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 Migrating from ArcView GIS 3 to ArcView 9 Migrating from ArcInfo Workstation to ArcGIS Desktop

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 What is ArcGIS 9.3 An overview of ArcGIS Desktop Using ArcGIS Desktop Mapping and visualization in ArcMap The geodatabase Workspace and dataset management with ArcCatalog Data compilation and editing Geoprocessing and analysis Tips and tricks within ArcGIS Tutorials Toolbars Getting more help

Map projections and coordinate systems

Mapping and visualization

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 Editing existing features Editing attributes Editing annotation An overview of editing annotation Creating new annotation features Creating and editing annotation that follows features Editing the size and position of annotation features Editing annotation in the Attributes dialog box Editing the appearance of annotation features Editing feature-linked annotation Editing dimension features Using a digitizer Spatial adjustment Editing topology 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

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 Automating your work with scripts An overview of writing geoprocessing scripts Getting started with writing geoprocessing scripts Accessing tools within a geoprocessing script Creating script tools Batch processing with geoprocessing scripts Data properties and access when scripting Working with AMLs Scripting object: Properties and Methods Geoprocessing environments Documenting tools and toolboxes Sharing tools and toolboxes Geoprocessing with ArcGIS Server Keeping track of geoprocessing history An overview of geoprocessing history History log files Geoprocessing history in metadata 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 An overview of geodatabase design Geodatabase design steps Using ArcGIS Data Model designs Documenting your geodatabase design Modeling feature classes A note about the use of UML for geodatabase design Design Tips 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 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 Building the Catalog 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 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 About metadata Metadata standards and the ArcGIS metadata format ArcGIS support for the ISO 19139 metadata standard 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

Image and raster data management

Data support in ArcGIS

An overview of data support in ArcGIS Data formats supported in ArcGIS CAD data 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

Using the Network Analyst extension Analyzing geometric networks

Mobile GIS

An overview of Mobile GIS ArcGIS Mobile integration 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 Adding the Tablet toolbar Pen tool Highlighter tool Eraser tool Commands on the Tablet toolbar ArcPad integration

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

Administering the ArcGIS License Manager Setting up license managers for ArcGIS 93 concurrent use products Checking license availability Viewing and changing the license manager Common license manager problems and how to solve them Setting the software product Registering ArcView or ArcEditor and extensions Evaluating an ArcGIS Desktop extension Error reporting for ArcGIS software crash data Frequently asked questions about error reporting

GIS Servers and services