Most of the issues some of y’all experienced Wednesday were due to poor workspace management. Each of these issues is solved by creating a workspace folder on the c:\ drive and saving/copying/exporting/… everything to it. This is what I saw Wednesday:
- Not correctly copying existing workspace from your network drive to the c:\ drive: You created your workspace on the c:\ drive and you saved your ArcMap project and all of the data you used/created in your c:\ drive workspace. Up to this point, all is well. When you finished work on your project, you copied your c:\ drive workspace folder up to your network space (the m:\ drive). Now, back at the computer terminal, you opened your ArcMap project from your network space (the m:\ drive) and the layers in your TOC all had the red-!-of-death. This approach does not work. You created and saved a project that references data layers from your c:\ drive workspace; the workspace is deleted every time the computer is rebooted. You should have copied the folder from your network drive (the m:\ drive) onto the c:\ drive and then open the ArcMap project residing in that c:\ drive workspace folder.
- Not copying downloaded data from the Downloads folder to your c:\ drive workspace: Chrome and Internet Explorer and Firefox default to your Downloads folder. Your Downloads folder is saved in a hidden folder on the d:\ drive. This drive is not mapped to ArcMap. Every time you download a GIS layer, copy it from this Downloads folder to your c:\ drive workspace and then uncompress it. I set these computers up so ArcMap does not scan the d:\ drive for speed purposes, so if you leave your GIS layers in the Downloads folder then you will not be able to access them by default. Save everything to your c:\ drive workspace folder.
- Not explicitly supplying the output location: Most ArcMap dialogs will either ask for an “Output dataset” or an “Output location”. Every time, you need to use the file/open dialog button to navigate, in the first case, to your c:\ drive workspace and enter a new file name, or in the second case, navigate to your c:\ drive workspace folder. If you do not do this, the outputs will be saved in your profile folder on thed:\ drive that ArcMap can not see by default.
In lab today, before doing anything else, I want you to demonstrate your understanding of the digitizing process before you begin work on the Walton county map.
- Create working directory on C:\ drive called “l4test”
- Download this file (Lab4_aerial_NAIP2015.img) and then copy it over to c:\l4test
- Download the test file geodatabase I created for you and copy it over to c:\l4test
- This file is compressed, you have to uncompress it before you use it. Navigate to c:\l4test in File Explorer – you should see the l4testgdb.gdb.zip file you just downloaded. Right-click on it > Extract All > MAKE SURE THE EXTRACT PATH POINTS TO C:\L4TEST\ > hit ok
- Start a NEW INSTANCE of ArcMap
- Save your project as “l4testproject” into the c:\l4test folder. Notice the home folder is set in the Catalog as c:\l4test\.
- Set the data frame coordinate system (view > data frame properties menu > coordinate system tab > projected>utm>nad 1983>zone 17N
- Save your project again
- Add the image you downloaded in step 2 to your project. This is your georeferenced data source.
- I HAVE ALREADY DONE THIS FOR YOU. LOAD THE l4type FEATURE CLASS FROM THE GEODATABASE YOU DOWNLOADED IN STEP 3.
Create a new file geodatabase in c:\l4test called “l4testgdb”- Create a new feature class called “l4type” inside the geodatabase you just created
- should be a polygon
- add a TEXT field called “mytype”
- add a FLOAT field called “myacres”
- your new layer, l4type, should now be in the table of contents
- Create a new feature class called “l4type” inside the geodatabase you just created
- Right-click on l4type > Edit Features > Start Editing (do it this way, it is easier)
- Select your edit feature (l4type) in the ‘Create Features’ window
- if it does not appear, Editor tool bar > editing windows > create features)
- I will spend time today explaining the next steps – creating and cutting polygons. This information is also in Wednesday’s lecture document.
I will post the lab after I see that y’all understand the process.