Some of the common questions about Districting for ArcGIS are answered below.
1. How do I use the Districting for ArcGIS add-on?
The Districting for ArcGIS add-on simplifies the redrawing of political boundaries that local, state, and federal government agencies use to account for population changes. The add-on transforms what was once a long, manual process into a convenient way of defining police beats; sales territories; voting, school, and fire districts; and many other boundaries.
Once you have the base data established, such as counties or ZIP Codes, you can group the units simply by selecting them in ArcMap. Districting for ArcGIS can help you analyze population densities, housing breakdowns, income and race statistics, and other data.
Districting for ArcGIS also makes it easy to quickly draw various alternative boundaries for consideration.
2. What kind of software do I need to use the Districting for ArcGIS add-on?
The Districting for ArcGIS add-on is built on top of Esri's desktop technology and uses both the ArcCatalog and ArcMap applications within ArcInfo, ArcEditor, and ArcView. ArcCatalog is a convenient way to organize and preview districting plans. ArcMap contains an easy-to-use interface for viewing and editing districting plans. To use the Districting for ArcGIS add-on, you need an ArcInfo, ArcEditor, or ArcView license. Districting for ArcGIS supports data in personal geodatabase, shapefile, and coverage formats.
3. How do I get the Districting for ArcGIS add-on?
You can download the Districting for ArcGIS add-on for free. The installation is a self-extracting executable and includes sample data.
4. What kind of documentation, support, and help are available?
The Districting for ArcGIS add-on includes documentation through the ArcGIS Desktop Help menu that provides help on specific topics, as well as a comprehensive tutorial to guide new users through the entire districting process. To access the help section and the tutorial, you must first install the Districting for ArcGIS software. The help file and the tutorial will then be available through the ArcGIS Desktop Help tab. Technical support is not available for free add-ons. However, you may post your questions and discussions in this GeoNet community space.
5. Can I customize the Districting for ArcGIS add-on?
No. Esri has decided not to freely distribute the source code for the Districting for ArcGIS add-on, so it can't be customized at this time.
6. Can the Districting for ArcGIS add-on automatically assign geographic units to districts?
No, the Districting for ArcGIS add-on is designed so that users interactively assign geographic units to districts.
7. When installing the Districting for ArcGIS add-on, I received the message "Corrupt Installation Detected." Why does this error occur?
Verify that your user login is an administrator. When installing the Districting for ArcGIS add-on, the current login user needs to be an administrator because the installation program is adding information to the Windows registry.
8. I installed the Districting for ArcGIS add-on; where do I begin?
You must turn on the Districting for ArcGIS add-on in ArcMap by going to Tools Extensions. Check the Districting box and click Close. Toggle the Districting toolbar (either go through View Toolbars or right-click in the toolbars region near the top of the ArcMap window).
9. I am attempting to create a new plan and load source geography (i.e., census blocks). I do not have any items that populate the key field drop-down list. Why aren't there any items in this list?
The Districting for ArcGIS add-on requires that the values for the field be unique in both the source geography and source attribute datasets. Otherwise, the field will not appear in the key field drop-down list.
Candidates for the join key field must either be integers (including short, long, and small) or strings. Fields set as double will not be listed as candidates.
10. Can I use the Districting for ArcGIS add-on to aggregate point data?
No. At this time, the Districting for ArcGIS add-on only works with polygon data.
11. Why is my existing plan workspace not recognized by the Districting for ArcGIS add-on?
Deleting the GxObjFactCache.dat file from C:\Documents and Settings\(user profile)\Application Data\Esri\ArcCatalog fixes this problem. The file will automatically be re-created by ArcGIS the next time the application is used.
12. Can I use the Districting for ArcGIS add-on with a non-English operating system?
No, the Districting for ArcGIS add-on currently only works with an English-language operating system.
13. What is the maximum number of source geography units that can be used when creating a plan with the Districting for ArcGIS add-on?
For an average machine (512 MB of RAM and a 1 GHz processor), up to 5,000 source geography units can be used to create a plan. To ensure best performance, additional hardware may be required to create a plan that has more than 5,000 source geography units.
