1. If you do not know the name or function of a tool or toolbar in ArcMap or Definiens, just mouse over it until a name appears. 

2. ArcGIS tools have a built in help section available by left clicking the button 'Help' on the lower right hand side of the dialog box.  This opens a window to the right of the tool which explains what inputs the tool needs and what its outputs are.  This is stored as a metadata file associated with the tool. 
   

Tools that change geometry:

1. Performing the clip data management tool for rasters in Arc may only preserve three bands of spectral data.  In order to preserve all bands the clip ought to be performed in ArcCatalog.

2. Note that ArcMap 9.2 clip data management for rasters might perform rectangular clip slightly smaller than the vector layer to which it is clipped.  This is not an issue for classification as the  difference is negligible. 

3. Whenever the Arc tools merge, dissolve, eliminate, or clip are used, the repair geometry tool should be used.
   

Calculating values:

1. In an ArcGIS database file (.dbf) which is associated with a shapefile (.shp) calculate the value of a field by these steps:

1.  right click on the data layer in the table of contents, selecting attribute table

2. Right click on the field header on top of any column.  The text displayed in the field header is the alias of that field. 
   

3. Select calculate field.  This opens a dialog box that allows for number values, text, SQL statements, and VBA scripts.

4. In the text box enter a number, or enter a text string surrounded by single quotes, or create an SQL statement using the  other fields available.  Alternatively, you can write a VBA script by clicking advanced.  This can be saved as a (.cal) file.
   

2. Do not attempt to calculate area in ArcGIS using the calculate areas tool.  This tool cannot be relied upon to produce an accurate result.  Instead import your file to a personal or file geodatabase using ArcCatalog or use a calculate area script available on the ESRI forums.  Note that a personal and file geodatabase both constantly update the fields 'shape_length' and 'shape_area' which is extremely convenient when polygons are queried or summarized by these attributes.  Otherwise it would be necessary to run the calculation before each time any analysis took place.
   

Excel and DBF:

1. To display tabular data about your layers through graphs you can export a DBF to Excel.  ArcGIS shapefiles (.shp) come with a database file (.dbf) which can be displayed in ArcMap as an attribute table.  The DBF records all attributes of each feature and gives it a unique identifier.   To export a DBF to Excel you must:

1.  open the attribute table of your data layer

2. go to the options button in the lower right hand corner of the dialog box

3. select export data

4. open the DBF in excel

5. save as an Excel workbook

6. make graphs using your data
   

2. In order to export an excel file as a DBF simply:

1. Ensure that

1.  your excel file is one sheet

2.  that the first row of data is row 1

3.  that the first row of data contains text which describe the contents of the row. This will exported as the name of the field.

4. that your data are set to the appropriate format.  If not, in excel right click on the column and scroll down to format cells and use the tabs to select the appropriate format.
   

1. Go the the file tool in excel

2. save as DBF4

3. close excel.  Your DBF file will not open in ArcGIS if its excel file is still open.
   

4. open ArcMap
   

5. add the data layer

6. open the attribute table
   

If you cannot use a tool:

1.  It may be because the tool does not act on the kind of data you have provided.  For instance, you cannot ‘cut polygon feature’ for a raster.   When the phrase 'feature dataset is used, the function only applies to vector layers.
   

2. If a tool doesn't work in ArcGIS, you may not have the proper extension license activated.  To activate the license go to tools -> extensions -> and left click the appropriate check box and click 'OK'.

3. Some tools, like spatial adjustment and georeferencing, can only be used when an edit is in session.  To begin an edit session, add the edit toolbar and select start editing.  Select the folder that your target layer is stored in.

Why can't I . . . ?

See my data layer:

If in the table of contents toolbar under the display tab your data appear with an exclamation mark and cannot be displayed you must repair the data source.  Right click the data layer in the TOC and scroll down to repair data source.  Treat the dialog box as if you were adding the data for the first time.

To prevent this problem in the future you can go to FIle -> document properties -> select data sources button -> store relative path names radio button and make relative pathname default checkbox.

