GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

Lab 1: Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

Dave’s edits are in red!
What You’ll Learn:
-Start ArcGIS Pro -Select data
-Create a new map -Measure distances
-Add data layers -Create map layouts
-Pan and zoom -Add legends, titles, North arrows, and other
-Change data symbology elements
-Change display properties -Print a map to a PDF

Data for this exercise (and all future exercises) is found in zip files linked on the book
website, e.g., “[Link]” for lab 1. We’ll refer to the data generically as if it were on L:\ drive on
your computer, e.g., either, L:\[Link] or L:\Home\[Link] It is best if you
transfer/copy the ENTIRE contents of the zipped data to a L:\Home\{labname} folder and
then work from that location. Videos referred to in the text or on a playlist at

[Link]
oC5PSLFw&list=PL1JFwtT2Vr4YERww5ycIqpxBWIbESoTmE

What You’ll Produce: Four maps: one of lakes and roads, one of wetlands, a third map of
the UMN Cloquet Forestry Center, and a fourth map of the North Shore of Lake Superior.

Background: This is the first in a series of introductory exercises for ArcGIS Pro. These are
practical skills that complement the theory and practice of GIS described in the textbook “GIS
Fundamentals: A First Text on Geographic Information Systems”, by Paul Bolstad.

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GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

We assume you are using ArcGIS Pro, version 2.0.

So some things may have changed!
Ask if something is missing or broken
Part 1: Starting ArcGIS Pro, adding data and
creating your first map
First, find the ArcGIS Pro icon, shown to the right. The icon is
often located as a desktop or taskbar shortcut, or in an
ArcGIS folder

In Windows 7 or 10 it may often by found by left clicking on

the Start button in the lower left of the screen and selecting
Programs ArcGIS  ArcGISPro.
(Video: Intro2ArcPro)
Double left click on the ArcGIS Pro icon, and be patient while a
start banner displays. Depending on your startup option you
may or may not see the ArcGIS Pro – start screen (shown below
left). Left click in the area on the right (below) to create a new,
blank project.

This will open the main ArcGIS Pro window, similar to

that displayed here. You create a new project by
clicking on one of the templates listed on the right side
of the screen:

Use this one

Here, choose a Blank project, and it will ask you to specify the project name. Here I
specified the name Proj1, in the directory named Lab1 on the L:\Home\{your id}. You can
uncheck the box for “create new folder” so as to not create many unnecessary folders
within.

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On the network, use the folder
P:\yourusername\GIS\exercises\Lab1
(//geodata\vol0\yourusername\GIS\exercises\Lab1)
and C:\GIS\exercises\Lab1 if on your own computer.
Use your last name to start the project name (see above)

L:\Home\{your id}

Note that the Project is stored in an .aprx file, in the directory you specified, along with a
default geodatabase for scratch work and created layers. We’ll describe geodatabases
towards the end of this exercise. You can’t rename a project once you’ve created it, but you
can save it to a new file. It is good practice to store your main data and projects in the same
directory, and to use something like “Proj” as part of the project name so that you can easily
recognize it.

Left click on O.K., and this will display the main window, shown below. It contains quite a
few components, including actions along the top, a table of contents on the left, a catalog on
the right, and various tabs in the middle section.
The tools available along the top change depending on the active tab. In the figure below,
the Insert tab is active, noted by the highlighting and a light blue bar above the label (see the
arrow in the figure below)

After you’ve made the new project, snip an image from Windows
explorer that shows your Lab1 folder (including the address bar)
and enough of its contents to see some of the lab files plus the new
project (.aprx) and folders you just created. Post that to your lab
report.

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Click on the Analysis, View,

Home, and Imagery tabs, and
note the tools change.

We’ll cover these in future labs,

today we’ll focus on adding and
displaying data, so click back on
the Insert tab.

Left click on the New Map, near

the upper left corner of the
window (see the figure, at right).

