a geodatabase stored in DB2

Domains in a geodatabase stored in DB2

Log file tables in a geodatabase in DB2

Toolboxes in geodatabases in DB2

XML columns in a geodatabase stored in DB2

System tables of a geodatabase in DB2

The DB2 Spatial Extender geometry type
Inside a geodatabase in Informix
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 personal geodatabases

File geodatabases and the file system
Working with geodatabases using SQL

An overview of working with a geodatabase using SQL

Spatial relationships

Spatial operations

SQL implementation differences
Using spatial types with SQL
SQL functions reference
Data management with ArcCatalog
Data support in ArcGIS
Extensions
Geocoding and address management
Linear referencing
Network analysis

Using the Network Analyst extension
Analyzing geometric networks
Mobile GIS
GPS

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

An overview of Tablet PC technology

ArcGIS and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition

Adding the Tablet toolbar

Pen tool

Highlighter tool

Eraser tool

Commands on the Tablet toolbar
ArcPad integration

An overview of ArcPad

Adding the ArcPad toolbar

About managing data in ArcPad

Getting data for ArcPad

Checking in edits from ArcPad

Undoing a checkout for editing
Interoperability and standards support
Customizing and developing with ArcGIS

An overview of customizing ArcGIS
Customizing the user interface
Writing macros using VBA
Extending ArcGIS desktop applications
Guide to data that comes with ArcGIS
ESRI Data and Maps
Working with StreetMap data
Licensing and desktop administration
ArcGIS Image Server
GIS Servers and services