Unable to project

[HarshUpadhyay]

I downloaded DSMW soil map that had a missing spatial reference. I tried to reproject it to utm coordinates (WGS 1984 43N) with the data management project tool, define projection tool and the batch project tool but none of them worked. However, in the properties of the projected map, the spatial reference shows up as the one I project it to. What might be the problem here?

[HarshUpadhyay]

after reprojecting to wgs 1984 43N, the coordinate system does change to decimal degrees but I need it to be in metres. 

[DanPatterson_Retired]

If it was missing a spatial reference, then you need to find out what it was and use the Define Projection tool to set the coordinate system.  If it was not in the coordinate system you wanted, then you use the Project Tool to make a new file with the desired coordinate system.  

You might get lucky and use the Define Projection tool and get what you wanted in the first place, but you can't skip that step.  Define first, Project if it isn't what you want is the rule.

PS to check what a file might be, simply load it then examine its Extents in the layer properties, if they are in the range +/- 180 to +/- 90, then it is undoubtedly a geographic coordinate system, not projected (perhaps GCS WGS84)

[HarshUpadhyay]

The extents of the unprojected shapefile is:

Left = -180.000977

Right = 180

Top = 83.623596

Bottom = -56.014492

So does it comes under GCS WGS84?

[DanPatterson_Retired]

definitely a GCS aka, unprojected, decimal degree coordinates. 

Probably a WGS84 datum unless you have a reason to suspect that the datum is different.  And... with that coverage, you sure don't have sub-meter accuracy, so I wouldn't worry much and just use GCS WGS84

[HarshUpadhyay]

Thanks a lot. It worked.