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 Introducing ArcGIS Desktop Tutorials Toolbars Getting more help Using this Help system Getting help within the applications ArcGIS Desktop Resource Center 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 Geographic transformations Geographic transformation methods Equation-based methods Grid-based methods 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-Krüger Geocentric Coordinate System Geographic Coordinate System Gnomonic Goodes Homolosine 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 Carrée 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 on maps Cartographic representations Map layouts and map printing Graphs, reports, and animations Common tasks within ArcMap Keyboard shortcuts for use within ArcMap ArcMap application patterns 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 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 Looking at data with graphs (Pre-ArcGIS 9.2) Looking at data with graphs Creating reports Working with web maps in ArcGIS Publishing optimized map services in ArcGIS Publishing optimized map services Drawing differences between ArcMap and optimized map services Map Service Publication Toolbar error messages Map Service Publication Toolbar warning messages Map Service Publishing Toolbar information messages

Editing and data compilation

Tables and attribute information

Understanding tables and attribute information Creating tables and managing attribute information Displaying 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 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 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 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 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 An overview of the geodatabase Essential readings about the geodatabase Table basics Feature class basics Raster basics Types of geodatabases Client and geodatabase compatibility Common geodatabase tasks 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 Data management workflows, transactions, and versioning 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

Data management with ArcCatalog

An overview of ArcCatalog About workspaces Getting started with 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 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 Working with 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

Getting started with geocoding An overview of geocoding Definition of the address locator 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 The geocoding process Finding an individual address Getting an address of a location Geocoding a table of addresses Rematching a geocoded feature class Additional geocoding techniques Keeping an address locator current Distributing your address locator Adjusting your address locator file Exploring the address locator file Why change your address locator file? Changing default settings Changing default settings in the address locator template file Table schema and the locator file Accommodating alternative reference table schema Modifying the query Accommodating changes in the geocoding rule base files Address Locator Properties dialog box About StreetMap data

Linear referencing

Network analysis

Using the Network Analyst extension Analyzing geometric networks

Mobile GIS

Interoperability and standards support

Overview of interoperability Overview of OGC and ISO support ESRI protocols and programming interfaces GML support in ArcGIS An overview of GML support in ArcGIS How to work with GML in ArcGIS Using the GML simple features profile Using supported GML profiles Adding new GML profiles Working with WFS within ArcGIS WFS support in ArcGIS WCS support in ArcGIS WMS support in ArcGIS KML support in ArcGIS

Customizing and developing with ArcGIS

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