Mineral County GIS Training Overview

1
Mineral County GIS Training Overview

• John Q. Murray
• Murray Information Services, Inc.

2
GIS Present data visually

• Geographic information systems (GIS) two main
  components database and graphics
• A picture is worth 1000 words Humans are
  designed to process visual info quickly

3
Its not just about maps

• From the Missoula County GIS Strategy Plan
• A GIS is not simply a computer system for making
  maps. It is a sophisticated management and
  analysis tool that allows the user to identify
  the spatial relationships among map features.
  There are five generic questions that a
  well-designed GIS can answer Location,
  Condition, Trends, Patterns, Modeling

4
Location

• LocationWhat is at a given location?
• Data management is simplified when the user can
  quickly find out what exists at a particular
  location. The location can be described in many
  ways including place name, zip code, parcel
  number, address, road milepost, geographic
  coordinates, or by pointing to the feature on a
  computer screen. For example, by pointing to a
  parcel on the computer screen or entering an
  address, the location and characteristics of all
  relevant permits could be immediately identified.

5
Condition

• ConditionWhere is it?
• This question is the reverse of the location
  question. Instead of identifying what exists at
  a given location, the user finds locations where
  certain conditions are satisfied. For example,
  show all water mains that were installed before
  1940 and made out of steel.

6
Trends

• TrendsWhat has changed over time?
• This question can involve either location or
  condition and seeks to find the difference over
  time. For example, show the neighborhoods in
  Missoula where the average value of housing units
  has increased by over 20 percent in the last
  three years.

7
Patterns

• PatternsWhat spatial patterns exist?
• These types of questions can get very
  sophisticated. For example, showing the spatial
  distribution of service complaints, such as sewer
  backups, and correlating these complaints with
  other variables, such as age of street trees, to
  help understand the cause of a problem.

8
Modeling what if?

• ModelingWhat if ...?
• These types of questions are posed to predict the
  consequences of proposed changes. For example,
  how would fire response demand increase in an
  area if it were built out to its maximum density
  under a proposed comprehensive plan amendment.

9
GIS The textbook definition

• Dueker, 1979 A geographic information system is
  a special case of information systems where the
  database consists of observations on spatially
  distributed features, activities or events, which
  are definable in space as points, lines, or
  areas. A geographic information system
  manipulates data about these points, lines, and
  areas to retrieve data for ad hoc queries and
  analyses" (p 106)

10
Maps as visual design

• Maps organize and represent data visually
• Both science and art Good design involves
  thoughtful use of symbols, colors, scale

11
Napoleons Russian campaign
Charles Joseph Minard, drawn in 1861
12
Graphic design

• Good design improves communication
• Great book The Visual Representation of
  Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte
• ArcView 3.2 software helps you create effective,
  well-designed visual representations of your data
  
• This class focuses on ArcView 3.2 but remember
  the big picture

13
1. Overview

• Goals for this course Make Mineral County maps
  in 12 easy steps
• Know what map data is available and where
• Know what custom tools are available and how to
  use them
• Help one another develop GIS knowledge
• A team project Use ArcView 3.2 to create your
  favorite custom map of Mineral County
• Learn how to learn more

14
2 Add and view themes

• Adding themes.ppt
• Can collect themes from different sources
• List of themes provided for Mineral County
• 3 types point, line, polygon
• Change the order of the themes
• Units feet, miles, meters

15
3. Moving around / finding information on maps

• Zoom in, zoom out
• Using the Identify tool
• Custom search tools address, city

16
4. Change theme legend / labels

• Changing legend.ppt
• The theme legend controls the symbols used to
  display the data
• Point themes point symbols
• Line themes line symbols
• Polygon themes fill patterns and colors
• Two ways to change labels
• Theme properties
• Auto-label

17
5 Project themes into a common coordinate system

• Projecting themes.ppt
• Geographic coordinate systems (latitude/longitude)
  
