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FRST 182 - GIS
Lab Resources
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Calculating Area
(click to expand)
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if necessary, create a field
named Area (preferred type = double, precision = 8, scale = 1)
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right-click on
field name and select Calculate Geometry
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since the answer
will be in square metres (provided your map units are set to metres) it
needs to be divided by 10,000 to get hectares ... right-click on Area field
and select Field Calculator double click "Area" field
click the "/" (divide button type in
10000 click OK
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Managing your files
(click to expand)
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Copy Data:
Typically you start by copying a folder from the G: drive to your U: drive
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Map Document (*.mxd):
If a map document already exists simply open it and start working.
If not, then you open ArcGIS to start a new map document, add data to
the TOC and save the document. *** Save your new map document
in the same folder where your data resides.
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Working Directory:
Make sure all new map layers created are saved to the same folder you have
been working with (a.k.a. your working directory). Sometimes
the directory for new map layers is simply uses the last directory where you
saved work (i.e. last week's lab). Other times it is the "\temp" directory on the C:
drive - hence the data would NOT be on your U: drive. In the computer
lab the C: drive is wiped clean every day or two. Thus, even if you came
back to the very same computer it is likely the data will be deleted.
If you have opened your GIS project and found red exclamation marks beside
the map layers, it means that ArcGIS cannot find your data. Most
likely cause - you did not save the data correctly.
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Relative Path: By
default ArcGIS uses 'full paths' to refer to your map layers. For
example, for Lab 2 the path for the Forest map layer would be
U:\Lab2-BufferAnalysis\Forest. This means that the map layer
forest is found on the U: drive in the Lab2-BufferAnalysis folder. All
is fine except that I will want to look at your work. So when you
submit it to me it will still utilize the same directory path - problem ...
the data is no longer there ... it is now on my computer in a different
directory. Solution ... a) save your map document in the same folder
as your data (as per step 2 above), b) use relative paths click
File select Document Properties
click Data Source Options button select
Store relative path names to data sources
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Adding the Buffer Wizard
(click to expand)
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Click the Tools menu and click
Customize
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Click the Commands tab
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Click Tools
in the Categories list
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Click and drag
Buffer Wizard in the Commands list to the Tools menu on the Main menu The Tools menu will open and you can drop it within the menu at any
location.
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Click Close on
the Customize dialog box
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