Arc catalog introduction

Introduction to Arc Catalog

1.1 Introduction to Arc Catalog 2

1.2 Starting ArcCatalog 2

1.3 Why use ArcCatalog? 5

1.4 Basic functions of ArcCatalog 10

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1.1 Introduction to ArcCatalog

Topics:
What do we use ArcCatalog for and getting familiar with the
ArcCatalog interface and with its main functions, like map and
(meta)data browsing and data exploration.

Introduction

In this exercise you will explore ArcCatalog and learn how it is
used within
the wider ArcGIS environment. You will practice the most
important functions only. If necessary, additional functions will
be introduced later in the course. First, you will familiarize with
the interface, then with specific functions such as browsing
and exploring data, creating metadata, etc. Finally you will
learn that ArcCatalog can be used as a gateway to ArcMap.

Data necessary to complete this exercise can be found in this
year’s Blackboard course Principles of Geographic Information
Systems, under Assignments. Copy the entire folder “Exercise”
to your personal directory

1.2 Starting ArcCatalog:
the user interface
Before you start working with the data, first have a look at the
interface. We assume that this is the first time that you use the
software. We will therefore briefly show the components of
ArcCatalog’s desktop.

Start ArcCatalog

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 StartProgramsArcGISArcCatalog (see Fig. 1.1)

Fig. 1.1 Open
ArcCatalog from
desktop

 Maximize ArcCatalog to occupy the whole screen, see Fig.1.2

The Arc Catalog window

When ArcCatalog starts, the Main Menu and the Standard
Toolbar appear by default. Toolbars are areas in the interface
of ArcGIS with buttons that activate various features and
functions. Different ArcGIS applications may have application-
specific toolbars. A toolbar can be made visible (activated) or
hidden (de-activated). The position of the toolbars within the
interface is flexible; they can float on the desktop and you can

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reposition them at any time. Alternatively the toolbars can be
docked to any side of the ArcCatalog window. Other than the
default toolbars can be activated to perform additional tasks
using the menu: View, then toolbars. But for this exercise, all of
the toolbars needed are already visible.
In ArcCatalog, commands and functions can be accessed
through:
Menus: contain commands (by topic) in a list Buttons and menu
items: execute a command when you click them Tools: require
interaction of the user and generally display a dialog before a
command is executed
Combo boxes: let you choose options from a dropdown list
Text boxes or edit boxes: allows input of parameters.

For the rest of the exercise you will work with the data that you
have copied on your personal drive.

Metadata toolbar
Geography toolbar

Menus

Standard Tool bar

Location Tool bar

Status bar
Type of data sets Contents,
Preview
and Metadata
Catalog
tabs

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1.3 Why use ArcCatalog?

ArcCatalog is a software designed for two main purposes:
� It allows you to manage, access, and explore existing
geographic data irrespective of the format in which the data is
stored or its location (on a local disc or on the network). You can
best compare this with Windows Explorer, but specifically tailored
to Geo-spatial data.
� You can also change the structure of the data. For instance, you
can create a new geodatabase, load existing data into your
geodatabase and delete or add fields in attribute tables. This
exercise mainly focuses on the exploratory part of ArcCatalog.

Browse for maps and data

Like in Windows Explorer, you can view the content of a folder or
database in the Contents tab, and choose how to see the contents:
as small or large icons, in a list with details or as snapshots
showing the geographic content(Fig. 1.3).

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Fig. 1.3 ‘Snapshot’ Preview of
various types of geographic
data which can be managed
with ArcCatalog

Explore the data

For a general understanding of the geographic extent of the data,
the thumbnail view will do. But to examine the geographic data
more closely, the Preview tab allows a detailed display of the data.
Using the appropriate buttons from the Geography toolbar, you
can zoom / pan the geography or identify(get a text description of)
features in your data.

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Fig.1.4 Detailed Preview
of the geographic data

Alternatively, you can switch the display from Geography to Table
and viewthe attribute table associated with the geography.

