Geographic

 Information  Systems  (GIS)  

EXERCISE  1.2  –  Exploring  ArcCatalog  
Prepared  by:  Dr.  Mohammad  N.  Almasri  
 
1. BRIEF  OVERVIEW  OF  ArcCatalog  
ArcCatalog   is   used   for   browsing   maps   and   spatial   data,   exploring   spatial   data,   viewing  
and   creating   metadata   (data   about   data),   and   managing   spatial   (geographic)   data.   You  
can  copy,  move,  and  delete  data;  search  for  data;  look  at  data  before  deciding  whether  
to  add  it  to  a  map  or  not;  and  create  new  data  
 
The   ArcCatalog   application   window   includes   the   catalog   display   for   looking   at   spatial  
data,   the   catalog   tree   for   browsing   data,   and   several   toolbars.   ArcCatalog   gives   you  
information  about  spatial  data;  shows  you  which  folders  contain  spatial  data  and  what  
kind   of   spatial   data   they   contain.   It   lets   you   preview   features   and   attributes   of   data  
before  you  add  the  data  to  a  map  
 

Main  menu   ArcCatalog  

toolbar  

Location  
toolbar  

Catalog  tree  

Catalog  display  
(preview  mode)  

 
 
2.  GOALS  OF  THE  EXERCISE  
§ To  serve  as  an  introduction  to  the  use  of  ArcCatalog  
§ To  give  you  a  quick  experience  in  working  with  ArcCatalog  
 
 

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ArcGIS  10  
3. DATA  NEEDED  FOR  CARRYING  OUT  THE  EXERCISE  
You  need  to  have  the  following  shapefiles  (located  under  EX_1):  
§ gaza_strip_rain_stations.shp  
§ gaza_strip_roads.shp  
§ gaza_strip_municipalities.shp  
§ gaza_strip_outline.shp  
4. PROCEDURE  
Please   note   that   the   following   procedure   is   a   general   outline   which   can   be   followed   to  
complete  this  lesson.  However,  the  user  is  encouraged  to  experiment  with  the  program  
and  be  creative.    

[1] Start   ArcCatalog.   Click   Start     (in   the   bottom   left),   then   All  
Programs   and   choose   ArcCatalog     from   ArcGIS   menu.   Your  
application  may  look  like  this:  
 

 
 
[2] To   access   the   spatial   data   in   a   specific   folder   more   quickly,   you   will   create   a  
connection  to  it.  For  instance,  I  want  to  connect  to  the  data  for  Exercise  1  which  
is   located   on   my   computer   (not   your   computer)   at   the   location   C:\Ex_1   [your  
data  might  be  at  a  different  location]  
 

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ArcGIS  10  
 [3] On   the   Standard   toolbar,   click   the   Connect   to   Folder     button   to   get   the  
following  dialog:  
 
 

 
 
Click  the  Connect  to  Folder  dialog,  click  My  Computer,  click  the  sign  (+)  to  the  left  to  My  
Computer,  click  the  sign  (+)  to  the  left  to  Local  Disk  (C:)  or  wherever  you  inserted  your  
data,   and   view   its   contents.   Navigate   until   you   locate   the   folder   that   you   are   looking   for.  
Click  OK  
 

   
 
As  can  be  seen,  a  connection  is  made  to  the  designated  folder.  This  is  by  the  way  similar  
to  make  a  shortcut  in  the  Windows  browser  
 
Also   the   Connect   to   Folder   allows   you   to   add   other   data   drives   (like   USB   mass   storage  
drives  and  flash  sticks)  and  this  is  also  reflected  in  the  ArcMap    
 
 
[4] Click   the   plus   sign   next   to   the   data   folder.   It   will   show   the   contents   within   the  
Catalog  Tree  
 

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ArcGIS  10  
  

 
 
[5] Select  any  of  the  shapefiles  (located  in  the  Preview  window)  and  highlight  it.  Click  
the  Preview  button.  The  geographic  data  displays  
 