• Projected coordinate systems (x, y values
  starting from a specific origin)
• Need a common coordinate system and common units
  to make sure they line up
• All of our data is already in one coord.sys.
• But if new data doesnt line up, you can fix it

18
Start Thinking About A Project

• We will split up into teams and work on building
  our own Mineral County maps
• Propose a map project
• Sources for data
• nris.state.mt.us
• ESRI CDs
• 2000 US Census Tiger data
• Search the Internet

19
6. Join data from tables

• Joining data from tables.ppt
• Just need a common field to extend the map
• Can then use your data for the symbols or labels

20
7. Create/add point themes

• Creating point themes.ppt
• Two ways to add point data
• Draw directly on the map
• Import point data as event theme
• May need to use a projection to match the other
  existing map data

21
8. Create/add line and polygon themes

• Creating line and polygon themes.ppt
• Can create entirely new themes or
• Can add to existing themes
• The commands Edit theme , Stop editing, and
  Save edits

22
9. Create map layouts

• Creating map layouts.ppt
• Dynamic layout tied to a View
• Always add a legend, scale, title, and date
• Using the ArcPress extension
• Printing map tiles on std 8.5 x 11 paper
• ArcMap 8.1 is much easier for printing

23
Map project teams

• Well spend some time every class working on our
  custom map projects
• Individual or team projects up to you
• Instructor can answer questions and help

24
10. Customizing the interface

• Customizing ArcView 3.2.ppt
• The Customize dialog
• System scripts
• Adding menus and commands
• Adding buttons

25
11. Adding GPS Data

• Adding GPS.ppt
• Ground Positioning System Trimble, Magellan
  handheld units
• Adding GPS point data to maps
• Useful for homes, landmarks
• Adding GPS line data to maps
• Useful for driveways, roads

26
12. Project-specific

• Your project, or, for public safety employees
• Maintaining this data / Using the maps in events
• Catalog of Mineral County themes
• How it was generated
• How to keep it up to date and accurate
• How to use the special tools
• How the special tools were made
• How to create new versions of paper maps
• How to update the E-911 database

27
13. Finding more resources / extending ArcView 3.2

• Finding additional GIS resources
• Websites
• ESRI.com Online courses, user forums, scripts
• NRIS.state.mt.us Montana map data
• Adding and activating ArcView extensions
• .avx files
• 1 download XTools

28
14. Intro to ArcMap 8.1

• Latest version of ArcView 3.2
• Uses the same source data shapefiles
• Adds new types of data layers
• Does all the same things, and more
• Project file is now called a map document
• Uses Visual Basic instead of its own unique
  Avenue programming language

29
Terms in this course Menu, Command

• Menu item appears along the top
• The File menu
• The Edit menu
• The View menu
• Command below the menu item
• The Exit command on the File menu
• The Properties command on the View menu

30
Terms Button, tool, button bar

• Button or tool A small square picture that
  usually performs the same action as a menu
  command. The Add Theme button
• Button bar, toolbar A bunch of these buttons in
  a row

31
Terms Dialog

• Dialog or dialog box. Some actions require
  several different chunks of information. Your
  required input is organized in a form known as a
  dialog the dialogs name appears at the top

The Add Theme dialog
32
Terms zip, unzip, .zip file

• Multiple files containing map data are often
  combined and compressed in a zip file
• The file has the extension .ZIP
• To use the map data, you have to unzip it
• Freeware and shareware programs are readily
  available

33
Summary By course end, well know how to

• Find existing map data Internet, govt.
• Organize existing map data - themes
• Add our own points, lines, polygons, tables
• Join existing maps with our own data tables
• Change symbols and labels
• Print maps using layouts
• Use the map data in ArcView 3.2 or 8.1

34
Lets get started

• Two ways to launch ArcView
• Double-click the desktop shortcut
• Click on ArcView GIS 3.2 from the Start
  Programs menu