ArcGIS Explorer: A basic guide

Contents1 What is ArcGIS Explorer?...............................................................................................................2

1.1 What is GIS?...........................................................................................................................2

1.2 ArcGIS software.....................................................................................................................2

2 Getting Started..............................................................................................................................3

2.1 Where can I find ArcGIS Explorer?.........................................................................................3

2.2 Open ArcGIS Explorer............................................................................................................3

2.3 Moving around the map........................................................................................................5

2.4 3D Mode................................................................................................................................6

3 Making a map................................................................................................................................7

3.1 Types of data.........................................................................................................................7

3.2 Sources of data......................................................................................................................8

3.3 Basemaps...............................................................................................................................9

3.4 Drawing Objects...................................................................................................................10

3.5 Saving...................................................................................................................................10

4 Further features of ArcGIS Explorer.............................................................................................11

4.1 Queries................................................................................................................................11

4.2 Add-Ins.................................................................................................................................11

4.3 Presentations.......................................................................................................................11

5 Sources of help............................................................................................................................12

5.1 Online help..........................................................................................................................12

5.2 Courses................................................................................................................................12

5.3 Books.........................................................................................................................................12

Esri software graphical user interfaces are the intellectual property of Esri and screenshots are reproduced herein by permission. All rights reserved.

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 1

1 What is ArcGIS Explorer?

1.1 What is GIS?ArcGIS Explorer is GIS (geographic information system) software. GIS can be used to store geographic data, draw digital maps and analyse the content of the maps based on attribution data associated with the objects which make up the map. Map data is organised into layers, so that the user can choose which layers they want to view or query. For more information on GIS see the references in section 5.3.

1.2 ArcGIS softwareThis guide is an introduction to ArcGIS Explorer Desktop, which is one of a number of GIS products produced by Esri, some of which have confusingly similar names. GIS software available from ESRI includes:

1. ArcGIS Desktop

Not to be confused with ArcGIS Explorer Desktop, ArcGIS Desktop is the industry standard in GIS software, designed for advance mapping and spatial analysis. It is expensive to buy and only available for the Windows operating system, but is available in the Bodleian Map Room, the Training Room at the Radcliffe Science Library and some Oxford University departments.

ArcGIS for Desktop consists of a number of separate programs: ArcCatalogue, ArcMap, ArcScene and ArcGlobe.

2. ArcGIS Explorer Desktop

ArcGIS Explorer Desktop is the software covered in this guide. It is a freely available, much simplified version of ArcGIS Desktop. It is only available for the Windows operating system.

3. ArcGIS Explorer Online

A freely available online version of ArcGIS Explorer, but with less functionality.

4. ArcGIS Online

A very basic version of ArcGIS available freely on the web.

5. ArcGIS Apps for mobile

Allow viewing of maps and creation of field data from mobile devices.

See the helpsheet titled What is ArcGIS? for more information on the differences between the different versions of ArcGIS. If you are unsure as to which software best meets your needs contact the Bodleian Map Room for advice: maps@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 2

2 Getting Started

2.1 Where can I find ArcGIS Explorer?In the Bodleian Libraries ArcGIS Explorer Desktop is installed on machines in:

The Map Room, which is temporarily (until 2015) located in the Duke Humphrey’s Library in the Old Bodleian

The Radcliffe Science Library Training Room

ArcGIS Explorer is free to download onto your own machine. Instructions of how to download ArcGIS Explorer can be found in section 4 of the course book for ArcGIS Explorer: An Introduction (see section 5.2).

2.2 Open ArcGIS ExplorerThis is the ArcGIS Explorer icon.

When you open ArcGIS Explorer you should see something like this:

The Explorer window consists of three panels: the ribbon, the contents window and the map window.

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 3

Ribbon

Contents window

Map window

The Ribbon

The ribbon is where you will find most of the controls in Explorer. The ribbon has different tabs (here Home and Display) with the controls on each tab organised into groups. The ribbon has different tabs (here Home and Display) depending on the type of content highlighted in the content window.

The Contents Window

The contents window will lists the files open in the map. An icon next the name of the file indicates what the file type is and a check box tells you whether the layer is visible. Clicking on the cross next to the file will show you the symbol used on the map for that file. You can hide the contents window so that the map can fill the entire width of the Explorer window and the contents it is just a tab on the left hand side of the map window by clicking on the push pin in the top right corner of the contents window.

