Latest Contributions by TimOrmsby

Hi, There are special cases where the Simple Data Loader can't be used, but it doesn't seem like they shouldn't affect you. (They usually come up when the data is involved in behavioral relationships with other data. More about this in the help topic Loading Data in the Catalog Tree.) Another problem might be if the feature class you're loading into (Parks) has a corrupted OBJECTID field. None of these seems likely, so I'm not sure what's going on. As an alternative you can use the Append geoprocessing tool. Go like this: Open the Append (Data Management) tool from the Search window. Set the Input Datasets to New Parks. Set the Target Dataset to Parks. Set the Schema Type to NO_TEST (lets you append data when field names don't match). In the Field Map area, right-click the TYPE field and choose Add Input Field. In the list of available fields (full paths are used, so you may have to widen the dialog box), click CATEGORY and click OK. (This assigns values from the CATEGORY field in NewParks to the TYPE field in Parks, equivalent to steps H and I on p. 143). Click OK to run the Append tool. This should give you the same result you see in Figure 4-43 on page 145 of the book. If you try this, let me know how it turns out. Here's a link to online help for the Append tool. We can also try and troubleshoot the Load Data problem offline. If you want to do that, send an e-mail to UnderstandingGIS@esri.com. Thanks, Tim ... View more

Hi Gregory, I don't know what's going on. I haven't been able to make it happen for myself, using the book DVD with ArcGIS 10 SP3 on an XP machine running Windows 7. Have tried it by installing the data locally, accessing it from a network drive, and reading it from the DVD: the attribute tables always open normally for me. Can you give me more information about your computer and operating system? Sorry about this. Tim ... View more

Hi Brian, let us know if you have any problems down the road because of this--for example, if graphs or other map files have trouble finding the paths to their source data. When we tested the book, we assumed people would use the prescribed folders and didn't consider what might happen otherwise. It's a good point and we'll take a closer look at it before updating the book. Thanks, Tim ... View more

Hi Meenu, Esri software components for your purposes may be: ArcSDE (for making data from your rdbms accessible to the GIS) ArcGIS for Desktop (for map creation) ArcGIS for Server (for serving maps as map services) various web API's, viewers, and templates (for building web applications) But there are many options depending on your exact needs. It might be useful to look at our resource pages for server and web products. If you are outside the U.S., you will get the best help with all your questions from your local Esri distributor. Check this link: http://www.esri.com/about-esri/locations.html. You may also check the Esri Products page. Some products offer evaluation software. Price information is available on the Products page if you are inside the U.S. and I think also outside the U.S. Esri software does presently support Arabic fonts in maps and tables. At version 10.1, the software user interface will also be localized for the Arabic language. Thanks, Tim ... View more

Hi Phil, glad you got it sorted out. You'll face an issue when you get to Lesson 6 because there are ArcInfo-level geoprocessing tools and you mentioned that you're using an ArcEditor license. It would be best if you could install the trial ArcInfo license that comes with the book (good for 90 days), but if this isn't feasible, please go to the book's web page and click the left-hand link "Using ArcView or ArcEditor" under Book Resources. There's a document with instructions for doing the project with your tools. Tim ... View more

Hi Ryan, No, there's no forum for the Getting to Know ArcGIS workbook. If you have questions or problems with an exercise, you can send an e-mail to Esri Training. The Training Department also has a page of workbook exercise errors that might help. I think it's a good idea, though. I'll ask about getting one started. Tim ... View more

