Latest Contributions by MargaretMaher

Hi, Kelly, in response to your question about working with network data, I generally try to keep network paths as short as possible, or at least make the connection through Windows Explorer as near to the folder containing the data you are working on as possible.  It's more efficient, and also less likely that network traffic will interfere with your operation on the data. Working with shapefiles specifically, I do not know why, but shapefiles are 'discontented' if placed in a folder named "temp", "TEMP" or any variation thereof.  They are also 'discontented' if there is a folder with that name ANYWHERE in the path to the shapefile.  The data simply does not behave properly for certain operations. The issue with joining a feature class to a DBF table could be differences in the item definitions - a feature class in a geodatabase can have field names longer than 10 characters, the Short and Long Integer fields are slightly different lengths, etc.  Joining a DBF table to a shapefile on the other hand pretty much insures that the field names and field type definitions will match, since the attribute table for the shapefile is another DBF. I hope this is helpful, that you had a lovely Christmas and that the coming New Year will be the best ever. ... View more

I am sorry this is an issue for so many of our customers.  I have copied here a list of suggestions and recommendations I have compiled over my 17 years in Tech Support that have helped a lot of users improve performance with ArcGIS Desktop.  This is not the complete list, but these are all really useful for troubleshooting performance issues: Note that these are all valuable troubleshooting techniques that have resolved a multitude of problems in ArcGIS Desktop for many users.  I would recommend keeping the list and applying many of the suggestions as preventative measures, even if no problems are occurring. 1]  First of all, the quickest and easiest thing to try is to have another user log into the computer, and see if performance is equally poor for another user.  If it is NOT, have the IT department replace the user profile for the original user.  If the other user also has the same problem, continue reading. 2]  With ArcMap and ArcCatalog both closed, use Windows Explorer to access the path below: C:\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\ArcGIS\Desktop10.x\Configuration\CATID In this  context, "Desktop10.x" may be Desktop10.0; Desktop10.1; Desktop10.2, Desktop 10.3, Desktop 10.4, or any combination thereof. Within each Desktop10.x folder that exists, open the folder named "Configuration" and rename the CATID folder within it.  The CATID folder contains files which have the extension .ECFG.  These files will initialize some Esri extensions such as Business Analyst, but may also exist for unsupported 3rd party applications that have been installed on the computer, either at the current version, or previously.  Since these applications are not tested or certified by Esri, they can prevent ArcGIS from operating correctly. Renaming the CATID folder(s) will not remove these applications, but will prevent ArcGIS from initializing them on startup. The Desktop 10.x folder in which the CATID folder resides indicates the version of ArcGIS Desktop at which the custom application was installed.  A 3rd party plugin may function without a problem for 2 or even 3 version, then with a new install cause ArcMap to crash, or even fail to start up. It may be necessary to run a repair on the install of ArcGIS Desktop, but in most cases this step is not necessary. DO NOT LOOK FOR ANY OTHER FILES, WHICH HAVE AN ECFG EXTENSION, IN ANY OTHER LOCATION ON YOUR COMPUTER.  THE LOCATION  LISTED IS VERY SPECIFIC AND IS RELATED ONLY TO THE ISSUE DESCRIBED ABOVE.  Other files with an ECFG extension may exist on your computer in other locations but these are not involved in this issue. 3]  After performing the above step, restart ArcMap and go to Customize > Add-In Manager.  If any add-ins exist on the computer, other than the Esri Add-In that allows  access to ArcGIS Online, delete it. 4]  Click on your Start button, and in the "Search programs and files" box, type in the letters UAC.  Open the User Account Control Settings dialog.  Change the value to "Never notify" if you have permissions to do so.  If not, have one of your IT staff change this setting for you. 5]  To improve performance in ArcMap, do the following: a)  On a weekly basis, go to Start > All Programs > Accessories > System tools, and run Disk Cleanup, followed by the Disk Defragmenter.  I run the Disk Cleanup on both my machines a few minutes before I leave on Friday afternoon.  I delete the unnecessary files, then start the Disk Defragmenter before I leave for the weekend.  On Monday morning when I  come in, I reboot both  my computers, so they are cleaned up and ready to go.  Windows 7 generates a huge number of temporary files, and does not clean these up, so this is essential. WARNING:  DO NOT RUN DISK DEFRAGMENTER ON A SOLID STATE HARD DRIVE! b)  In ArcMap go to Customize > ArcMap Options > Display Cache tab, and clear the display cache if it is larger than 0.  