GIS and RS for WR (Weng-6031) BDU, EF

Introduction to ArcCatalog
PURPOSE
The purpose of this exercise is to give the students an introduction to ArcCatalog. ArcCatalog is an application
for managing geographical data. It is used to copy, move and delete data; search for data; preview data before
deciding whether to add it to a map; and create new data. It also contains tools for creating and viewing
metadata (information about spatial data, such as who created it and when, its intended use, its accuracy and so
forth).

For efficient use of the exercise time please follow the instructions strictly.

DATA
Data used for this exercises are put in a separate directory on your computer. The data are saved as “shapefiles”,
and represent numerous themes over the Tana sub basin.

- Create a folder in your local working directory called WENG_6031 under the directory structure shown
below. Create the GIS and RS folders as well.

BACKGROUND
ArcCatalog is one of the three key applications of the ArcGIS Desktop software. ArcCatalog gives users more
information about spatial data contained on a computer’s hard disk, on a network, or on the Internet. It can show
users which folders contain spatial data (like from Windows Explorer or other file browsers) and what kinds of
spatial data they include. It also lets you preview features and attributes of data before you add the data to a
map. One can also examine and edit metadata, which is information about your data, such as when and how it
was created.

METHOD
Starting ArcCatalog
- To start the ArcCatalog application, click on the Start button of your Windows taskbar, and then
Programs > ArcGIS > ArcCatalog. The ArcCatalog window will open.

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On the left of the of the ArcCatalog window, you will find the Catalog tree. This tree provides you with a view
of how data is organized in your computer. On the right-hand side, there are tabs (Contents, Preview, Metadata)
letting you explore the contents of the selected items in the Catalog tree.

When you first start ArcCatalog, your computer’s hard disks will automatically be access through folder
connections. It is also possible to create and store connections to databases and Internet servers and manage
geocoding services and results.

- In the right-hand side window, observe the different folder connections under Type.

When a connection is selected, it is possible to access the data to which it is linked. Folder connections access
folders (or directories). When you remove folder or databases from the Catalog, you are only removing the
connection, not deleting the data. Together, your connections create a catalog of geographic data sources.
Individual folders and data sources are items in that catalog.

Exploring a Folder Connection

When a folder connection in the Catalog tree is selected, the Contents tab lists items it contains. Unlike
Windows Explorer, the Catalog doesn’t list all files stored on disk; a folder might appear empty even
though it contains several files. Folders containing geographic data sources have a different icon to make data
easier to find.

- Click your way through the folder connection in the Catalog tree to find and open the folder where you saved
the data of this exercise by clicking on it once (example: D:\WENG_6031\GIS\Intro_to_ArcGIS). Note that the
items in that folder appear in the right-hand side window under the Contents tab.

Notice that next to Location, you can see the complete path of the data listed. You can also directly type a path
in this window if you know where data is saved in your computer.

Create the other directory structures as indicated below.

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Creating a Folder Connection
If you are working with a given dataset, and you would like to access it more quickly, you can create and save a
connection to it.

- From the standard toolbar, click the Connect to Folder button.

- In the Connect to Folder dialog window, navigate to the folder that contains the folder Intro_to_ArcGIS,
in which you saved the exercise data, and click OK. (Ex: D:\WENG_6031\GIS\Intro_to_GIS)

Notice that a connection is then made in the Catalog tree for that path. In such a way, it is easy for the user to
create connections for the data her or she is working with.

Explore the ArcCatalog Options… dialog box that can be accessed under the Customize menu. You have
options here to specify the types of data ArcCatalog displays and the related information about them (file name,
file size, date modified …). You can distinguish folders containing data from those that don’t, and make other
customizations in the way data is displayed.

- From the main menu, choose Customize > ArcCatalog Options…. The ArcCatalog Options dialog window
will appear.

When working with GIS data, one works with many files. One geographical theme consists of many files
containing information such as the coordinates, the attributes, links and so on.

- Uncheck Hide file extensions under the General tab and click Apply. Notice that you can now see the
extensions of each file listed. This is important to know which file you are working with.

- Take the time to familiarize yourself with the options available by browsing through the different Tabs
in the Options dialog window.

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Q: How can you include the size of each item and the date when they were last modified in the ArcCatalog
display?

Exploring Data
The three tabs over the ArcCatalog display window; Contents, Preview and Metadata provide different ways to
explore the contents of the selected item in the Catalog tree. Just like in Windows Explorer, you can change the
appearance of the contents listed with the Contents tab. The 4 available options are: Large icons, List, Details,
and Thumbnails.

Each type of geographic data has its own set of icons in the Catalog, whether the type is a personal
geodatabase, a coverage, a shapefile, a raster database, a layer, a TIN dataset, a dBase file or a Map
document. Throughout the course, you will learn more about these different data types.

- Under the Contents tab, take a few minutes to explore the appearance options of the exercise data.

For a general impression of the geographic extent of the data, the thumbnail view will do. However, to examine
the geographic data more closely, the Preview tab is ideal.

- Select the shapefile Irrigation.shp and click on the Preview tab

Detailed preview is by default set to Geography. Tools found on the main toolbar can then be used to zoom in ,
zoom out or pan the data. Alternatively, you can switch the display from Geography to Table to view the
attributes associates with the geography.

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Explore the Contents of a Table

ArcCatalog offers a collection a tools to explore a table’s content. One can for example search for values or sort
the records according to the values in one or more columns.

- Display the table to the layer Irrigation.

You can see at the bottom of the display window the current record selected and the total number of records in
the table. The small arrows can be used to move at the beginning of the table, the previous record, the next
record or the end of the table.

Freeze/unfreeze columns:
If or when tables contain many columns and you would like to see at the same time columns that are not
currently side by side, it is possible to freeze a column in place while looking at the rest of the table.

- Right-click the heading of the NAME column and click Freeze/Unfreeze Column.

The NAME column is frozen in position at the left of the table, and a heavy black line appears to its right. When
columns are frozen, they stay in place while scrolling horizontally, while other columns scroll normally. (You
can try by making your window smaller than the table to activate the “scrolling”)

Sorting records:
Records in a table can be sorted in ascending or descending order.

- Right click the heading of the AREA column and click Sort Ascending. Notice that the records are sorted
with the smallest area at the top of the record.

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GIS and RS for WR (Weng-6031) BDU, EF
Q: What is the area of the smallest polygon in the table Irrigation, and what does it represent (name)?
Note, the areas are listed in square meters (m2).

Obtaining statistics of numerical columns:

Basic descriptive statistics can easily be obtained for numerical columns.

- Right-click again the heading of the AREA column and click Statistics.

Q: What is the total area (sum) of all the polygons in the table Irrigation in square kilometres (km2)?
Remember that the areas listed are in m2!

Viewing and Editing Metadata

Metadata describes data often in a standardized way. The information stored in the metadata can be very basic
to very detailed. In general, the more information stored in metadata, the more is known about the data, and the
more the user can rely on the quality of the data.

Metadata usually consists of properties and documentation. Properties are derived directly from the data itself
and documentation is additional descriptive information. As mentioned previously, metadata if often
represented in a standardized way. For this reason, the International Standards Organization (ISO) created a
framework for a uniform content. Within ArcCatalog, it is possible to view the metadata in different
“Stylesheets”.

- Now click on the Description tab

- From ArcCatalog main menu click Customize and select ArcCatalog options…

other “Stylesheets” and explore their contents.

The metadata can easily be edited (provided the user has writing access) by clicking the Edit button or even
imported from various sources.

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