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 Tutorials 3D Analyst Tutorial Animation in ArcMap Tutorial ArcCatalog Tutorial ArcMap Tutorial ArcGIS Publisher Tutorial ArcReader Tutorial ArcScan Tutorial Building a Geodatabase Tutorial Database Servers Tutorial Data Interoperability Tutorial Editing Geodatabases Tutorial Editing GIS Features Tutorial Geocoding Tutorial Geoprocessing Tutorial Geostatistical Analyst Tutorial Getting Started with ArcGIS Tutorial Linear Referencing Tutorial Maplex Tutorial Network Analyst Tutorial Representations Tutorial Schematics Tutorial Spatial Analyst Tutorial StreetMap Tutorial Survey Analyst Tutorial Tracking Analyst Tutorial 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 Adding layers to a map Adding a layer package to your 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 Setting HTML pop-up properties for feature layers Navigating and interacting with maps Adding graphics and text to maps Symbolizing data 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 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 Map series Designing maps for optimal performance Working with graphs and reports Working with web maps in ArcGIS An overview of GIS Web map layers Working with ArcGIS Server in ArcGIS Desktop Using services from ArcGIS Server Using services from ArcIMS Using OGC Services Using KML Using ArcGIS Online Using image service layers Working with service layers in the table of contents Printing and exporting maps containing service layers Publishing optimized map services in ArcGIS

Editing and data compilation

An overview of editing and data compilation Getting started with editing Common editing tasks Creating new features Editing existing features Editing attributes Editing annotation Editing dimension features About editing dimension features Creating dimension features Modifying a dimension feature's geometry and style Using a digitizer About digitizing An overview of preparing to digitize Registering the paper map Digitizing features on a paper map 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 About editing relationships and related objects 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 Creating new tables About ObjectID fields Adding and deleting fields Editing values in a table Making field calculations Working with date fields Reloading the table cache Exporting records About joining and relating tables Joining tables Relating tables Joining the attributes of features by location Creating spatial data from tables Working with Microsoft Excel files in ArcGIS Working with Microsoft Access files in ArcGIS Displaying tables and attribute information Previewing a table in ArcCatalog Adding and viewing tables in ArcMap Setting field properties, aliases, and table display options Navigating to and finding records in a table Sorting records in a table Selecting records in a table Summarizing data in a table Printing a table Adding a table to a layout Viewing statistics for a table Creating a graph from a table Creating a report from a table

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 An overview of models Opening ModelBuilder Creating a simple model Saving a model Model concepts and terms Using ModelBuilder Controlling the flow of processing Model Iteration Automating your work with scripts Geoprocessing environments An overview of geoprocessing environments Environment levels and hierarchy Script environments Specifying application environment settings Specifying tool environment settings Specifying model environment settings Specifying model process environment settings Environment categories Documenting tools and toolboxes Sharing tools and toolboxes Geoprocessing with ArcGIS Server Keeping track of geoprocessing history Advanced modeling through simulations

Geoprocessing tool reference

Geodatabases and ArcSDE

An overview of the geodatabase Architecture of a geodatabase Architecture of a geodatabase Geodatabase storage is based on relational principles Where does the application logic belong? The geodatabase is object-relational Geodatabase storage in relational databases Geodatabase transaction management Geodatabase XML 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 Getting started with editing and maintaining data Working with non-versioned data Working with versioned data Managing Distributed Data Archiving data Geodatabase data storage and schema Administering ArcSDE geodatabases An overview of ArcSDE geodatabase administration What is ArcSDE? Administering ArcSDE for DB2 Administering ArcSDE for Informix Administering ArcSDE for Oracle Administering ArcSDE for PostgreSQL Administering ArcSDE for SQL Server Administering a database server Installing and upgrading the ArcSDE component 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 file and personal geodatabases File geodatabases and Windows Explorer File geodatabase size and name limits File geodatabases and locking 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 Searching for items About search results Finding items using the Search tool Searching with geographic criteria Searching with temporal criteria Searching with keywords Working with search results Working with metadata

Image and raster data management

Understanding raster data What is raster data? Raster bands Cell size of raster data Representing features in a raster dataset Discrete and continuous data Raster dataset zones and regions Raster dataset attribute tables Raster data organization Gathering basic raster dataset information Supported raster data Supported raster dataset file formats Technical specifications for raster dataset formats About the ESRI Grid format About MrSID rasters BIL, BIP, and BSQ raster files Raster data with subdatasets Building a customized raster format Properties of raster data About raster dataset properties Raster pyramids Raster dataset statistics Raster compression About reduced resolution dataset files About auxiliary files About proxy files Defining a raster's coordinate system Raster dataset colormaps Bit depth capacity for raster dataset cells NoData in raster datasets World files for raster datasets Designing a raster database Building and managing a raster database Raster display and visualization Raster analysis and geoprocessing Serving raster data Serving raster data

Data support in ArcGIS

An overview of data support in ArcGIS Data formats supported in ArcGIS CAD data The composition of a CAD drawing Working with CAD data in ArcGIS Displaying CAD features Georeferencing CAD data CAD feature attributes and queries CAD data translation Geoprocessing tools for CAD translation Common CAD data workflows Coverages NetCDF: multidimensional, time series data Shapefiles Terrains An overview of terrain datasets FAQs for terrain datasets Terrain dataset troubleshooting Known limitations of terrain datasets Understanding terrain datasets Properties of terrain datasets Building terrain datasets Managing terrain datasets Terrain analysis Terrain visualization

Extensions

Geocoding and address management

Getting started with geocoding Understanding geocoding Preparing for geocoding Understanding address locator styles Commonly used address locator styles Preparing reference and address data Standardizing your reference data 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 Updating your reference data Versioned data and the address locator Rebuilding address locators Distributing your address locator Adjusting your address locator file About StreetMap data

Linear referencing

Getting started with linear referencing Creating route feature classes An overview of creating route feature classes Creating route feature classes Defining the measure properties of your m coordinates Using existing linear features to create routes Creating routes from existing lines About calibrating route measures using points Calibrating routes with points Migrating route features to a geodatabase Accessing the Create Routes wizard Accessing the Calibrate Routes wizard Displaying and querying route 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 Working with route event data

Network analysis

Using the Network Analyst extension Analyzing geometric networks

Mobile GIS

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

Licensing and desktop administration

GIS Servers and services

An overview of GIS servers used with ArcGIS Using ArcIMS with ArcGIS Desktop An overview to using ArcIMS with ArcGIS Desktop Types of ArcIMS services Publishing GIS contents for use with ArcIMS Using ArcGIS Server with ArcGIS Desktop Authoring and publishing services for ArcGIS Server An overview of authoring and publishing services Data access considerations for ArcGIS Server Publishing resources Administering ArcGIS Server with ArcCatalog Creating and publishing web maps for ArcGIS Server An overview of Web GIS A framework for deploying Web GIS Web GIS concepts for GIS users Types of GIS map applications Steps for implementing GIS map applications How to build online base maps Building operational map layers Managing the performance of GIS mapping services Distributing maps, globes, and layers on the Web