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Fig. 1.5 Preview of the
attributes associated
with the geographic

View and create metadata

Metadata contains properties and documentation describing the
data. Properties are derived from the data source, like data type
(e.g. shapefile) and geometry type (e.g. polygon). Documentation
is additional information that helps to understand origin and
content: e.g. title, summary description, ownership ,publication
date, language of the dataset; date of metadata creation. A
popular definition of metadata is ‘data about data’.

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Fig 1.6 Metadata
describes the properties
and documents the

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ArcCatalog has a built-in metadata editor. The metadata editor can
be used to store additional information or to create new metadata
when no metadata exist.

ArcCatalog as a gateway to ArcMap

Once you have examined the data using ArcCatalog, you may want
to do some analyses, or create a map using ArcMap. You can open
ArcMap by:
� double-clicking on an ArcMap document. ArcMap documents
can be recognized by the following icon and the extension .mxd.
� pressing the ArcMap button on the Standard toolbar.

Manage data sources

Arc Catalog contains functionalities to manage and organize your
data. Management functions include deleting, copying or renaming
data sets. To organize a well-ordered library of spatial data (either
on your local hard drive or in the network environment) ArcCatalog
includes functions such as creating new folders and new geo-
databases.

1.4 Basic functions of ArcCatalog
You will now use some basic functions to illustrate some of the
functionalitiesmentioned in the previous section.

Browse for maps and data

To browse data, you first have to establish a connection to the location
where the data is stored. This location can be a local disk (C: or D: rive)
some network drive. You were asked to copy the data from Blackboard to
your personal directory - on x: - so you have to establish a connection
to your M: drive:

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 In the Standard toolbar (see Fig. 1.2), find the Connect
to Folder button and click on it.

 � In the Dialog Window, navigate to the X:Excercize,
see Fig. 1.7

 � Click OK

fig. 1.7 Connect to
Folder dialog window

Notice that the X: drive is now added in the Catalog tree.

 Click on the plus sign next to the icon of the X:Exercize in
the Catalog tree to expand the tree one level and see its
contents.

 Select the Exercise folder by clicking once on its icon. You
will see all the files, datasets and subfolders stored under
the selected folder.

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Let’s have a closer look at the content of the subfolders of the
Exercise.

Browse for data.

 Continue to expand the tree: double-click on the icons o f
Exercise>India_ds

! Notice that the content in the folder India is displayed with a
different icon in the Contents tab. This is because ‘India.mdb’ is a
Personal Geodatabase.

Explore the contents of the Personal Geodatabase

Double click on the icon of the ‘India.mdb’ Personal Geodatabase.

The layers in the Personal Geodatabase are now displayed. Layers
within a
Personal Geodatabase are called Feature Classes.
Explore the buttons from the Standard toolbar. Which button
allows you to find out the type of these data?

Answer:................................................................................
! Notice that if you leave the mouse cursor on a button for a few
seconds, a tool tip with the name of the button will appear.
Encircle the data type of each of the following feature classes.

Hint: analyse the feature class properties.

Buildings: Points - Lines – Polygons

India_ds: Points – Lines - Polygons

india_placename: Points

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india_st: Points - Lines – Polygons

railways: Points - Lines – Polygons

india_roads: Points - Lines – Polygons

waterways: Points - Lines – Polygons

To learn more about the data types, refer to the Help menu ‘ArcGIS
Desktop
Help’ on the Contents tab: Data management with ArcCatalog /
Getting started with ArcCatalog / What’s in the Catalog.

In the Standard toolbar, one of the view options is Thumbnails. A
thumbnail is a snapshot of the geography of a file.

 Change the view to Thumbnails. Locate the appropriate
button by moving the mouse over each button of the
Standard toolbar.

 Wait for the tool tip that shows

 Make sure that you have the Contents tab selected (see Fig.
1.3).

Although the view is set to thumbnails, you see that only some
feature classes are displayed as thumbnails, while the others are
simply displayed as large icons. This is because thumbnails are not
created automatically, but you need to specifically create them.

