Introduction to GIS and LandView Exercises

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Introduction to GIS and LandView Exercises
The exercises that follow focus on the basic
theories and functions of LandView GIS. Each
exercise builds on the last, so be sure to
complete each before moving ahead. For the sake
of this course, imagine you have recently been
assigned to a work area that includes Lake Mille
Lacs. Its your first day on the job and you want
to hit the ground running . . .
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Exercise 1

• Start LandView either through the desktop icon or
  by going to Start-gtPrograms-gtLandView. Note the
  version of the program that is shown on the
  splash screen . . .
• The first of two main windows in LandView appears
  - the Where Window. See the Window name in the
  blue header? Glance at the menu bar and
  buttons/tools bar.
• Now click Display Window.
• Notice how the window name and interface have
  changed?

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Exercise 1

• We want to return to the Where Window now, but
  how to do so? Open the Help System and find out.
  Go to HelpgtLandview Help.
• Click the Contents tab. Youll see a logical
  listing of the contents of the Help System. Go to
  DNR ProgramsgtLandView and click to open the
  Where Window folder.
• See which button returns you to the Where Window?
  Minimize the Help System window and click that
  button in LandViews Display Window.
• You have an old computer in the office that youd
  like to install LandView on, but you dont know
  if LandView runs on Windows NT.
• Youre not sure where in the Help System that
  information would be, so scroll through the
  alphabetical listing of the Index tab until you
  find the topic Landview setup.

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Exercise 1

• What are the oldest (minimum) operating systems
  LandView will run on?
• Finally, youve heard that LandView can run
• in conjunction with other programs. Which ones?
• Click the Search tab and type in the keyword
  LandView. All the places in the Help System where
  the keyword is referenced appear. Scroll down to
  Other LandView Capabilities.
• What are the two programs LandView can interact
  with?
• Close the Help Window. Close LandView.
• This concludes exercise 1.

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Exercise 2
Your first morning on the job and the phone is
ringing. Its Crow Wing Countys natural resource
office, and they want you to confirm that a
Threatened plant species is on state not county
- land. They have latitude/longitude coordinates
of the location in question.

• Start LandView. Enter the decimal minutes (DM)
  latitude/longitude coordinates shown below into
  the appropriate boxes in the Where Window,
  pressing enter after you enter each one
• Latitude 46 21.467
• Longitude 93 49.009
• Press the ENTER key on your keyboard.
• This is your new Current Location.
• What is the township, range, and section of the
  Current Location?
• Next enter a Display Radius in Miles a distance
  from the location that will define the size of
  the map.
• You have just set an Area of Interest (AOI).

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Exercise 2

• Ah but wait. You have a sneaking suspicion that
  youre going to be getting many of these calls
  from the county . . . it would be helpful to
  always reference their location from a Base Point
  your office.
• Turn the Base Point function on.
• We need to locate your office to make it the Base
  Point. Since youre new to the area, you know
  neither a legal description nor coordinates for
  it.
• Click Search/find in list.
• Click on the DNR Offices list, then type in
  Aitkin.
• Double-click the Aitkin office name, then click
  Close.

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Exercise 2

• Now click Set Base Point. All other Current
  Locations you set will be in reference to your
  Base Point (until you change it or turn the
  function off).
• (Note If and when you need to make
• your Base Point the Current location, click Goto
  Base Point. )
• Notice the items listed below the Search/find in
  List button? The five search items closest to
  your Current Location will be listed, along with
  their direction and distance.
• Because we last searched the DNR Offices list,
  the five closest DNR offices to the Aitkin office
  appear.
• Once again enter the latitude/longitude location
  from step 1. Notice how the red Current Location
  dot is no longer your Base Point? Also notice the
  Azimuth and Distance in Miles boxes . . .they
  show the way to the new Current Location.

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Exercise 2

• It would be nice to save this Current Location in
  case you need to view it again later click Add
  Point to Users List.
• Name the point Threatened species and click
  Apply.
• That location seems familiar. In fact, you think
  your Aunt Tillie owns a cabin on Birch Lake
  somewhere in that area. Click the Search/find
  button and then the Lakes list radio button. Type
  in Birch.
• No Birch Lake in Crow Wing County, but there is
  one listed in Aitkin County. Double-click it and
  then click Cancel/Close.
• Take a look at the distance and direction
• from the Base Point to the Current Location
  (Birch Lake in Aitkin County).
• Close enough to stop by after work . . .

