ArcGIS Procedures

The following provides a set of links to various ArcGIS tutorials that are available online. For more ArcGIS help, please refer to ESRI ArcGIS Help Library

The Basics

A quick tour of ArcMap (ArcGIS Resource Center)
A quick tour of ArcCatalog (ArcGIS Resource Center)
To learn more, click here to browse a complete list of Esri ArcGIS Desktop & ArcGIS Extensions tutorials
Guides to ArcGIS Procedures (OCUL)
GIS & Data Tutorials (University of Toronto Mississauga)

Working with Maps

Creating maps in ArcMap: a quick guide 2011-2012 tutorial (University of Waterloo)
Getting started with ArcGIS 2014 tutorial (University of Waterloo)

Data Conversion

Is your data ready for use in ArcGIS? If not, you may require:

Converting ArcInfo interchange files (.e00) to ArcInfo coverages (ArcGIS Resource Center)
Converting SNIF tabular data formats (.tbl) to DBSE format (.dbf) (Trent University)
Formatting binary image & header file for use in ArcGIS (McGill University)
Importing DMTI clutter data into ArcGIS (McGill University)
Converting raster data to vector for use in overlay analysis (Trent University)

Converting GIS data to other formats for exchange:

Converting GIS files to CAD format (University of Toronto)
Saving older MXD files in ArcMap (University of Toronto)

Spatial Reference

Understanding projections and coordinate systems (ArcGIS Resource Center)
Defining projections in ArcGIS 10 (University of Guelph)
Defining projections for multiple datasets (batch process) (University of Guelph)
Creating points from x,y coordinate data in ArcMap (Brock University)
Converting latitude/longitude in decimal degrees to UTM units using Filed Calculator (Brock University) or Online Transverse Mercator Calculator (DMAP)
Converting latitude/longitude in degrees minutes seconds to decimal degree by using
- Convert Coordinate Notation Tool (ArcGIS Resource Center): First assemble your coordinates in tabular format (.ccv or .dbf). Degree-minute-second (DMS) coordinates should be stored as a single string in one field. Latitude is first followed by longitude separated by spaces (e.g., 43 33 36.60 80 15 53.72). If the location is west of the Prime Meridian, the longitude must be expressed as a negative value in all the Degree-minute-second numbers (e.g., -80 -15 -53.72).
- Online Decimal Degree Calculator

Extract and Merge

Clipping a single layer of geospatial data in ArcGIS 10 (University of Guelph)
Clipping Data Frame View (Brock University)
Selecting geospatial data in ArcGIS 10 (University of Guelph)
Merging/mosaicking geospatial data in ArcGIS 10 (University of Guelph)
Generating orthoimagery raster mosaics (University of Waterloo)

Georeferencing

Georeferencing images in ArcGIS 10 (University of Guelph)
Georeferencing raster dataset using Arc Map 10.1 (University of Waterloo)

Geocoding

Geocoding addresses in ArcGIS 10.1 (University of Guelph)
Geocode street addresses with Google Earth and ArcGIS (University of Waterloo)

Vector Data Analysis

Calculating geometry (area, length, centroids) (University of Guelph)
Creating and using buffers (vector & raster) (University of Guelph)
Vector analysis using ArcGIS (University of Waterloo)

Working with Digital Elevation Model (DEM)

Data Preprocessing: DEM files are created in a variety of formats (.dem, .flt, .asc, .txt), which require processing before use with GIS software. The following tutorial outlines steps to convert, project and merge DEM data for use in ArcGIS.
- Working with DEM-DTM in ArcMap 10.1 (University of Waterloo)
- Finding, converting and merging DEMs in ArcGIS 9.x (University of Western Ontario)
- Working with Canadian Digital Elevation Data in ArcGIS 9.x (Ryerson University)
Surface Analysis: DEM is a raster representation of a continuous surface (i.e., the surface of the earth) where each cell in the raster dataset represents surface elevation. Patterns that are not readily apparent in the DEM can be derived from it, such as shaded relief, contours, slope, aspect, hillshade, viewshed, curvature and cut/fill. In ArcGIS, this can be completed by using the Surface Analysis tools provided in the Spatial Analyst toolbar.
- Surface analysis using DEM data in ArcGIS 10 (University of Guelph)
- 3D Visualization Using ArcScene (Brock University)