Collapse all 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 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 Supported map projections Vertical coordinate systems About vertical coordinate systems Vertical datums Geoid

Mapping and visualization

An overview of mapping and visualization Using ArcMap Working with layers Navigating and interacting with maps Adding graphics and text to maps Working with graphics Working with text Symbolizing data Applying symbology Styles and symbols Animation Using cartographic representations Page layout and map composition Working with graphs and reports

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 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 Shortcut keys for editing in ArcMap Common editing tasks Common point editing tasks Common line editing tasks Common polygon editing tasks Common annotation editing tasks Common multipoint editing tasks Editing data in a different projection 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 Moving features Rotating features Copying and pasting features Deleting features Adding and deleting vertices Moving vertices Editing attribute values of a vertex Reshaping lines and polygons using a sketch Splitting polygon features Splitting line features Trimming lines Extending lines Flipping lines Scaling features Clipping features Stretching a feature's geometry proportionately Simplifying and smoothing 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 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

Geoprocessing

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 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 An overview of ArcSDE geodatabase administration What is ArcSDE? Installing and upgrading ArcSDE Configuring an ArcSDE geodatabase Creating and administering user accounts Connecting to an ArcSDE geodatabase Maintaining a geodatabase Tuning an ArcSDE geodatabase Scaling and moving your geodatabase 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

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 About folders and file types Managing folder connections Creating and accessing geodatabases Creating spatial database connections Adding OLE DB connections About database server connections About GIS servers and services Connecting to GIS servers Working with database connections Hiding folders and items Altering the data formats read by ArcCatalog Working with file types Accessing delimited text file data Managing the Catalog's contents 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 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

Data support in ArcGIS

An overview of data support in ArcGIS Data formats supported in ArcGIS CAD data Coverages NetCDF: multidimensional, time series data Raster data Shapefiles Tables and attribute information Understanding tables and attribute information Creating tables and managing attribute information Displaying tables and attribute information Terrains Understanding terrain datasets Designing and managing terrain datasets Geoprocessing and terrain analysis

Extensions

Geocoding and address management

Getting started with geocoding Understanding geocoding Preparing for geocoding Building an address locator Locating addresses Additional geocoding techniques Alternative searches The Alternate Name table tab The Alias Table dialog box Building an address locator for alternative searches Searching for an intersection Building a composite address locator Keeping an address locator current Distributing your address locator Deciding to share an address locator Collecting address locators Making your address locator public Accessing distributed address locators Sharing pre-9.2 address locators Adjusting your address locator file About StreetMap data

Linear referencing

Getting started with linear referencing Creating route feature classes Displaying and querying routes feature classes Displaying and querying route events Editing routes An overview of editing routes Creating route features from existing lines Using ArcMap to calibrate routes with points About setting route measures Remeasuring routes Adding the Route Editing toolbar Creating and editing event data An overview of creating and editing event data Creating event tables in ArcCatalog About locating features along routes Locating features along routes Editing event tables in ArcMap Working with route event data

Network analysis

Mobile GIS

GPS 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 Getting started with VBA Creating, editing, and running macros Creating custom commands with VBA and UI Controls Adding custom commands and toolbars from .dlls Updating the ArcID module Locking documents and templates Changing VBA security Sample VBA code Extending ArcGIS desktop applications

Guide to data that comes with ArcGIS

ESRI Data and Maps Getting started with ESRI Data and Maps United States (census) United States (hydrography) United States (landmarks) United States (transportation) United States (other) StreetMap USA World Europe Canada Mexico Elevation and image data Working with StreetMap data Getting started with StreetMap Geocoding addresses with StreetMap USA data Finding a route using StreetMap USA data

Licensing and desktop administration

ArcGIS Image Server

GIS Servers and services