Create Thumbnail

 In the Contents tab select a Feature Class without
thumbnail.

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 Select the Preview tab.

ArcCatalog displays a preview of the geography of the selected
Feature Class. This preview can now be used to create a snapshot
(Thumbnail).

 From the Geography toolbar select Create Thumbnail and
click once.

 Next, return to the Contents tab and notice the icon has
changed into a small image of the preview.

 Convert all remaining icons in the sub-subfolder map
elements into Thumbnails.
Fig. 1.8 Result of
producing the
Thumbnails within the

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 Explore the data

You have learnt to browse data from different sources. In the next
section you will explore the data by displaying both its geography
and its attributes.

 Exploring Geographic data

Most GIS data sets have a geographic and a tabular component.
ArcCatalog allows you to preview either of them; you can toggle
between them using the dropdown list at the bottom of the
Preview window:
Fig. 1.9 Toggle the
contents of the Preview
window

Use the Preview tab
 Select the file: India_ boundary Feature Class from the Catalog
tree

 Select the Preview tab

What you see now in the preview is a vector dataset with the boundaries
of india_ds of the. You can use the Geography toolbar to explore the
geographic data (Fig. 1.10).

Fig. 1.10 The buttons of
the Geographic toolbar

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The Zoom In / Out buttons allow you to control the level of detail
or the extent of the area that is displayed in the preview window.
Select an area of interest

 Click the Zoom In button from the Geography toolbar

 Click and drag a box over your area of interest, then release
the mouse. The area you have defined will now enlarge to
occupy the entire display area of the Preview window.

Click on Zoom button

Fig. 1.11 Defining the
geographic
area to enlarge

Click and drag
a box to define
your area of

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Fig. 1.12 Preview of the
geography
at an enlarged scale The selected
area at an
enlarge scale

You have now enlarged the central part of the Feature Class, the part that
falls outside the Preview window it is not displayed. To maintain the same
scale and see the data beyond the display, select the Pan button. The Pan
button allows you to drag the display in any direction.
Use Pan button

 Select the Pan button from the Geographic Toolbar

 Click and hold the mouse button at any point in the display
window.

 Move the mouse and notice that the display will follow the
movements of the mouse.

 Release the mouse and the display will refresh.

 Practice the Pan button to move around the data
maintaining the same visualization scale.

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When you are finish exploring the data at a selected zoom level,
the Full Extent button allows you to return to the full extent of the
feature class.

Use Full extent button

 Click the Full Extent button and notice that the whole
area is now displayed

The Identify button allows you to retrieve attribute information of a
feature -here the name of a neighborhood - if you point at it with the
mouse.

Click inside the
neighborhood
for which you

All the attributes
of the selected
neighborhood
are displayed in a
separate window the
Fig. 1.13 Process name
to identify the
attributes of a

Use the Identify button

 Click the Identify button

 Click inside one of the neighborhoods in the india_ds area

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 Study the Identify Results window. You’ll notice that one of
the attributes displayed is the name of the india_ds.

You can click inside other neighborhoods to view their attributes

 If you are finished viewing the attributes in this way, close
the
 Identify results window (click on the little cross in the top
right corner
 Exploring Tabular data

Now look at the attribute table of the india_ds Feature Class.
Preview tables

 Change the dropdown list in the Preview to Table (Fig. 1.5;
1.9)

There are several options that allow you to personalize the display
of the table in the preview.

Change how tables look

If you want to change the appearance of the table (e.g. to improve
the readability of the text) you can change the default settings.
E.g.: you may highlight a selection in ‘dark green’ in stead of the
default ‘pale blue’, and you may set the font size to 10pt.

Change default settings

 Click on the heading of one of the columns. Notice that the
whole column turns from white to pale blue

 From the menu: Tools, select Options

 A tabbed dialog window appears. Select the tab: Tables

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Click here to select
the color you want
to use to highlight
selections.

Click here to type
the new font size.

Fig. 1.14 Dialog
window to set
ArcCatalog options.