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Exercise 2

• Click Add Point to User List.
• Name the point Aunt Tillies cabin and click
  Apply.
• Take a look at both of the new points youve
  created. Click Search/find and
• then click Points Saved by User.
• See them? Good.
• Close LandView.

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Exercise 3
Time now to take a look at that threatened
species location. Use Search/Find button in the
Where Window to find Threatened Species.

• Turn on a background map of your choice.
  Depending on your AOI the background may take a
  long time to draw, or may look blocky if you
  are zoomed in close.
• View other background maps. Each one has its own
  best uses.
• If you find a background map you like but you are
  zoomed in or out too far to make it useful,
  return to the Where Window (see exercise 1, step
  7) and change the Display Radius.Then return to
  the Display Window.
• Now turn on some overlay layers. As with
  background maps, each overlay layer has its own
  best uses.

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Exercise 3

• You need to answer the Countys question Is the
  threatened species on state land?
• The PRIM maps appear to indicate yes, but you
  know from experience that PRIM maps (scanned
  paper maps) lag behind DNRs digital land
  records. Forestry Lands background layer is a
  more reliable data source.
• You will need to make a field visit nonetheless.
  Add reference data to the Display map to get your
  bearings of the area.
• Turn on the Wildlife Management Areas overlay.
  The boundaries are not noticeable enough change
  the symbology.
• Double-click the layers name to bring up the
  Overlay Layer Properties Window, then click
  Symbol.
• Select transparent fill, orange outline, size 5,
  then click Apply.

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Exercise 3

• Now use the most common tools zoom in, zoom
  out, and pan to explore the Display map.
  Remember that you can either click on the map
  with a zoom tool or draw a box with it to further
  refine the zoom . . .
• Pan until the Current Location point can no
  longer be seen.
• Click the P button to instantly re-center on the
  Current Location.
• Turn on the Lakes and Rivers overlay layer if you
  havent already. The solid blue is a bit
  overbearing, so change the symbology
• Double-click the layers name to bring up the
  Overlay Layer Properties Window, then click
  Symbol.
• Select a transparent fill, blue outline, size 2,
  then click Apply.

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Exercise 3

• Is there a lake map available for Birch Lake?
  Click the Lake Map tool, then find and click on
  Birch Lake.
• Notice the map appears in a separate window? This
  scanned map has not been georeferenced, meaning
  it is not referenced to a coordinate system (and
  is not yet spatial data, though ArcView 3.x and
  ArcMAP could transform it into spatial data).
• Turn on the 2003 FSA photo background map. It
  would be nice to compare this with an older photo
  . . .
• Turn on the 1936-39 Air Photos overlay layer,
  then click on its name to make it Active.
• Click the Lightning tool, then click a green
  photo index point near the Current Location.

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Exercise 3

• If available, an historic photo will appear in a
  new window. Like the lake map, these historic air
  photos are not georeferenced.
• Use the Forward/Back buttons to step through the
  zooms/pans you just performed.
• Retrieve the point you saved of Aunt Tillies
  cabin. Click the Binoculars button and click the
  Points Saved by User list.
• Double-click Aunt Tillies cabin in the list and
  click Cancel/close. The Display Window will
  redraw centered on the new Current Location.

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Exercise 3

• Aunt Tillie does not live in the center of Birch
  Lake.
• You recall her last name is Fraser and she lives
  on the west side of the lake. This is not where
  our saved point for her cabin shows, so we should
  refine the saved location.
• Turn on a combination of background map and
  overlays to best help you locate Tillie Frasers
  cabin.
• Click on the Move to the current location tool,
  then click the Display Map where you think her
  cabin is located.

