Create/ Edit Data - ArcGIS
(copied from Learning ArcGIS9 Virtual Campus course)
A GIS database is only as good as the information it stores. As features in the real world change, it is important to edit your data to keep your GIS database current. In ArcGIS, you can create and edit both feature shapes and attributes. Listed below are key points you should remember about creating and editing data.
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To edit the shape of a line or polygon feature, you work with its sketch. |
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You can modify a feature's shape by moving, inserting, and deleting vertices. |
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Editing the shape of a feature that is spatially related to another feature affects the other feature's shape—to maintain the integrity of your database, it is important to maintain feature spatial relationships when editing. |
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With map topology you can edit spatially related features simultaneously. |
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To edit feature attributes, you can manually enter edits in the Attributes dialog box or in the attribute table. |
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The Field Calculator automates the process of updating feature attributes. |
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To create new features, you follow the same process used to edit features. |
Review questions
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What are the steps in the editing process?
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What is an advantage of using the Field Calculator?
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Name two ways to create point features.
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The steps in the editing process are: 1) start an edit session, 2) set the editing environment, 3) select features, 4) make your edits, and 5) save your edits.
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In the Field Calculator, you can concatenate text strings, derive values from different attribute fields, plus use mathematical and logical operators to quickly calculate attribute values. You can calculate values for all records or only for selected records.
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You can create new point features by heads-up digitizing (clicking the point locations using a base layer for reference) and you can import their x,y coordinate locations from a text file.
Key terms
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