The display cache is useful when using online imagery or data in the current session, but saves by default when the ArcMap session is closed.  Several hundred MBs of cached imagery will impact performance. c)  In ArcMap go to Geoprocessing > Geoprocessing Options, and uncheck "Enable" for Background Processing.  This is personal preference, but running a process in the background takes quite a bit longer than in the foreground.  Usually a  process that will take several hours can be run overnight, rather than when the user is present.  Also, if an error occurs I want to see it immediately. d)  In the same dialog, change the "Geoprocessing Results" to save for a shorter time than 2 weeks.  When starting ArcMap or ArcCatalog, all saved results are validated during the startup process.  If you run a lot of Geoprocessing tools this can take an excessive amount of time. Save the MXD to save the above changes to your Normal.mxt ArcMap template. 6]  Minimize the number of network connections in ArcMap.  Each time ArcMap starts up, ALL the network connections to GIS data sources must be validated.  If many connections exist, this can be very time-consuming.  Also, when creating a connection to a data source, create the connection at the lowest level in the directory structure that will allow the data to open. 7]  Start components of ArcGIS Desktop from Start > Programs.  Desktop shortcuts used to start the program can become corrupted and result in strange behavior in the application. 8]  when you have downloaded a fresh copy of ArcGIS Desktop or other software from the Esri website, run the Checksum utility on the ISO (installer) file to validate the download before installing the program.  Checksum instructions and download can be accessed at the link below: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/software-tools/ht/file-checksum-integrity-verifier.htm 9]  If problems are occurring when opening old MXDs created at previous versions of ArcGIS, apply the MXD Doctor utility.  This utility will generate a new copy of the MXD if possible and copy over all valid features. 10]  If VBA code was used to create an MXD in a previous version of ArcGIS, the MXD will return errors and will not open.  The MXD Doctor may enable the MXD to open, so that the objects in the map created with VBA scripting can be deleted. 11]  If ArcMap documents are very slow to open, apply the Document Defragmenter utility, which can be found at Start > All  Programs > ArcGIS > Desktop tools.  The defragmenter will remove bits and pieces of object that were held in memory from an edit session for example.  Typically this utility will reduce the size of a bloated MXD by 50% or more, greatly speeding up opening the file. 12]  Certain virus scanning programs have been identified as causing problems with ArcMap, including crashes on opening.  Make a note of the virus scanning program on the computer, and white list ArcGIS Desktop in the the virus scanning program.  These may include Malware Bytes, Microsoft Security Essentials, Kaspersky, Avast, AVG, Cylance, and others. 13]  For serious performance issues, Process Monitor can be used to identify software on the computer or network that are consuming resources so that ArcMap cannot operate at maximum efficiency. Download Process Monitor from the link below, then run the application while working on the process in ArcMap to capture what is going on with the computer. Process Monitor will record every operation being performed on the computer, and the amount of time each operation takes.  The PML files created by this application can contains hundreds of thousands or millions of entries, since they record times of events to the 1/10-millionth of a second.  Installing and running this application  wil allow you to see if any specific process on thecomputer is interfering with ArcGIS Desktop.  The utility can be downloaded at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645 Download and unpack the ZIP file to C:\Program Files\Process Monitor. To run Process Monitor, turn off ALL applications - Internet Explorer or other internet access application, email, instant messaging, etc. - that are running on your computer.  The files generated by this program are massive, and we must avoid reporting irrelevant processes. Start ArcMap and get ArcMap set up to run the process where you are experiencing the problem. Go to C:\Program Files\Process Monitor and double click procmon.exe to start the application. After Process Monitor has started up, continue your operations in ArcMap for two to three minutes, so ProcMon has time to capture the problem in the process, but prevent the file from becoming so huge that it is unmanageable. In Process Monitor, click File and uncheck Capture Events. Save the report in the native PML format and reopen the PML file by double clicking.  There is information online about how to work with these files. ======================================= Good luck and hope these suggestions will help all of you. ... View more