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Exercise 3

• Save the location change. Click the Add Point to
  User List button.
• Name the point Aunt Tillies cabin, and click
  Apply.
• Make sure the new point was saved click the
  Binoculars button then view the User List. Oops!
  There are now two Aunt Tillies cabin points.
  (LandView does not recognize /remedy if two
  points are saved with the same name.)
• We are going to delete the incorrect one so you
  dont confuse yourself later . . .
• Double-click one of the duplicates in the list,
  then watch where the Current Location point moves
  on the Display map. If the point is in the lake,
  delete it.
• As instructed in the upper right corner of the
  Search Window, click the record to delete, then
  hold down CTRL and DEL to remove it from the
  list.

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Exercise 3

• Back to the threatened species. Besides
  determining if the species is on state land, the
  County wants to know
• What major and minor watersheds is the species
  in?
• On what USGS quad map (124,000 scale) is the
  species located?
• What DNR enforcement area does the species fall
  within?
• What are the UTM coordinates of the species?
• First make the species the Current Location so it
  is easy to zoom to. Click the Binoculars button,
  then select the Points Saved by User list.
• Double-click Threatened species and click
  Cancel/close.
• Click the P button to center the Current
  Location.
• Use the Identity tool to answer questions a-d
  above. (Note Use left-mouse click.)

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Exercise 3

• Compose a map to take with to the field.
• Turn on the Roads overlay layer, then use your
  zoom and pan tools to locate both the Base Point
  and Current Location on the Display map. (You
  may wish to turn off any background map so you
  can better see the roads overlay.)
• How far is it from Aitkin to the threatened
  species?
• Click the Line Measure tool, then click on the
  Base Point. Trace the shortest route along the
  roads to the Current Location, clicking your
  mouse each time you want the line you are
  dragging to change directions. Double click to
  end the line.
• The lower left corner of the Display Window will
  display the distance.

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Exercise 3

• Place some text on the Display to remind yourself
  of the route you just measured.
• Click the Label tool , click on the screen where
  you want to place a label.
• Type Route to species and click Apply.
• See the new label?

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Exercise 4
It would be helpful to get specific information
including parcel data and road names for making a
map to the threatened species. Attribute tables
and labeling will be key to doing so.

• Maximize LandView.
• Set the background map to none.
• Click the name of the overlay Roads to make it
  active.
• Click the Identity tool, then right-click on the
  main road heading south of your office. The
  segment will blink and display a window of the
  attribute table record for this feature.
• The FNAME field gives the name
• of the road.
• Use the Label tool to label the road.
• Repeat steps 4-5 for other segments of the road
  until youve labeled your route to
• the Threatened species location.

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Exercise 4

• Dont like a label youve placed? Click the A
  tool, then either
• Place your cursor over the label (see it change
  to a hand?) and hold your left mouse button down
  as you drag it to a new location.
• Click on the label you want to change to bring up
  its properties.
• Locate Aunt Tillies cabin on the map to see its
  proximity to your route. Make Tillies place your
  Current Location (see exercise 3, steps 22-23).
• Use the Line Measure tool to draw a second
  measure graphic on the screen from the species
  location to Aunt Tillies cabin.
• Because there is no road shown to get there,
  youll need to guess where her driveway is
  located . . . use a background map that will best
  help you.

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Exercise 4

• What is the additional distance youll need to
  drive off your main route? (Check the lower left
  corner of the Display Window.)
• Use the Label tool to label the road to Tillies.
• Auto-labeling the Roads overlay would seem to be
  much easier than using the Identity and Label
  tools to interactively label the routes to the
  Threatened species and to Tillies place (as long
  as there are features to label, of course).
• But there are a few caveats . . .
• Click the overlay name Roads to bring up its
  Properties Window, then click Labeling (or go to
  LabelsgtOverlay Labels).
• Turn the labeling On, select the label field
  STREETNAM, and click Apply.

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Exercise 4

• Take a look at the Display map. For overlays that
  have duplicate attributes or data that is split
  into small segments /areas, auto-labeling can
  sometimes make a mess of a map.
• To remove some of the clutter, return to the
  Roads overlay Properties Window, click Labeling,
  check the box beside Remove Duplicates, place the
  labels above each feature, then click Apply.
• Take another look at the map. This doesnt give
  the exact results youre after, either- if more
  than one feature has the same attribute, only the
  first feature listed in the table will be
  labeled on the map, and that feature may or may
  not be within your AOI . . . many features in
  your AOI may go unlabeled.