This will open a new map tab in

the central pane, and in most
cases display a default
topographic and hillshade map, also listing them in the table of contents to the left:

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Notice that it also activates the Map tab near along the top of the window, with the map tools
displayed. If you don’t see a tool you expect across the top, it is likely under a different tab.

You can pan about the map by left clicking and hold-dragging on the map pane, and zoom
by using the “four in” and “four out” arrows in the navigate tools (see red arrow and box,
above). Mice with a scroll wheel may be set up so a roll forward zooms in, and a roll
backward zooms out, but this depends on the specific configuration.

The globe in the Navigate tools will zoom to the full extent of the layers, and the right and
left pointing blue arrows will zoom forward or backward through your zoom history.

Click the check boxes next to the World Topographic and World Hillshade layers, and note
they toggle the layers’ visibility on and off.

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you’re not going to have two, just “Topographic”

Delete the World layers from the
map. Do this by first left clicking on a
layer, surrounding it with a blue box,
and then right clicking on the blue
box, revealing a drop-down menu
with various options:

Clicking on remove will delete a layer

from the project.

Do this with the two World layers

Now to add some data.

Click on the Add Data tool,

found along the top in the
Map tab tools:
Or you can go to the Catalog view or
tab, right click on any data layer,and
choose “add to current map”
This will display a directory and file
system.

Navigate to where you stored your  choose this

lab data and select the shapefiles
named [Link] and [Link]

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This will add this data layer to your map.

The layer data are displayed in the Map pane, and data names are listed in the table of
contents pane on the left.

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There are also useful tools along the bottom of the main window, highlighted by the red box
and arrows below.

The leftmost red arrow points to the box that displays the nominal scale. You can select one
via the dropdown in the box, or by typing one in directly. The second arrow shows the
current cursor coordinates when it is over the map pane. The right two red arrows indicate
tab selectors for the right-hand pane. Here there is a Catalog and a Symbology tab
available. Note: These toolbars COULD be located on the right side to the screen instead
of the bottom. Toolbars are moveable.

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Changing Layer Symbology

(see the video Symbols, in the Lab 1)
We can customize a layer’s appearance. Left click
on a Symbology tab (rightmost arrow in the figure
above), then on the roads layer. The right-sided
project pane should look something like the figure
immediately to the right.

The Symbology box is currently set to single symbol,

you can view options by clicking on the dropdown
triangle at the right side of the box (blue arrow in
graphic).

We’ll leave it single symbol for now.

You can change the line color and weight by double

left clicking on the current symbol (in this case the
symbol is set as a thin green line, indicated by the
red arrow in graphic to the right).

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This will open another window (shown at right).

You can scroll and pick one of the symbols in the

Gallery, using the scroll arrows/tabs on the right of the
pick grid.

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If you wish to use a symbology that isn’t in

the provided set, you can directly access
the symbol properties by clicking on the
Properties option (see arrow at right).

Although there are many options you can

set, for now just use the Color and Line
width options to specify black roads, 1 pt
wide.

Repeat this process for the lakes layer,

specifying a light blue interior, and darker
blue boundary for the lakes.

Remember that you need to select the

layer, then activate the Symbology tab, then
your map should look something like the
image below.

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Create a Layout, Export a Map

We often wish to create a map depicting our data, plus information such as a title, legend,
north arrow, and a scale bar.

To do this here, first activate

the Insert tab in the main
window , then left click on New
Layout to display a set of page
options:

(Video: Layout&NorthArrow,
note, the videos use different
data than yours here, but the
techniques are the same).

Since our data are wider than

tall, we’ll choose the
Landscape Letter option.

The layout is empty at first. We

add a map two ways, first by
opening the Catalog tab on the
right (remember, bottom right),
then the Maps list, then drag and dropping a map onto the layout:

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2nd, Open the Map list

by clicking on the caret
3rd, Drag and drop the
map onto the Layout

1st Activate the

Catalog tab

You can also add a map by opening the Map Frame near the
upper left when the Insert tab is active, and selecting a map from
the displayed list:

Don’t add the map a second time. If you do, you can select one of
the copies either in the table of contents, or on the layout, and
right click over the selected map, then choose ‘delete’ from the
dropdown menu.