Just a comment on the above discussion.  Deleting the folder at "C:\Program Files\Common Files\ArcGIS" will remove folders lower down the directory structure at C:\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\ArcGIS\Desktop 10.x\Configuration\CATID where Desktop 10.x is the version at which 3rd party extensions, or some Esri extensions, were installed.   Those may be 10.0, 10.1, 10.2. 10.3. 10.4 OR 10.5.  There will be a separate "Desktop" for each version at which an extension was installed.  The CATID folder(s) will contain files with a .ECFG extension, which initialize these 3rd party extensions or Esri extensions when ArcMap starts up.  Renaming the respective CATID folders, or deleting the ArcGIS folders will prevent the extensions from initializing but does not remove the extension from the computer. Whenever doing an upgrade from one version of ArcGIS Desktop to another, all 3rd party extensions, or Esri extensions that were installed with the program must also be removed.  If needed, reinstall after checking to make sure that version of the extension is supported for the new version of ArcGIS. A story to illustrate the potential problems: a customer called, had just installed ArcGIS Desktop 10.4.1 and found that they could not start ArcMap.  Splash screen would appear, then disappear, but the application would not start.  Turned out that at 10.0 the customer had installed ET Geowizards, and never removed it.  When the CATID folder under 10.0 was renamed, ArcMap started.  No problems at all from 10.0 through 10.4, but at 10.4.1, ET Geowizards caused ArcMap to choke. ... View more

The easiest way to do this is to go to View > Data Frame Properties > Coordinate System tab.  Open Geographic Coordinate Systems > North America, and select "NAD 1983" with nothing after it, for example.  Click Apply and OK, and set the Geographic Transformation if one is needed.  Open the Attribute table for the point layer, and add two fields, named X_DD and Y_DD for example, defined as Double fields.  Select the X_DD field, and using the Calculate Geometry tool, calculate the X-coordinate in the Coordinate System of the ArcMap Data Frame.  Using the same tool calculate the Y-coordinate, also in the coordinate system of the Data Frame. Incidentally, the above coordinates cannot be in Web Mercator.  Mercator coordinates are negative in X (Longitude) in North America.  those values are either StatePlane or UTM coordinates, because both X and Y are positive numbers. You might want to check out my book, "Lining up data in ArcGIS: a guide to map projections" which is available from Esri Press or from Amazon or other booksellers.  Disclaimer - I am an Esri employee and do not receive royalties on the sale of the book. Margaret Maher  Senior Support Services Analyst ... View more

So far we have not been able to reproduce this error in-house.  As with other errors plaguing the Esri user community, the Esri developers are unable to fix the problem without a repro case.  I have noticed that this error also occurs in other programs like Adobe, Hallmark 2011, and several others that I am not familiar with.  In one post, there was mention of using 3D symbols in the map document, and that the error was resolved with the 3D symbols were removed.  This looks like it may be graphics-related, so upgrading or changing out the video card driver might allow progress with this issue.  FYI - the most recent report of this error message is occurring at 10.3.1 of ArcGIS Desktop.  Please keep us in the loop and post if you find any step that resolves this issue on your computers.  Margaret Maher ... View more

Matt,  check to see if you have an update for Python 2.7.11 that was pushed out last December.  This was logged as BUG-000092928 in our system, Python has been notified and they have logged Issue 25824: 32-bit 2.7.11 installer creates registry keys that are incompatible with the installed python27.dll - Pytho…  with their highest severity.  The workaround is to uninstall this update.  Please try this and let us know if this resolves your issue.  Margaret Maher, Esri Support ... View more

Good morning, Angela!  You are absolutely correct.  You will use the transformation WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983 (WKID 108190), as this is the most accurate transformation available at this time.   Have a great day! Margaret ... View more

Angela, Please do not use the transformation NAD_1983_TO_WGS_1984_1.  This is an old transformation that treats these two datums as being identical, and they are not.  The semi-major axes, between the center of the earth and the Equator are the same, but the semi-minor axes, from the center of the earth to the poles are different lengths, so the two spheroids and datums have different curvatures.  You will notice that this transformation has parameter values of 0, which means that this transformation does not do anything except rename the datum.  In ArcGIS Desktop, the most accurate transformation that is available between NAD 1983 and WGS 1984 is WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983.  Note that geographic transformations work with equal accuracy in either the forward or the reverse direction, as noted in Knowledge Base article 21327.  Please post if you have additional questions and thank you!  Margaret ... View more