Hi Peter, Drop the Cities layer into the Imagery Basemap layer again to display those warning icons. Then right-click on the Imagery Basemap layer in the Table of Contents and choose Analyze Basemap Layer from the context menu. A table opens at the bottom of ArcMap to show errrors, warnings, and messages (as in attached graphic). The specific meaning of the warning is that the Cities layer is in a different coordinate system than the basemap. Coordinate system mismatches are an issue that surfaces several times in the book and isn't tackled head-on until Exercise 3b. If you double-click directly on the code number for this error (10001) in the table, the ArcGIS help system will open a topic explaining the warning. The risk is that the basemap layer will take longer to draw because it is having to project the Cities layer on the fly. This seems like an odd "error" to draw attention to (we project layers on the fly all the time!) until you know that the purpose of analyzing basemap layers is to publish map services with ArcGIS Server. In other words, this error isn't relevant to our local use of the map document. It's important only in the context of publishing a map service. All this seemed like so much to explain at such an early stage of the book that we took the easy way out and just said "ignore the warning" in a caption. But it never pays to be sneaky, does it? 😛 It might have been better to skip the layer sandwich thing entirely, except that it's a fun and useful thing to do. Does that clarify it? Let me know if you have follow-up questions. Thanks, Tim ... View more

The two documents I described in the last post are now available on our resource center: 1) A table showing where geoprocessing tools are used in the book and which ones need ArcInfo. 2) Supplemental instructions for doing the book with an ArcView or ArcInfo license. On the resource center, click the Using ArcView link, or click here to get there. Tim ... View more

Hi William, The book uses some geoprocessing tools that require an ArcInfo license. The book comes with a code that allows you to download a 90-day version of ArcGIS with an ArcInfo license. If you're doing the book with an ArcView or ArcEditor license instead, you have to work around the ArcInfo functionality. Go the book's resource page and click the Using ArcView link under Book Resources. There's a PDF there with instructions that you can use in conjunction with the book. Re Clip versus Erase: my results with Clip using LARiverBuffer and Parks_Buffer as inputs (in either order) are different from Erase. See attached graphic. What Clip tool parameters did you use? Thanks, Tim ... View more

Hi Ross, The book includes a free 90-day ArcInfo license, so the best solution might be to have the students download and run the software. But I'm not sure if that's compatible with your classroom setup and practice. The heart of the book is the analysis lesson (Lesson 6). There are two key ArcInfo-level gp tools used here: Erase and Identity. You can't get through the book straightforwardly without them. Other ArcInfo-level tools are Aggregate Polygons and Near (also Lesson 6) and the Maplex labeling extension (Lesson 8). These tools are a bit less crucial to the outcome. Basically, using ArcView, you'd have no problems with Lessons 1-5, but 6 and 7 wouldn't work. (Lesson 7 reproduces the analysis of Lesson 6 using ModelBuilder.) There's a resource center for the book at http://resources.arcgis.com/understanding-gis. It has lesson results for each chapter. So you could download the results for Lessons 6 and 7, but it's such an important part of the book, I wouldn't recommend this as a workaround. The resource center will also have software videos for each exercise. Right now, only the Chapter 6 videos are up there--check them out. I think it should be possible to achieve essentially the same analysis results we get in the book using ArcView tools. Just not as easily. I'll try to do that and document the steps and put them up on the resource center. It may take me a little while, though. Regarding a list that cross-references the lessons to software functionality: I'll work on this, too. I can make a table of which gp tools are used in each chapter and what license level they require. But the short answer is that ArcView should be fine for Lessons 1-5. Lessons 6-7 need ArcInfo. Lesson 8 is mapmaking. No gp tools, but it does use Maplex for labeling. Lesson 9 is ArcGIS Explorer Online, with no gp tools used. Tim ... View more

Thank you! And sorry for the inconvenience of uninstalling & reinstalling. On the bright side, you'll get a 90-day eval instead of 60-day, plus the ArcInfo license. Let me know if anything goes wrong. Tim ... View more

Hi Steph, we're working on the remaining videos now & will be posting them lesson by lesson as we complete them. Probably won't have them all up until late fall. Check back periodically, okay? Tim ... View more

Guilherme, yes, Identity is an ArcInfo license-level tool. So are a few others used in the book, like Aggregate Polygons. The book comes with a code to download an evaluation version of ArcGIS with ArcInfo license. Are you using the book with a different installed version and a lower license level? Tim ... View more

thanks - yes, exactly, the wording "start in presentation mode when opened by others" is unqualified. Ideally, the behavior would work for all clients, but if it's not going to, at least the user shouldn't be led to expect it. ... View more