We add the most common layout elements using the options displayed in the middle area of
the Insert tab pane (see arrow, below).

These include a North Arrow, a Scale Bar, a Legend, and descriptive text:

Every map turned in for this course should have a scale (unless it is geographic, and therefore
not a scaled map), a north arrow, a title, your name, the coordinate system of the map and
whatever else is needed to understand it (key or legend). The best maps have some indication
of location (locator map, or coordinates on the map frame).
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These elements are accessed via double clicking on the

tool for the default, or clicking on a dropdown arrow near
the lower right of the icon to display a pick list of options,
e.g., for the North Arrow (right graphic):

Double clicking on an option drops it onto the layout, with

handles to resize. You can click-hold-drag on any element
to reposition.

Add a North Arrow, and resize/position to your liking.

Add a Scale Bar, using the pick list, and a process similar
to that of the North Arrow.

Formatting a scale bar is a bit more complex than

a north arrow. (Video: ScaleBar)

You can change the text size for labels using the
Element pane, which shows up on the right when
you click on the scale bar to select it.

This lets you change the Appearance (font and

size), position, rotation, and other properties for
the scale bar text.

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If you wish to change the number and units of the number of divisions, units, and label
placement, you must first click on a scale bar to select it, then click on the Design tab, near
the right center of the top menu options:

This lets you specify all the important characterstics of your scale bar. The primary criteria
are readability and clarity, and the default is often placed with too small a font, or odd break
values.

Most maps need a legend; added here with a tool found to

the right of the North Arrow and Scale Bar tools under the
Insert tab:
(Video: Legend&Text)

Clicking on the Legend tool activates the cursor as a

crosshair, and allows you to click-drag on the layout to
place a legend.

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This opens an element tab - on the right side of

the main window - that allows you to specify the
size and other characteristics of the legend
when the Legend Item is selected, and it
appears blue (see right). Font size and other text
appearance options are made available when
you click on “Text Symbol” and it appears blue.

Legend items are included for all the layers

displayed in the map.

Make sure your map has a title (add text from

the Insert tab), your name, legend, north arrow,
and scale bar. These elements should be
reasonable and well-positioned.

Your layout should look

something like the image at
right, but you don’t have to
match it exactly. Just make
sure to include the required
elements, listed above. We
encourage you to use
different fonts, colors, north
arrow, and scale bar, or at
least peruse what are
available.

NOTE: you can do better than this!

Why have 4 divisions of 3 kms?
You can control everything about a
scale bar (here the author should
have used three subdivisions, not
four)

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Export a PDF file. Select the Share tab, at the far right of the upper tabs, and click on
Layout Export (red arrow):

(video: Export Map)

This will open a menu that lets you select the location and file format. You will be turning in
pdf files, with at least a 150-dpi setting. Other settings are appropriate for other uses, e.g.,
jpeg or other graphic formats to include in reports, or .ai for further cartographic
enhancements in Adobe Illustrator.
Every file of a map/assignment you turn in should
start with your last name! “[Link]”
Saving Your Project
You should save your project frequently while working, in case you have a system failure or
accidently delete project elements. Since ArcGIS Pro is somewhat buggy in these early
releases, it may save you much time and grief.

(See image on next page)

You save a project by clicking on the Project tab, in blue, near the upper left margin of the
main window.

This opens a new window, in which you can Save to your current location, hopefully
L:\Home\{your id}\Lab1 or Save As to L:\Home\{your id}\Lab1. We recommend you include
something like “proj” in the name for ease in identification, e.g., “Hugo_proj” as this will
reduce confusion between the various kinds of files you are creating, at least until you
become experienced.

Save OFTEN~~ ArcGIS crashes all the time!!!

