Introduction

ArcGIS Desktop lets you perform the full range of GIS tasksfrom
geodatabase design and management to data editing, from map query to
cartographic production and sophisticated geographic visualization and analysis.
It is where the core work of GIS occurs. This book gives you an overview of the
ArcGIS Desktop system and shows you how to access the basic functions of the
software.
This chapter introduces ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcToolboxthe
basic framework of ArcGIS Desktopincluding the structure of each, the
functions each performs, and how theyre used together. It also provides insight
into the underlying design concepts of ArcGIS, and describes where to get help.
Chapters 2 through 5 get you started with the specific tasks youll perform as
you use ArcGIS. Theyre organized around the major functional areas of the
software. Each chapter contains an overview and then describes common tasks.
The book covers the functions most people will use, plus a number of
specialized tasks that you may need for specific applications. It illustrates the
various tasks you can perform, shows where to access them in the user interface,
and shows how to get started with a particular task using basic or default
settings.
The tasks presented here, plus many additional tasks and functions, are
described in detail in the Desktop Help system (discussed at the end of this
chapter).
In addition to providing an overview of ArcGIS Desktop, this book can be used
as a quick reference to the interface and to common tasks. The book includes
functions available in ArcInfothe full-function ArcGIS Desktop productas
well as in the ArcView and ArcEditor products (these products are described
later in this chapter, as well as in the book What is ArcGIS 9.2?).

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Using ArcGIS Desktop

ArcGIS Desktop quick tour

Most of your GIS work will revolve around maps, so exploring a map is a good way
to start getting familiar with the software. The following brief tour introduces the two
main integrated ArcGIS Desktop applicationsArcMap and ArcCatalogalong with
ArcToolbox. Youll see what they look like and get a sense of what they do.

ArcMap is the application youll use to make maps, edit data, and display the results of your
analysis. ArcCatalog is the application youll use to search for, preview, and manage your
geographic data. Its also used to build GIS databases. Youll use the tools in ArcToolbox for
processing geographic databoth to create databases and to perform geographic analysis.
(The next section, The ArcGIS Desktop framework, describes ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and
ArcToolbox in more detail, and introduces the ArcGIS Desktop extension products.)

ArcGIS uses a standard Windows interface, for the most partmany buttons will be
familiar, and many menu options are found where youd expect them to be (Open, Save, and
Print are found on the File menu, Copy and Paste are on the Edit menu).

To begin the tour, select the ArcGIS program group from the Start menu, and select
ArcMap. When prompted, click the option to open An existing map, select Browse for maps
from the list, and click OK. Browse to the Using_ArcGIS_Desktop folder under the tutorial
data distributed with ArcGIS Desktop (the default location is C:\ArcGIS\ArcTutor). Select
MexicoPopulationDensity.mxd and click Open.

What youre looking at is a map layout view of the population density of Mexico (in 1990).
Each state is color-coded based on the number of people per square mile. The rulers along
the top and side of the view show you the size of the map were you to print itin this case
8.5 x 11 inches. The map displayed on the screen is not a static image of a map (as a printed
map would be), but rather is interactiveyou can change the data that is displayed, change
its appearance, change the scale of the map by zooming in or out, and more.

Before continuing, if others in your organization will be running through this tour, make a
copy of the map. Click the File menu and click Save As. Give the copy a different name
this is the map youll be working with.

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