The Explorer Button

You will also find some controls under the Explorer Button in the top left of the screen (see screenshot below).

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 4

2.3 Moving around the map You can navigate the map using the keyboard, mouse or using the navigation control.

Keyboard

Move left A or ←Move right D or →Move up/forward W or ↑Move down/backward S or ↓Rotate clockwise B or Shift + →Rotate anticlockwise V or Shift + ←Zoom in J or + or

Shift + ↑Zoom out L or - or

Shift +↓Zoom map to full extent

R

Mouse

Move the map Click and dragCentre map Double click on the point

you want to centre the map on

Zoom in/out Roll mouse wheel. Hold down Ctrl at the same time to zoom in smaller increments.

Zoom You can also zoom in by holding down Shift, clicking the left mouse button and dragging a box of the area you wish to view.

Navigation control

The navigation control is in the bottom left of the map window.

When you move the mouse over the navigation mode it will change to navigation mode as shown below.

Move the map Click on one of the arrows

Rotate the map Drag one of the arcs between the arrows

Zoom in/out Drag the slider or use the + and - buttons

Rotate so north is at the top of the mapZoom out to view whole map

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 5

2.4 3D ModeArcGIS Explorer can also display your map in 3D. For information on navigating in 3D mode see the Navigating and exploring maps section of the ArcGIS Explorer online help (http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisexplorer/1700/)

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 6

3 Making a map

3.1 Types of dataData stored and displayed in a GIS can be vector data, raster data or gridded data. Explorer does not deal with gridded data, so only vector and raster data are discussed here. See section 2.2 of the Course Book ArcGIS: An Introduction or one of the many textbooks on GIS for an explanation of gridded data.

Raster data is an image composed of a grid of coloured pixels, such as an aerial photograph or scanned paper map. To visualise this data in GIS it must have spatial data associated with at least 3 points on the image. In ArcGIS this is called georeferencing and in ArcGIS Explorer Desktop a georeferencing add-in is required (see section 4.1). Raster data has an optimal scale to be viewed at. Zoom in too much and the image becomes pixellated.

Vector data can be points, lines or polygons. Each object spatial data and attribute data associated with it. The spatial data describes the location of the object while attribute data gives more information, such as type of feature, name and numerical data. Vector data is redrawn at different scales and the symbol used to represent the data can be changed.

To add data to a map in ArcGIS Explorer go to Add Content in the Map group on the Home tab.

ArcGIS Online – find content available from www.arcgis.com (vector or raster data)

ArcGIS Layers (.lpk, .lyr or .pkinfo) – layers created in ArcGIS Des

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 7

ktop. Symbology is retained. (vector or raster data)

Map Content Files (.nmc) – created when a user exports or emails an ArcGIS Explorer map (vector or raster data)

KML Files (.kml, .kmz) – vector geographic data file format (vector data)

GIS Services (ArcGIS Server, ArcIMS, WMS, GeoRSS) – automated geographic information services that are published and accessed online (vector or raster data)

Shapefiles (.shp) – standard geographic vector data file format in ArcGIS (vector data)

Raster Data (various, including Bitmap, JPEG and TIF) (raster data)

Geodatabase Data – a geodatabase is a collection of GIS datasets of varying type (vector or raster data)

Text Files (.txt, .csv, .xls, .xlsx) – tables of data including spatial and attribute data. When this type of data is added to an ArcGIS Explorer map a note (see section 3.4) is created for

each record in the table (see section 3.4). (vector data)

Geotagged Photographs (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe) – raster data which contains spatial references, so does not need georeferencing (raster data)

GPS Data Files (.gpx) (vector data)

More information on all these content types and specific instructions for adding them is available in ArcGIS Explorer Help under Adding and working with data sources Adding data sources

You can also add image overlays to your map. These are images which are not map data, but are added to the map for printing, presentations, etc, such as a logo.

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 8

3.2 Sources of data Base maps provided with ArcGIS Explorer

Public domain or licensed maps

Scanned and georeferenced printed maps and

Database/spreadsheet with spatial referencing. In ArcGIS Explorer this data must be points, not lines or polygons.

Draw your own data

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 9

3.3 BasemapsA number of basemaps are available in ArcGIS Explorer Desktop. They are streamed off the internet, so will only be available when you have an internet connection. It is not possible to modify a basemap and the basemap must be the lowest layer (i.e. all other content is drawn on top of the basemap). If you do not want to use a basemap select the Clear basemap option under the Basemap menu (see below).