Edit:

You may not be editing the target layer that you wish to edit.  In the Edit toolbar go to the target layer dropdown menu and select the appropraite target layer.  If it is not available in the dropdown menu then you may have started an edit session but not chosen the folder with the target layer you intended to edit.  In ArcGIS 9.2 you can only edit layers in one folder at a time.

Select:

You may not have the layer in question as a layer that is capable of selection.  In the table of contents toolbar, go to the selection tab and left click the checkbox for the layer you wish to target.

If you are selecting layer that you do not wish to select then under the selection tab in the table of contents toolbar uncheck their checkboxes.

Know that in the table of contents toolbar you can crtl+click to uncheck or check all of the layers in the same folder or group at once.

Run my SQL/VBA?

Simple Query Language (SQL) statements and Virtual Basic for Applications (VBA) scripts must be in a very specific format. 

If your SQL statement is not working it might because

1. you didn't put double quotes around text, or

2. you didn't put single quotes around attributes.

If your VBA script is not working it might be because:

1. you didn't mention how fields are to be treated

2. you didn't place operands correctly, such as AND OR Else If Endif
   

Software compatibility issuesL

• Import Symbology in ArcGIS 9.3:

If your symbology is from an ArcGIS 9.2 layer file (.lyr) then you may experience an error message that explains that the geometry type of the layer whose symbology to be imported does not match the geometry type of th layer to which you are attempting to import the symbology.  To solve the problem add the layer file which you are trying to import, repair data source, and save as an .lyr again.  Now its symbology can be imported.

• Use an ArcGIS 9.2 model in ArcGIS 9.3:
• Save your 9.2 model as a 9.3 model using 9.3
• Now open it in 9.3

• Use Microsoft Excel 2007:
• Microsoft Excel 2007 cannot save files as a dbf
• to use an excel 2007 files in ArcGIS either
• save the excel 2007 as an excel 2003
• open the relevant excel work sheet in ArcGIS and export as a dBASE table there
• note that you can only add individual excel worksheets, not whole workbooks
• to add a single sheet from an excel workbook, go to ArcCatalog and use the contents tab and left click and drag the worksheet to the data viewer in ArcMap
  

To remove fields from a .shp quickly in ArcMap:

1. Right click on the target layer in the table of contents.  Select properties to open the properties dialog box.

2. Go to the field tab.

3. Uncheck all and select only those field you wish to keep.  Now when you open the attribute table only these fields will appear.

4. Now close the properties dialog box and right click the layer again.  Save as, with a new name.

5. The .shp you have just created will only have those fields which you checked in the field tab, as well as mandatory fields like shape and FID.

Cleaning a shapefile:

1. To remove many polygons from a shapefile at once consider creating a new layer which is based on only the polygons you wish to keep.

1. Start an edit session.

2. Select the polygons you wish to keep.  Left click and drag across the data viewer to select many polygons at once.  Shift+click to add a polygon to selection, and crtl+click to remove a polygon from the selection.
   

3. Right click on the layer in the table of contents and save selection as new layer.

2. Note that this should only be done when you know exactly the handful of polygons you wish to keep and only entire polygons are relevant to the selection.  In other words, never do this when it is appropriate to select pieces of polygons, which is when the clip tool ought to be used. 

Toolbars:

In ArcMap, right click the gray space at the top of the window to bring up a scrolling menu of toolbars listed alphabetically. 

The toolbar with new mxd, load mxd, copy, paste, add data, zoom, and ArcCatalog and ArcToolbox hyperlinks is called Standard.

The toolbar with zooms, select, and find functions is called Tools.

Double left click on a toolbar to dislodge it from the gray space and make it into a moveable window.  If it is a movable window, left click the blue bar at the top of the toolbar's window and drag it into the gray space to affix it there.

Double left click on the gray space to bring up the customize dialog box, with tabs that allow you to manually determine which tools will be available to use right from the toolbar and which you will need to search for using the toolbar buttons.

Use demos and freeware!