 Change the default settings to match the settings indicated
above

 Examine the visual result in the table

Change the width of a column

Depending on the font, size and length of records, some of the
information may be hidden and/or not readable. To increase
readability, you may want to change the width of the columns.

Change width of a column

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 Position the mouse over the extreme right edge of the
column heading: DST_ID (notice the pointer of the cursor
changes to )

 Double-click with the left mouse button. The column width
will now be adjusted to the width of the longest entry in
that column.

 Alternatively, click and drag the column’s edge to an
acceptable width Release the mouse

! This change is temporary. If you select a different data set or
close the
ArcCatalog session, the default column width will be restored.

Change the position of a column

Sometimes tables contain many columns. In order to work efficient
you may want to rearrange the columns and to position the ones
you need next to each other.

Reposition a column

 Click the column heading: DST_ID (notice that the whole
column changes to the default color you have just selected)

 Click the column again and hold down the mouse button

 Drag the column heading to the location between the
columns SHAPE* and OBJECTID (notice a red line
indicates the new location of the column ID_)

 Release the mouse button

! This change is temporary. If you select a different data set or
close the

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ArcCatalog session, the columns will resume their default
positions.

Freeze a column

Sometimes you may want to compare the values in one column
with the values in other columns. This can be facilitated by
‘freezing’ them.

Freeze/Unfreeze Columns

 Right-click on the column heading: DISTRICT

 Click Freeze/Unfreeze Column

 Scroll horizontally by moving the horizontal slider to the
right. Notice that the column NAME1_ remains visible.

! This change is temporary. If you select a different data set or close the
ArcCatalog session, all columns will be automatically unfrozen.

Sorting columns

If you need to rearrange the records in a column in alphabetical or
numerical order, proceed as follows:
If you need to rearrange the records in a column in alphabetical or
numerical order, proceed as follows:

Sort Records

 Right-click the column DISTRICT

 In the drop-down list, click Sort Ascending

 Scroll down the list and notice that the numbers increase

! This change is temporary. If you select a different data set or close the
ArcCatalog session, records will resume their default order.

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Calculate statistics

You can display the basic statistics of numeric fields in an attribute table.

Calculate statistics

 Right-click the heading: AREA_

 In the drop-down list, select the option Statistics

 The Statistics dialog box pops up and displays all information
about the values in the column AREA_

Adding a column

It is possible to add a column in the attribute table of a geodata
layer, and to define its properties. Notice, however, that
ArcCatalog will not allow you to enter and/or modify the data in
the records. You will see the editing process later, in exercise 2,
when dealing with ArcMap functions

Add a field to a table

 Click the button Options at the bottom of the Preview
window, and click Add Field. See Fig. 1.15.

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Fig. 1.15 Preview
window – table
mode.

 In the dialog window of Add Field, fill in the name of the
new column. Leave the rest of the properties as they are
(we will treat this later).

 Click OK.

View and editing metadata

Metadata describes data in a standardized way. Metadata are used
to search for and exchange data. Examples of metadata are: file
name, data format, data quality, data accuracy, reference system,
ownership, availability, creation date, update status, description of
attribute names, etc.

By looking at the metadata of a data set, you should be able to
decide if the set can be used for your application. E.g.: do you
need to adapt data to integrate it into your application (e.g.

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change its projection), can you access the data, who to contact to
get it, are there cost involved, etc.

There are a several standards for metadata. Standards provide
common terminology and definitions for the documentation of
digital data. For geospatial data, the two main standards are
defined by:

 the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO)
with the document
 19115 “Geographic Information – Metadata” the Federal
Geographic Data Committee's (FGDC) of the United States.!
It is very important:
 to study the metadata before you use geospatial data
obtained from somebody else, and
 to accurately describe the metadata for the geospatial data
that you produce!

Have a look at the metadata of the Feature Class india_ds
Explore metadata

 In the Catalog tree select india_ds

 In the view area, click the Metadata tab to visualize the
metadata information window.