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Arrow returns
to the project view

Save progress or
Save As to a new
project

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Symbolize Categories (Video: Unique Symbols)

in the same Lab1 folder! (no new folder) and I’d call the project simply minn_lab not specific to layers
Save and close your previous project, then create a new project named something like
Wetlands_proj and add the layer “wet_land.shp” from the data directory. This layer shows
polygons for wetlands near Hugo, Minnesota.

Click on the symbology tab in the lower right:

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Then click on the Symbology window

caret to reveal a drop down window,

And

Click to select Unique

Values:

Specify WETLAND_TY as the value field;

it adds a different symbol for each unique
value found in the specified Value field:

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The assigned color scheme is displayed for each

category (see at right)
You often have a large number of categories, and want to
change colors for some of them.

Let’s assign the lakes a blue color, and since the U value (which means Uplands) is such a
large part of the map let’s make it blank to make the map more readable.

Click on the color box next to the L value.

This displays a Format Polygon Symbol option, either as a Gallery of choices (left, below),
or a Properties (right, below).

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Note that when the Gallery window is selected the ‘Gallery’ text appears in blue. To switch
to the Properties options, just click on the Properties label and it will be displayed in blue as
shown in above right.

To assign from the Gallery, simply scroll and then click on a patch in the set of available
choices.

To assign from the Properties view, click on the caret to the right of the Color or Outline
Color and choose a color. You can also click on the Outline Width to pick, or type in, a width.

For now we’ll choose a light blue lake color, and a darker blue outline for the lakes and keep
the outline width as is.

Click Apply near the bottom of the window to apply your choices.

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Now let’s assign no color to the uplands (U

symbol).

Click on the back arrow near the top-right of the Symbology window in the
Gallery/Properties view, and this will re-display the color assignment scheme.

Scroll down to display the U color, and click on the color patch:

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Select the Properties option, and then assign

a light tan color to the Color,

and No Color to the Outline Color, using the

carets to display the color charts:

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Your Map window should look

something like the figure to the right.
Don’t worry if your wetlands polygons
are a different color, just make sure
the lakes and uplands are assigned
correctly.

Create a layout, adding the Map, a

Title, Legend, Scale Bar, North Arrow
and your name/date.

Practice selecting the map, title,

legend and resizing each item.

Export this map to a PDF, named

something like “Wetlands,” to turn in.

Save the project with your data.

Close and start a new project called

something like “Cloq_forest” and
continue with the directions below.

Instead of creating a new project,

which creates a new geodatabase and
a new toolbox (you don’t need them)
Just
A - add a new map to the current
project, and
B – “Save As..” with a new name.

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More About Maps

Most projects in ArcGIs Pro include a working area called a Map. You added one in the first
part of this lab, and you may add several into a single project. It is perhaps easiest to think
of these maps as analogous to desktops, onto which you place data layers. Just as you may
have several desks in a room, you may have several Maps in an ArcGIS Pro project.

To carry this analogy further, you may place different data on each “desktop,” or Map. You
may also display a different area, use different symbology, and different coordinate systems
for each Map.

Setting Map Properties

After we’ve added a Map to a project, we may alter its properties. We do this by left clicking
on a Map tab -displayed along the top of the central window- to make it our target, then right
clicking over the selected map.

This opens a map properties window, with several options:

1) Right clicking over an active Map in the

Table of Contents drops down a menu;
2) clicking on the last item, Properties,
2
allows you to set options for the map,
including units, extent, and the coordinate
system

Clicking through the options, you can see that the General tab allows you to change the
Map name, measure or layer units, the units displayed on the bottom for coordinate location,
a scale, background color, and other general properties.

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Other options let you specify the Map extent, where it will show or work with data, the
displayed coordinate system, and other features that will make more sense later in this
course.

For now, change the Map’s name to Cloquet, and just note that you can set other Map
properties, which we’ll revisit later.