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 10

3.4 Drawing ObjectsUser-drawn objects drawn in ArcGIS are called notes. Go to the Create group on the Home tab and select the type of object you would like to create. When drawing lines or polygons you can remove the previous vertex you added by right clicking, but once the object is complete you cannot edit the vertices.

Notes have a title and note content which can include text, links and html.

How an object is represented graphically in ArcGIS, for example the note above is depicted as a red push pin, is called its symbology. You can change the symbology of a note in the Appearance tab. The screenshot below shows some of the options available for a polygon.

3.5 SavingThere are a few different things you can save in ArcGIS Explorer.

To save a view got to View in the Create group on the Home tab. This saves this horizontal position and zoom level within the map you are viewing.

To save a whole map go the Explorer button in the top left. You will have the choice under Save as to save your map as an ArcGIS Explorer map or as a new basemap. In both cases you are saving a *.nmf file. The difference is that if you save it as a basemap it will be a static map, i.e. it will not be editable. When you save your map you are not saving the data that you see on the map, but a list of which files contain the data and information about how you want to view the data. That is except for note data which is saved as part of the map. Therefore it is important not to move or rename the files that contain the data used in your map.

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 11

4 Further features of ArcGIS Explorer

4.1 QueriesIn ArcGIS Explorer you can run queries on vector data. You can query the attribute data or spatial data. For example, an attribute based query would be “Which cities have a population of more than 1 million?”. Spatial queries question the spatial relationship between features. For example, “Which roads cross the River Thames?”. For more information on queries see section 3 of the course handbook for ArcGIS Explorer: Intermediate (see section 5.2).

4.2 Add-InsYou can extend the functionality of ArcGIS Explorer Desktop with Add-Ins downloadable from http://www.arcgis.com/home/group.html?owner=arcgis_explorer&title=ArcGIS%20Explorer%20Desktop%20Labs.

Add-Ins include:

Georeferencing – create spatial data for your raster image so it can be shown on your map

Terrain Profiler – uses ESRI's sample server to generate a terrain profile from a line drawn across the terrain

Feature Labeler – labels features in a layer using values from the chosen field

Street Viewer – view the Google Street View (if available) for the location you click on the map

Zoom to map scale – zoom to a map scale chosen from a user-defined list of scales

4.3 PresentationsArcGIS Explorer can also be used to create presentations where each slide is a map view. When the presentation is run ArcGIS will transition smoothly from each map view to the next. It is possible to add image overlays and text to the slides. For more information see the Creating a presentation section of ArcGIS Explorer online help (http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisexplorer/1700//en/). An add-in is available to convert the presentation into PowerPoint format.

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 12

5 Sources of help

5.1 Online help

ArcGIS Explorer HelpOnline help pages for ArcGIS Explorer

Press F1 while ArcGIS Explorer is open or go to http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisexplorer/1700/

ArcGIS Explorer Desktop Product WebpagesWith general information and links to forums, videos, help etc

http://resources.arcgis.com/content/arcgis-explorer/1750/about

5.2 Courses

ArcGIS Explorer: An Introduction A 3-hour introductory course taught by Bodleian Library Map Room staff in conjunction with Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS).

Details can be found here http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TMPD.

ArcGIS Explorer: Intermediate A 3-hour course taught by Bodleian Library Map Room staff in conjunction with Oxford University Computing Services (OUCS), extending the knowledge gained in ArcGIS Explorer: An Introduction.

Details can be found here http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TMPE.

The course handbooks and exercise files for both ArcGIS Explorer courses are available to download from https://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/portal/hierarchy/central/oucs/itlp_courses/portfolio under Mapping Analysis (Oxford Single Sign-On required). It will help if you are able to attend the courses, but the exercises are written such that you can work through them on your own if necessary.

5.3 BooksIf you want to learn more about GIS in general you will find a number of books in the Radcliffe Science Library in the section G 70.212. Some titles aimed at GIS novices are:

Getting started with geographic information systems By Keith ClarkeLocation: G70.212 CLA 2011

Geographical information systems: an introductionBy Julie DelaneyLocation: G70.212 DEL

An introduction to geographical information systems By Ian Heywood, Sarah Cornelius and Steve CarverLocation: G70.212 HEY

GIS for ecology: an introductionBy Richard Wadsworth and Jo TreweekLocation: G70.212 WAD 1999

Lizzie Atkinson, July 2012 13