KEYS TO SUCCESS DATA PREPARATION AND ORGANIZATION

Session Discussion Topics Where Do I Get Data? ESRI Data Formats to Use Functions of the software differ with formats Folder Structure to Organize My Data How do I organize and share my data with others?

What Data Do I Need? SchoolSite Redistricting SchoolSite Projections Students Study Areas Schools Streets (only for geocoding purposes) SchoolSite Projections All of the above data layers, plus… New development (tract) Non-GIS factors (ie. birth data, etc.)

Where Do I Get Data? Where Do I Get Data? County/Cities Search County/Cities Regional Planning Agencies Commercial Data Providers DDP Prepared

Street Update Strategy Use data provider as a starting point Take ownership of YOUR data! Do not replace street or other data! Use outside sources as a means to maintain your data (Google Earth, MapQuest, etc…)

ESRI Data Formats Enterprise ArcSDE Workgroup ArcSDE Personal ArcSDE # Users (Unlimited editors viewers/connections) Enterprise ArcSDE (10 editors 10 viewers/connections) Workgroup ArcSDE (1 editor 3 viewers/connections) Personal ArcSDE (1 editor Unlimited viewers) File Geodatabase Personal Geodatabase (1 editor Unlimited viewers) SchoolSite GDB is stored in pGDB format Shapefiles (1 editor Unlimited viewers) Administrative Overhead

ESRI Data Formats Enterprise ArcSDE Workgroup ArcSDE Personal ArcSDE Extra License + Cost of chosen RDBMS (Oracle, SQL Server, other RDBMS) # Users Enterprise ArcSDE Extra License Workgroup ArcSDE (SQL Server Express) Free Personal ArcSDE (SQL Server Express) Free File Geodatabase (Proprietary ESRI format) Free Personal Geodatabase (Microsoft Access .MDB) Free Shapefiles (Proprietary ESRI format) Administrative Overhead

Why Choose One Format over Another? Number of expected users Amount of Data Functionality Required Cost (some storage methods require license) District’s IT Strategy In-house Expertise

Shapefiles Format from ArcView version 2 in early 1990s Ubiquitous Easy methods to transfer/share individual layers among agencies Each “shapefile” is multiple files on disk Rules-based editing tools (“Topology”) in ArcEditor or ArcINFO do not work with shapefiles (Big issue if YOU are maintaining large GIS datasets!) One editor Free format All other GIS mapping and functions are available

Personal Geodatabase (pGDB) Format from ArcGIS version 8 Uses Microsoft Access file to store map data (.MDB) All data layers stored in one disk file Database size limited to 2 GB Rules-based editing tools (“Topology”) in ArcEditor or ArcINFO work with pGDB (Big issue if YOU are maintaining large GIS datasets!) One editor Free format All other GIS mapping and functions are available

File Geodatabase (fGDB) Format from ArcGIS version 9.2 Proprietary format on disk (layers in folder structure on hard drive) Large data sizes supported (>1 TB) Added speed and stability vs. pGDB One editor Free format All other GIS mapping and functions are available Note: DDP’s in house data format

Geodatabases for SQL Server Express New in 9.2 Uses SQL Server Express to store data (provided with ArcGIS) RDBMS advantages Login to access data Backup utilities Change history maintained All other GIS mapping and functions are available Personal: One editor/3 viewer connections (free) Workgroup: 10 editors/10 viewer connections Good for small departments with multiple people responsible for editing (extra fee)

Enterprise ArcSDE Utilizes Oracle, SQL Server, DB2 Can integrate map data with District’s IT strategy Unlimited editors and users Can maintain change history of database Requires extra license fees as well as cost of RDBMS Typically for large Districts, ie. Denver School District, Miami-Dade County, etc. Not for the faint-of-heart…requires database administrator

GIS Tools to Organize Data: ArcCatalog What is ArcCatalog? 1 of 2 applications for ArcGIS (the other being ArcMap) Used for: 1. browsing data 2. managing data 3. documenting geographic data

What can you do with ArcCatalog? Display your hard drive and network connections in a Windows Explorer-like application Create connections to various drives and folders Copy, paste, create and delete map data and other file types Convert map data to and from various ESRI data formats Search and preview your data before adding it to an ArcMap document Store thumbnails and metadata about your data to document your work and to share with others

The ArcCatalog Window Click buttons on the active toolbars The title bar displays the selected items location Click buttons on the active toolbars to explore the current view Catalog tree lets you access and navigate your folders and data. Select an item in the tree to view its contents Each tab displays contents of selected items in a different way Status bar describes what a button or menu command does and also reports which items are selected Move this bar to resize the catalog tree

Catalog Tree Icons identify data types Supports drag and drop Supports copy and paste Right-click Context menus Display connections Specialized connections, (ie. GIS servers, Internet)

Connecting/Disconnecting to Folders By default, ArcCatalog shows local hard drives and folders on your computer. You can connect to other drives (ie. network) by setting up a connection. Disconnect

Folders represent folders Folders and File Types Folder connections let you access data on local and network disks Folders represent folders on disk like Windows Explorer Folders are unavailable when the icon shows a red X

Previewing Features Allows user to view attributes in either geography view, or view the attributes associated with the data by switching to the attribute table.

Previewing Tables

ArcCatalog: Create New Items/Data Select a location, then Right Click Select an item, then File/New Right-Click

ArcCatalog: Copy and Delete Data Select an item, then Right Click Select an item, then File/New Right-Click

ArcCatalog: Convert Data Formats Select feature, then Right Click Select an item, then File/New Right-Click

ArcCatalog and ArcMap Work Together Loading Data You can drag and drop a layer from ArcCatalog to ArcMap. They both support one another.

Organizing My Data P:\Network_Drive GISData SY0708 SY0809 SY0910 Base Data SY0708 P:\Network_Drive SY0809 SY0910 Students MapDocs Layers SchoolSite Redistricting Plans Projections Streets Study Areas Schools Tract Geodatabase Windows Folder .mxd .lyr

Getting Help What’s this? Click on a tool/button and expanded help will appear 2 1

Additional Help Help Menu Resource Center in 9.3.1

SchoolSite Geodatabase Redistricting plans, projections, etc. are stored in a SchoolSite GDB (custom pGDB). Plans, projections, etc. in a SchoolSite GDB are manipulated and maintained through the SchoolSite toolbars in ArcMap (not ArcCatalog)

Copying Redistricting Plans/Projections Copy Enrollment Projections Copy Redistricting Plans

SchoolSite Geodatabase Entire SchoolSite GDBs can be deleted within ArcCatalog.

Exercises: Overview Setting up a folder structure Creating a Personal GDB (pGDB) Converting Shapefiles to pGDB feature classes Miscellaneous ArcCatalog functions

QUESTIONS?