Setting the Layer Order

Add the following layers from the data provided (remember, activate the Map tab along the
top of the main ArcGIS Pro window, then use the Add Data icon):

40_corners,
Cl_roads (NOTE: “CL_ROADS” NOT “ROADS”)
Streams
Iverson_drg

Notice that the table of contents lists the point data layer on the top, then the two line data
layers (roads and streams), then the raster data layer (Iverson_drg).

We can manually shift data set order in the layer stack.

Left click on the Iverson_drg layer and hold the mouse button down. While holding down the
mouse button, drag the layer toward the top of the stack.

As you do a black line will show the new position in the layer stack. Move this layer to the
top of the stack and release the button, dropping the layer.

The rearranged layers now look different because the Iverson_drg covers up the other three
layers.

Drag the Iverson_drg layer back to the bottom of the stack.

To widen or narrow the table of contents (TOC) pane, left

click and hold on the vertical line between the TOC and the
data view, and a two-arrowed line will appear. Stretch the
line to the right, widening the TOC to see all the layer title
information. (e.g. shown at right)

You can change the displayed names of the data sets (the file
name does not change) by: Click on
the edge
-selecting the layer by right clicking on the name, then and drag
-selecting Properties General tab to resize
-entering text in the Name textbox
-left clicking OK
-OR try double left clicking on the current layer name which
will then allow you to edit the layer name.

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Pan, zoom, re-arrange layers, and apply symbology until your map appears similar to the
image below. Make sure the streams are dark blue, the roads black, and the widths of both
are 1.5 pts.

After you’ve made this new map, take a snip like this view above.
Post that to your lab report.

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Measuring Distances and Areas

Zoom to the Gravel Pit and Lookout
Tower, panning/zooming so that both just
fit in the window (see figure at right).

These are in sections 29 and 32, south of

the points in the 40_corners data set, and
southwest of the Cloquet airport. Looking
for the distinctive “wiggly W” of road in the
center-right portion of the road network
may help.

(Video: Measure Tool)

While having the map tab open find the
Measure Distance tool along the

top of the main window:

Single left click on the caret at the bottom of the icon, then select
the function you wish to apply with the measure tool, here,
measuring distance.

Notice this changes the shape of your cursor when on the map to
an “L” ruler and a cross hairs.

You measure distance by first placing the cross hairs on a point, left
clicking, then moving to another point, and left clicking again.

A box in the upper left corner will display the cumulative distance.

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You end the distance measurement

by a quick double clicking at an end
point.

The example at right shows a

distance measured from the Gravel
Pit to the nearest main road as
about 2,308 feet.

You can change the measurement

units, e.g., from feet to miles, via
the Options box.

You can reset the starting point via the tan “eraser” icon to the right of the options. You can
also copy the result to the computer’s copy cache using the “notepad” icon in between.

Use the measure tool to estimate the distance between the Gravel Pit and the Lookout
Tower, in feet.

Write this number down, as you will need to enter it using canvas, as part of the credit for
this week’s lab.

Measure the area of one of the sections - they are numbered, lightly drawn red-dashed
squares. Measure the area in square miles and write it down for later entry.

To close the Measure tool, click on the Explore icon in upper left under Maps
tab.

Post these measurements, labeled what they are to your lab report.

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Pan and zoom your map to

cover an area similar to the
figure shown to the right.

Now compose and export

another PDF map.

Add a Layout, as described

earlier, and use the Insert
tab to add a Title, North
Arrow, and Scale Bar.

Remember, you can

rearrange elements in the
layout by left clicking on
them and then either
clicking in the center and
dragging to reposition, or
click on the edge of the
boxes, hold, and drag to
resize.

Extra Credit: Make your map more readable. How can you improve
the information in the legend? Label the different data layers with
English :) not jibberish = “cl_roads” Record how you learned to
accomplish that in your lab [Link] label it “Extra Credit”

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Make your map similar to the figure below.

NOTE: Do not include the Iverson_drg in your legend.