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ArcGIS  10  
 [6] To   explore   more   (to   better   do   a   quick   assessment   regarding   the   nature   of   the  
data),   click   on   the   Preview   tab   again   (make   sure   that   the  
gaza_strip_municipalities.shp   is   highlighted).   On   the   Geography   toolbar,   click  
the  "Zoom  In"  tool  
 
 
 
[7] Drag   a   box   around   any   area   of   your   choice   within   the   municipalities   of   Gaza   Strip  
as  shown  in  the  following  graphic:  
 

 
 
[8] On  the  Geography  toolbar,  click  the  identity  tool .  By  
doing  so  you  can  view  the  attributes  of  the  selected  feature  as  shown  below:  
 
 

 
 
[9] Close   the   Identity   Results   window.   On   the   Geography   toolbar,   click   the   "Full  
Extent"  button  to  zoom  to  the  full  extent  of  the  data  
 
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ArcGIS  10  
  
 
 
 
[10] You  can  also  preview  the  entire  attributes  of  a  data.  At  the  bottom  of  the  catalog  
display,  click  the  Preview  drop-­‐down  arrow  and  click  Table    
 

 
 
[11] In  the  Table  Options  drop-­‐down  menu  (located  in  the  bottom  left  corner  of  the  
previous   figure),   choose   Export   in   order   to   save   the   table   for   further   external  
processing.  This  is  important  if  you  would  like  to  obtain  the  data  (in  table  format  
like  Excel)  
 

 
   
You  will  get  the  following  window.  Just  make  sure  that  you  know  where  are  you  saving  
the  output  table  
 
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ArcGIS  10  
 Click  to  select  the  
location  on  your  
computer  to  save  
the  exported  
table  at  

 
 
[12] The  third  tab  in  ArcCatalog  is  the  Description  tab.  It  provides  information  about  a  
data  set,  such  as  its  coordinate  system,  its  spatial  extent,  and  descriptions  of  its  
attributes.   It   may   also   explain   how   and   when   the   data   was   created,   what  
standards  of  accuracy  it  meets,  and  what  its  appropriate  uses  are.  A  great  deal  of  
metadata   is   maintained   automatically   by   ArcCatalog;   some   however   must   be  
maintained   by   the   people   who   use   and   manage   the   data.   ArcCatalog   does   not  
require  you  to  maintain  metadata,  but  you  should.  
 
In   the   catalog   display,   click   the   Description   tab.   You   will   see   the   following   display  
with  the  name  of  the  layer  at  the  very  top.  Also,  you  can  see  the  thumbnail  that  
you  did  create.  There  are  three  tabs;  Description,  Spatial,  and  Attributes.  Scroll  
down  for  each  one  to  view  the  information  listed  in.    
 

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ArcGIS  10  
ALTERNATIVE  TO  USING  ARCCATALOG  
As  an  alternative  to  using  ArcCatalog,  you  can  open  and  work  with  the  Catalog  window  
within  ArcMap  in  which  all  the  same  functions  and  tasks  can  be  performed.  
 
The  Catalog   window  provides  a  tree  view  of  file  folders  and  geodatabases.  File  folders  
are  used  to  organize  your  ArcGIS  data  
 
The  Catalog  window  provides  tools  to  accomplish  the  following:  
§ Browse  and  find  geographic  datasets  to  add  to  your  map  
§ Record,  view,  and  manage  (for  instance,  copy  and  paste  shapefiles)  datasets  and  
ArcGIS  documents  
§ Search  for  and  discover  GIS  data  on  local  networks  and  the  Web  
§ Define,  export,  and  import  geodatabase  data  models  and  datasets  
§ Create  and  manage  the  schemas  of  geodatabases  
§ Add  connections  
 
To   explore   the   Catalog   window   within   ArcMap,   click   the   Catalog   window   button   to  
launch  the  Catalog  window  
 
Catalog     window  
 

 
 
 

8  |  8     EXERCISE  1.2  –  Exploring  ArcCatalog   Dr.  Mohammad  N.  Almasri          August  –  2013  
ArcGIS  10