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Exercise 4

• Return to the Roads overlay Properties Window,
  click Labeling, turn Labeling Off, and click
  Apply.
• As youre starting to see, in your case using
  the Label tool may be the best choice after all.
• Double-click the Lakes and Rivers overlay name to
  bring up its Properties Window. Click Labeling,
  turn labeling On, select the label field Lake
  Name, then click Apply.
• Look at the Display map. Data sets in which
• features are discrete and not a part of something
• larger seem to work well for auto-labeling . . .
• What happens if you now check Remove Duplicates
  (see step 19)?
• You would be correct if you thought that lakes
  with the same names would not all be labeled
  only the first Mud Lake in the attribute table
  would be labeled, as would the first Stone Lake,
  the first Unnamed lake, and so on .

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Exercise 4

• Until now youve switched between making the
  Threatened species and Aunt Tillies cabin the
  Current Location so they would appear as a red
  dot on the map. The List Labels option can
  eliminate that hassle
• Go to LabelsgtList Labels.
• Check the box (es) for Points Saved by User to
  label them and to show markers. Alter the
  placement, font, and symbology
• as you wish, then click Apply.
• Auto-labeling Lists or Overlays or adding a Title
  doesnt make labels placed with the Label tool
  disappear. When numerous types of labels are
  used, it is still easy to clutter a map.
• If your map is looking cluttered, turn some of
  the Overlay auto-labels off (see step 18).

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Exercise 4

• Now delete the Label tool labels of Tillies
  cabin and the Threatened species (since youve
  auto-labeled and marked them). Click the Label
  tool, click an interactive label youve placed,
  then click Remove.
• Finally, give your map a title. Go to
  LabelsgtTitle Label.
• Type Threatened Species 12/07/05, select other
  options you prefer, then click Apply.
• Minimize LandView.

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Exercise 5
Now that youve tidied up the map labels, tidy up
the Measure tool graphics youve drawn, as well.

• Delete the small Measure tool line you drew to
  Aunt Tillies cabin. With her location now marked
  and labeled you dont really need it.
• Select the line by clicking on the Line
• measure tool, holding shft, and clicking
• on the line.
• Once the graphic is bold, go to EditgtDelete
  selected measure graphic.
• Before heading to the field youd like to upload
  the line graphic to your GPS. Youd also like to
  archive the data on your computer, too, in case
  you need it again.
• Go to FilegtSave Measure Lines as shapefile.

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Exercise 5

• Save the file to C\TEMP\ROUTE_TO_SPECIES.shp.
• You will be asked which overlay to replace with
  the one you just created. Highlight Major
  watersheds and click OK.
• Notice your Measure tool graphic disappears? It
  has been replaced by the
• new overlay. Turn it on and symbolize it
• so that it is prominent (see exercise 3,
• step 13.

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Exercise 5

• It would be nice to upload some lake polygons to
  the GPS, too. Click the Lakes and Rivers Overlay
  name to make it active.
• Click the Area Measure tool, then hold ctrl
  down while you click on Birch Lake. The feature
  will be converted to the active measure graphic.
• What is the acreage and perimeter of Birch Lake?
  (See exercise 4, step 10.)
• Repeat step 7 to convert a few more of the lakes
  near Aunt Tillies place into Area measure
  graphics.
• Save the collection of Lake Area graphics to an
  archive for safe keeping. Go to FilegtSave
  Measure Polygons as Shapefile.
• Save the file to C\TEMP\AREA_LAKES.shp.

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Exercise 5

• This time dont replace any overlays with the new
  data set - choose Cancel.
• Notice the Measure tool graphics still disappear
  even if you dont add the new shapefile as an
  overlay?
• Solely for the sake of having it stand out on our
  map, convert Birch Lake into a Measure tool
  graphic once again (see step 8).
• Minimize LandView.
• You have now completed exercise 5.

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Exercise 6
Mid-afternoon already! Youve got to print this
map, create a different map to email the County,
and get out in the field to check the site. Note
Depending on class location you may not actually
print a map.

• Maximize LandView. Take a few minutes to pretty
  up the Display map so you can print it for
  reference in getting out to the Threatened
  species site. Select and symbolize layers, change
  labeling, and make any other changes needed.
• Click the Print button. For a quick field map the
  default selections of .BMP, 256 colors and
  Landscape orientation are fine, so simply click
  Print.