 Scroll through the metadata and study its’ contents

As explained in section 1.3, metadata consist of properties and
documentation. Properties are derived from the data itself and
documentation is additional descriptive information, generally
supplied by the data creator. But anyuser with writing access can
change or add content to the metadata.

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Fig. 1.16 Metadata
window– Default
Style sheet.

ArcCatalog offers a number of ways to display the metadata, using
different ‘Stylesheets’. Stylesheets define the way in which the metadata
is displayed. By default, ArcCatalog displays metadata using the FGDC
ESRI stylesheet.

Changing stylesheets
Fig. 1.17 Choosing a
Metadata Stylesheet

 Select any of the stylesheets

 Notice the changes in the format of the metadata

Editing metadata

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You can create the metadata for a new data set, or change existing
metadata, by using ArcCatalog’s metadata editor. For example, change
the metadata of the india_ds Feature Class. The data set was produced by
-and obtained from - IIRS, India. You will add information about the IIRS
to give them the credits they deserve and include them as distributor.
The address details are as follows:

Organisation: Indian Institute of Remote Sensing
Address: Kalidas Road,Dehradun
Province: Utteranchal
Postal code:
India

Edit metadata

 Click the button: Edit metadata in the Metadata toolbar

A dialog window opens. Notice that a number of fields have the word
“REQUIRED”
(IN RED), and a brief description of the type of information expected
in that field. The red font is meant to emphasize that these fields are
part of the minimum information required by the metadata standard. For
the time being, add some of the required data. Follow the numerical
sequence as indicated in Fig. 1.18 and 1.19.

 First select Distribution 1 at the top of the dialog window (Fig.
1.18)

 Next, click on the Distribution tab 2 then click on the Details…
button 3 This will open another dialog window.

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2
1

Fig. 1.18 Example of
steps to edit
3
metadata

Fig. 1.19 Editing
contact 4
information with the
Arc-Catalog metadata
editor
5

6

7

Select the Organization 4 option and click on the Address 5
tab.

 Enter name 6 and address of the organization 7 in the
appropriate fields.

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 Click OK and Save

 View the updated information in the metadata window. Note that
some part of the stylesheet will not include all the metadata. To
check the updated information, select the FGDC stylesheet and
click on the Distribution Information link.

Manage data sources

In ArcCatalog you can manage your data in a similar way as in
Windows Explorer.You can copy, move, delete and rename any
item that appears in the Catalog tree or in the Contents window.
As example, create a new folder and copy some existing data into
it.
Create a new folder

 In the Catalog tree, select your X:Exercise folder

 Right click to open the context menu

 Select New and click Folder

Fig. 1.20 Creating a
new folder with
ArcCatalogArc-
Catalog metadata
editor

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 Type a new name for the folder you have just created, e.g.
‘My_folder’

 Copy the Personal Geodatabase “Large_enschede.mdb” to the
new folder.

! Make sure that none of the Feature Classes is active. You should see
nothing displayed in the Contents, the Preview and the Metadata
windows. If any of the Feature Classes is active, ArcCatalog locks the
Personal Geodatabase and returns an error when you try to copy it. It is
easy to manage files and folders in ArcCatalog. You can also create
(empty) geo-spatial data sets. You will learn this later in the course,
together with filling these data sets with new data through ArcMap.

ArcCatalog as a gateway to ArcMap

You have now explored some functions of ArcCatalog, and seen that its
main purpose is data browsing and basic data management. If you want
to editgeo-spatial data, analyse it or create maps, you need another
application of the ArcGIS suite: ArcMap. Most of the exercises that follow
will be about the basics of geoinformation processing with ArcMap.

Access ArcMap:

 From the Standard toolbar select the ArcMap Icon:

When ArcMap opens, you will be prompted to select one of the following:
an empty map, a new template or an existing map.You will do this in the
next exercise. So can stop here and exit ArcMap.

 In the ArcMap dialog window ignore the different options and
click OK
 From the File menu, select Exit

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Arc catalog introduction

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