GIS Theory and Applications Laboratory Exercise: Working with Raster and Vector Data

I. Objectives
The objectives of this exercise are:
(1) to import raster and vector datasets into ArcGIS and view the properties of each data type
(2) to change the spatial reference of the datasets from one projection to another
(3) to convert files from vector to raster and/or vice-versa
(4) to define symbologies for the datasets based on their attributes/properties

II. Datasets
You are provided with a folder named LabEx2Data containing the following files:
(1) Contour lines in UP Campus (File UPcontours with extensions .dbf, .prj, .sbn, . sbx, .shx and .shp)
(2) Boundary polygon (File UPboundary with extensions .dbf, .prj, .sbn, . sbx, .shx and .shp)
(3) Pansharpened image subset of UP Diliman (File PansharpUPsubset.tif)

III. Procedures
A. Working with Vector Data
1. Import the shapefiles UPcontours and UPboundary polygon into ArcMap. The two layers must appear in your
Data View with horizontal displacement (i.e. contours not exactly within the bounding polygon).
2. In your Table of Contents, right click on the layer name UPcontours and select Properties. Go to Source Tab in
the Layer Properties window. What are the details found in the said tab?
3. In ArcCatalog, go to your working folder where you saved the vector files. Right click on the UPcontours file
and select properties. The Shapefile Properties window will appear. The information on the tabs in this
window can also be found in the Layer Properties window of the same file. What are the
similarities/differences on the details that can be viewed on the two windows?
4. Do steps 2 and 3 for UPboundary shapefile. What is the coordinate system of this layer?
5. In order to fit the contour lines within the bounding polygon, reproject the layer UPboundary. Go to
ArcToolbox  Data Management Tools  Projections and Transformations  Project. In the Project window,
set input to the boundary shapefile and name your output feature class in the same working folder as
UPboundary_UTM. You will use this reprojected file instead for the next parts of the exercise.

B. Working with Raster Data

6. Import the UP Diliman image. A large portion of the image must overlap with your vectors.
7. In your Table of Contents, right click on the layer name PansharpUPsubset and select Properties. What are the
details found on your raster data? What is the spatial resolution of the image?
8. In the Symbology Tab, compare the contents of this tab between the raster and vector layer UPcontours.
What is the difference in their symbologies?
9. Under the Symbology Tab, select RGB composite option found in the left side. A specific band can be
assigned to a channel. Red, Green and Blue (RGB) channels are assigned initially as Band_1, Band_2 and
Band_3, respectively. Change the settings of RGB to Bands 231. Click Apply. What happened to your image
after applying the new band combination? Describe the changes in your raster data.

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GIS Theory and Applications Laboratory Exercise: Working with Raster and Vector Data

C. Conversion of Data Types

10. Use the contour data to see how an elevation grid can be created. Look at the attribute table and see which
field holds the contour heights.
11. To create a Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN), go to ArcToolBox  3D Analyst Tools  Data
Management  TIN  Create TIN. Save to your working folder your output TIN as UP_TIN. Set the
Coordinate System to the spatial reference of the contours. Set the contours as the input feature class.
Specify the height field (i.e. the source of elevation data) and choose mass points as the SF_Type.
a. When the system has finished making the TIN take a close look at its structure. Are the triangles bigger in
the flat areas or the hilly areas? Why?
b. Examine the properties of your TIN layer. How many data nodes and data triangles comprise your TIN?
What are the fields available?
12. Convert the TIN to a grid with your chosen grid size: ArcToolBox  3D Analyst Tools  Conversion  From
TIN  TIN to Raster. Set Input_TIN to UP_TIN and save output raster to your working folder as
UP_TINRaster. Check the selections for the other settings (Note: Additional info on the options can be found
on the right side of the window). Set the Sampling Distance to Cell Size. Leave other options to default.
13. Examine the properties of your raster layer. Indicate the following:
o Spatial Resolution
o Coordinate System
o Minimum Elevation
o Maximum Elevation
D. Defining Layer Symbology
a. Vector
14. Go to the properties of the vector layer UPcontours. In the Layer Properties window, go to the Symbology Tab.
Check the left panel of the tab and select Categories  Unique values. Set Value Field to Elevation. Click Add All
Values. Select the Red to Blue color combination from the Color Ramp option. Click Apply then OK. Take a
snapshot of the resulting layer.
15. Change the symbology but this time using Quantities  Graduated colors. Set Value Field to Elevation and
Normalization to none. Click on Classify and set Classification to Equal Interval. Select the Red to Blue color
combination from the Color Ramp option. Click on the Symbol column and select Flip Symbols (Note: Make
sure lower values in blue region and higher values in red).
o How many classes were made in this symbology using the said classification method?
o Change number of classes to 6.Click on Advanced  Symbol Levels. Check the option “Draw this layer
using the symbol levels specified”. Change the line width for your 3rd and 6th class. Double click on the
line symbol and set width to 3 units. Click Apply then OK.
b. Raster
16. Go to the Layer Properties of UPraster, then Stretched under the Symbology Tab. Set Red to Blue color
combination in the Color Ramp. Set Stretch Type to Custom and check Invert (Note: Make sure lower values in
blue region and higher values in red). Click Apply then OK.

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