You’ll add a shapefile of hurricanes containing temporal information to an existing ArcMap document (.mxd file) using the Add Temporal Data Wizard. This is an example of adding a shapefile containing fixed-time data from disk. This shapefile contains simple temporal event data.

Start the wizard and browse to the shapefile that you want to view with the Tracking Analyst.

The date/time field is where ArcMap looks for the temporal component of the data. Tracking Analyst Symbology settings will also use this field to determine how symbols will draw during playback.

The Track Identifier field is an ID field that identifies each object in the dataset. Tracking Analyst uses it to apply tracks to data and to join complex temporal events.

Note: If your date and time information resides in a date field, as opposed to a string field, you will see a Finish button instead of Next. If the data is in string fields, you'll need to specify how the data is formatted.

Choose a locale corresponding to the data you are adding. Available date and time formats may update automatically.

Choose a date format that best matches your data. Use the sample record from your data at the top of the dialog box panel for guidance.

Note: If this format differs greatly from the Windows short date format, the data may not be evaluated correctly.

Choose a time format that best matches your data. Use the sample record from your data at the top of the dialog box panel for guidance.

Note: If this format differs greatly from the Windows short date format, the data may not be evaluated correctly.

Enter AM and PM designators, if needed. A preview of the date and time format you have specified appears in the last field of the panel. Click Finish to add the data to your map.

The layer appears in the table of contents with a default base symbol and a label of All Time, and the data appears on the map.