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 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 Navigating maps and layout pages 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 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 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 Editing attributes Editing annotation Editing dimension features 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 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 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 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 Geoprocessing environments Documenting tools and toolboxes An overview of documenting tools and toolboxes An overview of the Documentation Editor Entering topics in the Documentation Editor Using the page editor Documenting models Documenting scripts Viewing documentation for tools Changing tool dialog appearance Referencing a compiled help file Exporting tool documentation to an HTML file Sharing tools and toolboxes An overview of sharing tools and toolboxes Methods for distributing tools Pathnames explained: Absolute, relative, UNC, and URL A structure for sharing tools Sharing and connecting to UNC pathnames Accessing ArcSDE data in tools Techniques for sharing Python scripts Managing intermediate data in shared models Sharing stylesheets Checklist for 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 Designing a geodatabase Building a geodatabase 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 A short history lesson on simple features How geodatabases are stored in a DBMS Feature geometry and raster data storage Inside a geodatabase in DB2 Inside a geodatabase in Informix Inside a geodatabase in Oracle Inside a geodatabase in PostgreSQL Inside a geodatabase in SQL Server 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 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

Image and raster data management

Understanding raster data 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 Designing a raster database Building and managing a raster database Raster display and visualization Raster analysis and geoprocessing 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 What is a coverage Summary of coverage feature classes Coverage resolution (precision) How coverages are stored Creating a new coverage Understanding and maintaining attributes in a coverage About fields (items) in coverage attribute tables Creating a new INFO table About the coverage extent Coverage tics Defining a coverage's coordinate system Coverage topology Coverage tolerances Coverage relationships and relationship classes Coverage data limitations Importing an ArcInfo interchange file (E00) NetCDF: multidimensional, time series data Shapefiles About shapefiles, dBASE tables, and file types Shapefile file extensions Creating new shapefiles and dBASE tables Adding and deleting fields in shapefiles Creating and updating indexes in shapefiles Defining a shapefile's coordinate system How to salvage a corrupt shapefile Terrains

Extensions

Geocoding and address management

Linear referencing

Network analysis

Mobile GIS

An overview of Mobile GIS ArcGIS Mobile integration GPS Tablet PC 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

Licensing and desktop administration

GIS Servers and services

An overview of GIS servers used with ArcGIS Using ArcIMS with ArcGIS Desktop Using ArcGIS Server with ArcGIS Desktop Authoring and publishing services for ArcGIS Server 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