Responding to Dennis Patterson's post today, ArcMap does not apply any Geographic (datum) transformations automatically.  When the warning appears about the Geographic Coordinate System differing from other data in the map, a Geographic (datum) transformation must be selected by the user.  The best resource for selecting the "best" transformation method is the list linked to Knowledge Base article 21327.  This provides the names of available transformations in alphabetical order, the WKID, the accuracy of the transformation in meters, a verbal description of the area of use, coordinates for the extent for which the transformation should be used, and the transformation method and parameters.  21327 - Select the correct geographic (datum) transformation when projecting between datums From the description in the case above, it sounds like the imagery did not have its' projection correctly defined.  Could have been in decimal degrees in a Geographic Coordinate System, but defined as a Projected Coordinate System by mistake. ... View more

I appreciate Adrian's confidence in me, but Melita Kennedy (see her post above) has taught me everything I know about map projections.  Melita is correct - ArcMap does project data in the fly, but if a single element in the Geographic Coordinate System (GCS) is just a hair different, as in a difference in the spelling, or the 13th digit to the right of the decimal, then ArcMap will ask for a Geographic Transformation even if one is not needed.  To address another question above, a GCS consists of four elements - a datum; a spheroid, angular units of measure; and a Prime Meridian. I am also guilty of talking about "datum transformations" but these are actually "Geographic Transformations", since if any one of these elements is changed a transformation has to be applied - so it's not just a "datum transformation".   Anyone following this thread may want to also check out my book "Lining Up Data in ArcGIS - a guide to map projections".  FYI - I do NOT receive royalties, but think it will help our customers who are confused by projections like I was before Melita spent 2 1/2 years of her life sorting me out!@ ... View more

Reinstalling or upgrading to a new version of ArcGIS does not replace the Normal.mxt or other profile files that are associated with ArcGIS Desktop, but here are two other suggestions: 1]   If you have someone else in your shop who can log into your computer with their login, have that user try to start ArcMap. If ArcMap still won't start, there is a software or OS problem.  If the other user CAN start ArcMap without a problem, a likely cause is a corrupt Windows profile.  You can also check this yourself by logging in as a GUEST.  2]  Another thing to check is virus scanning software.  Avast, Kaspersky, and some other antivirus products conflict with ArcMap and see essential components as malware.  White list the ArcGIS folder under C:\Program Files(x86) to see if that solves the problem. ... View more

Adrian, I would really like to talk to you about this issue, because I have a great deal of information that I can provide that will help you move forward.  However, when you receive a DGN file that is in a local projection, you do not have any way of knowing what the revised values for the False Easting and False Northing need to be in your custom projection file.  Also, if a rotation is involved, the Lambert Conformal Conic projection does not support a rotation parameter, but DOES support a Scale Factor if scaling is involved.  Also, Microstation uses the International Foot, rather than the US Survey Foot by default so you have to be able to verify the units for the projection.  If you have a maintenance agreement for your software with Esri, please give Support Services a call and ask to talk to me.  Thank you!  Margaret Maher, author of "Lining Up Data in ArcGIS: a guide to map projections". ... View more

Hello Adrian, Rather than continually creating custom projection files for your CAD data, I recommend identifying the projection for the DGN files first in ArcMap.  A lot of CAD data is actually being created in a recognized coordinate system that is already supported in ArcGIS Desktop, so that a custom projection file is not even necessary.  To go through this process start by reading Knowledge Base article 29129 from the Support Center.  That will help you identify the type (Geographic, Projected or Local) that the data is actually created in.  The article contains links to additional articles that provide instructions on how to deal with what you find. You might also want to check out my book "Lining Up Data in ArcGIS: a guide to map projections (second edtition)" from Esri Press.  Chapters 4, 5 and 6 deal specifically with projections for CAD files, although the processes also work for other types of data with unknown coordinate systems.  Hope this is helpful and Happy Holidays! ... View more

I am sure that the issue you are seeing is due to Microstation using units of International Feet by default, rather than U. S. Survey Feet.  This is discussed in Knowledge Base article 31057: http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/31057 To resolve the issue, you can modify the State Plane projection file to apply the Internation Foot unit (foot, Meters per unit .3048) then use the customized projection file to project the raster, then export. General instructions for modifying a projection file are found in articles 30583, with additional information in 32939: http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/30583 http://support.esri.com/en/knowledgebase/techarticles/detail/32939 Hope this helps! Margaret Maher Esri Support ... View more