You can hide the legend entry by unchecking the corresponding box in
the table of contents (right):

Export this map as a pdf.

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Multiple Maps in One Document

We often wish to have multiple maps displayed on a graphic or page, for example, with an
inset map that shows the general location for an area displayed in greater detail. We’ll
create such a map in learning the rudiments of layout styling.
again, don’t make a new project, just save as this one and add a new map to the project
First, save and close the previous project, create a new one,
named something like “CloqProj,” add a Map, and add the
Iverson_drg and the [Link] layer to the map

Symbolize the [Link] layer so that both the outline

and the fill for the polygons are the same neutral gray, so it
looks like the figure to the right:

If you don’t remember how to symbolize, refer to the earlier

sections of this lab (pg. 18).

Now add a second Map to the project (remember, Insert,

then New Map). Remove both world maps.

Add the [Link] data to that map and make it have a

tan fill and a black outline, similar to the figure below:

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Now add a new Layout to your project.

Drag both the Maps to the Layout. It is perhaps easiest to activate the Catalog tab which will
make it appear as a right-side panel of the main window (remember the catalog tab is near
the bottom and to the right), expand the Maps marker, and drag the Maps onto the layout.

Notice that both maps appear in the Table of Contents - the leftmost panel in the main
window - originally named something like Main Map and Map Frame (as shown below).

You can activate a map in the Layout by clicking on it, which will place the grab squares on
the Map margin, and highlight the Map in the Table of Contents:

If you double click on the highlighted Map in the TOC,

it will open a Format Map Frame tab in the main panel
on the far right (see graphic at right), and you can
change some of the Map Frame properties.

Change the name to “Inset.”

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Note that this also highlights the Map Frame Formatting tool in the main ribbon across the
top (arrow below):

You may further format the Map Frame by clicking first on format under Map Frame, then
selecting elements in the ribbon,

and then selecting elements in the drop-down that appears at the left.

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For example, to delete the border, select the Border element and set the line color to “No
color”

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You often want to add graphic elements to a map, in addition to the North Arrow, Legend,
and Scale Bars we’ve added before.

When you activate the main Insert tab, there is a set of graphics tools towards the right side

For example, I can click on the rectangle, and select it from the
dropdown list (see at right).

I can then click and drag on the Layout window to draw a

rectangle.

Typically, the rectangle is assigned a default color. If I wish to

place a border around all my elements, or to set color to clear or
no color I can do so by changing the properties of a drawn object.
First clicking on the rectangle to select it (handles will then display on the object), and then
click on the Format tab (here Rectangle format shown below) near the top of the main
ArcGIS Pro window:

I can then change the Fill and other properties, for example, here making it transparent.

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In can also insert lines, points, or images.

As an example, we often wish to draw lines,
with arrows, here to show how the inset
corresponds to the main map, as to the right:

I can add lines by activating the Insert tab,

then selecting Line in the graphic elements
via the dropdown, and then drawing lines
with the desired start and endpoints on the
Layout.

If I want to add arrowheads, I must first click

on the line to select it (handles will appear
when selected), and as earlier, a Line
Format tab will appear along the top toolbar.
I can click on this to display line formatting
options.

Note that if a rectangle or graphic element is above the line, e.g., the transparent one we
created, I may not be able to select the line below it. If this is the case, just drag the
rectangle aside, and then click to select the line.

Once selected, and I click on Format in the Line

Format tab to activate, a small dropdown menu
will appear on the left:

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I can click on the bottom caret to display a fuller set of

options, and navigate and select the Arrow End option for
my line:

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Create a layout similar to the one below. Be sure to include the title, your name, a legend,
scale bar, and north arrow.

