topic The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information...... in Data Management Questions

The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information......

GeospatialTechnology — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:49:29 GMT

Okay so i've been opening some 1km x 1km aerial photographs in ArcMap. They are in .tif format

When i open them I get the following message:

"The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information. This data
data can be be drawn in ArcMap but cannot be projected".

How do I spatially reference the files?

I dont undestand this as they open in the correct location after the message has been displayed.

Re: The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information...

GayathriAlallasundaram — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:33:21 GMT

Hi,

That means that ArcGIS doesn't know what the projection is. It projects it on the fly if the extents are correct. First, check the data's source, a dataset will have a text/metadata file that lists what coordinate system needs to be used. If you do not know what projection it needs to be in, then refer to these KB Articles for help.

http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/29129

http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/29280

http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/24893

-Gayu

Re: The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information...

GeospatialTechnology — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:10:19 GMT

Hello Gayu, Thanks I know that the datatsets needs to be in British National Grid and they do indeed project correctly.

When I go into "Layer Properties" and then look at "Source" the Spatial Reference is set as undefined.

How do i go about defining the spatial reference? Thanks for your help! 🙂

Re: The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information...

TimothyHales — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:21:38 GMT

There are two way to define a projection for your raster dataset.

1. From the Catalog window, open the properties of the raster dataset. Scroll down to the spatial reference information. Click the Edit button, and then select the coordinate system.

2. The Define Projection tool will allow you to set the coordinate system.

Re: The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information...

GeospatialTechnology — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 14:59:27 GMT

Thanks Thales that does the trick!

Re: The following data sources you added are missing spatial reference information...

ArushiMathur — Thu, 29 May 2025 20:59:20 GMT

Hi Timothly,
I tried these steps and facing a similar issue. I am unable to correct the coordinates in GIS when I import Revit with correct coordinates. It floats on ocean what am I missing?