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Exercise 6
Mid-afternoon already! Youve got to print this
map, create a different map to email the County,
and get out in the field to check the site. Note
Depending on class location you may not actually
print a map.

• While waiting for your map to print, preserve all
  the changes youve made save them as a Scheme
  that you can retrieve easily
• Go to Filegt Save as Scheme.
• Save the Scheme to C\Program Files\Landview\Schem
  es\Route_to_species.lvs.
• Now you can begin work on a different map to
  email the county.
• The County has requested a close-up air photo map
  of the Threatened species location. Use your new
  LandView skills to create an informative map that
  shows the site, the nearest road access, and some
• local features (lakes, residential developments,
  etc.

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Exercise 6

• Now save the map to a file so you can email it to
  the County. Since there are numerous export
  settings, take a few minutes to try some of them
  out for yourself
• Click the Print button, output to a file. Save
  the map as a BMP image, scale factor of 1, to
  C\temp\scale1.bmp.
• To experiment with the various scale factors,
  repeat step 2, this time saving the map as a BMP
  image, scale factor of 3, to C\temp\scale3.bmp.
• Repeat step 2, this time saving the map as a BMP
  image, scale factor of 5, to C\temp\scale5.bmp.
• Now let'take a look at the differences in the
  file size between the three images.
• Minimize LandView, then open Windows Explorer
  (right click on the Windows Start button and
  choose Explore).

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Exercise 6

• Navigate to C\temp. Hold your mouse over the
  file Scale1.bmp. What are the pixel dimensions?
  What is its file size?
• Bitmap images are monitor-dependent (What You See
  is What You Get). The higher the scale, the
  better the image quality. But bitmaps are hard to
  share . . .
• Try exporting the map instead as a JPG image.
• Click the Print button, save to file, a JPG
  image, scale factor of 1, to C\temp\scale1.jpg.

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Exercise 6

• Repeat step14, this time saving the map as a JPG
  image, scale factor 3, to C\temp\scale3.jpg.
• Now minimize LandView and open Windows Explorer
  (see step 9).
• Navigate to C\temp. Hold your mouse over the
  file Scale1.jpg. What are the pixel dimensions?
  What is its file size?
• Repeat step 18 for Scale3.jpg. What do you
  notice?
• JPG is a compression format. In LandView the
  scale factor setting does not affect the output .
  . . they are small files and easily shared, but
  tend to be blurry when printed.
• We could now have you export to EMF format, but
  suffice to say EMF files are a happy medium
  between BMP and JPG for most cases, and should be
  used whenever images will be printed to hard
  copy. Like JPGs they are not scaleable.

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Exercise 6

• Export the map once more, using the EMF format,
  scale of 1, to C\temp\County_map.emf. It can now
  be sent as an email attachment when you contact
  the County.
• For your office records youd also like to
  include this map image in a report. Click
• the Copy to Clipboard button.
• Open Microsoft Word and a new document.
• Click the Paste button (or go to FilegtPaste).
• Click the Save button and save the document to
  C\temp\Threatened_species_report.doc.
• Close Word.

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Exercise 6

• Before closing LandView and heading for the
  field, save the changes youve made as another
  LandView Scheme. Go to FilegtSave as Scheme.
• Save to C\Program
• Files\Landview\Schemes\County_map.lvs.
• Take one more quick look at the Route_to_species
  LandView scheme to visualize it before you begin
  driving there.
• Go to Filegt Load Scheme.
• Select the Route to species scheme and click
  Load. The lists, overlays, and backgrounds
  contained in the scheme will be listed.
• All of your settings will be loaded into
  LandView. Glance one final time at the Display
  Window, then close LandView.
• Tomorrow morning when you start LandView again
  youll be ready to start where you left off.
• You have now completed exercise 6.

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You have now completed Introduction to GIS and
LandView.You may wish to take the Advanced
LandView course or one of the many other GIS
courses offered by DNR GIS staff . . .contact
your local GIS Coordinator for more
information. Course listings at
http//dnrnet.state.mn.us/mis/gis/training.html