Also, be sure to include the bounding rectangle, and the arrows from the inset to the larger-
scale vegetation data.
Please symbolize the vegetation layer
Export a PDF, and turn this in. something other than all one color
and add a legend! Silly.
Example of pdf map to turn in:

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Part 2: ArcGIS Pro Projects, Shapefiles, and

GeoDatabases
You may wonder about the data layers you have used for your maps, e.g., Lakes, Roads,
and wet_land. These layers are shapefiles, an early format defined by ESRI for storing
spatial data, and now a common standard for distributing and saving spatial layers.

A “shapefile” is actually a cluster of files. You can see this below. On the left is the window
that displays when you add data in ArcGIS Pro. It shows just one entry for the [Link]
layer. However, if we Windows File Explorer to display the same directory (below right), we
can see several files with the name lakes, each with different extensions. In addition to the
.shp, there is a .dbf, .prj, .shx, and others. A complete shapefile is made up of several files,
at a minimum a .shp, .shx, and .dbf files. If you ever copy shapefiles using File Explorer or
another generic file management tool, you need to copy ALL THE FILES, NOT JUST THE
.SHP FILE. Otherwise, your data copy will likely be incomplete, and useless.

ESRI also has another file storage system, called a Geodatabase. This usually stores a
cluster of files that are related by geography, or type, or some other criteria. It is a bit
complicated, and takes some time to set up and interpret, and has both advantages and
disadvantages relative to shapefiles. Since much data are stored and distributed as
geodatabases, you should be familiar with them if you are going to use ArcGIS.

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Geodatabases are great for organizing data you will often use together, for data sets stored
as tiles, or for complex mixes of data. You can store rasters, vectors, points, polygons, and
topology all together in geodatabases, and you can specify a common coordinate system,
extent, and other characteristics for sub-components of a geodatabase.

A geodatabase appears as a directory or folder to file explorer, and has a .gdb extension. If
you look inside the directory, it has a number of component files. You should NOT copy,
delete, or edit these component files with tools other than ArcGIS Pro, as it will likely corrupt
your geodatabase and render it useless. THIS is REALLY and TRULY IMPORTANT!!

A geodatabase usually contains something called a Feature Dataset. In ESRI’s parlance, a

Feature Dataset is a collection of related spatial data, usually data layers and other
geometric constructs. You can have several feature datasets in your geodatabase. You may
want to hold clusters of data together, for example, data layers on river locations, lakes
along those rivers, and dams associated with each lake. These layers are called Feature
Classes. It is a bit convoluted, and takes some getting used to, but since all ESRI’s
documentation uses these conventions, you should be familiar with them. Remember, the
geodatabase is the overall container, a feature dataset is a sub-container of data, and a
feature class is a layer of data.

Thus, the lake, road, and wetlands data we have been working with could be stored as
Feature Classes, in a Feature Dataset, and additional tables and network connections may
also be stored in the feature dataset.

You don’t have to store a feature class in a feature dataset, but it is still rather cumbersome
if you have a single layer you wish to treat and store separately, because you have to create
a geodatabase, then a feature class, so some folks use shapefiles for single layers.

Exit from ArcGIS Pro, and restart it.

Create a new project, stored in the Lab1 directory (with the rest of your data for this week’s
work), and name it lab1_gdp_proj (where gdp is shorthand for geodatabase practice):

As before, I include proj in the name just to remind myself that it is a project.

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I also specify I want to create a new

directory (check box, image above). I
can use Windows Explorer or the Mac
Finder to verify the new folder/directory
is created, within my Lab1
folder/directory:

I can then look inside the

lab1_gdp_proj, again using
Windows File Explorer, and see
there is a project with the .aprx
extension, and a geodatabase
folder/directory with the .gdb
extension, and a .tbx file, all with
the same first part name,
lab1_gdp_proj. (Right)

The geodatabase (top in the list) is

the default location for new data
layers and temporary data layers.

The .aprx project file (middle in the

list, with a map/colored folder) is
an organizing file with instructions on how you display your data, and where to find the data.
It doesn’t hold any data, just the instructions on what to display, and how.

The .tbx file (last in the list, bent-eard paper icon) is a toolbox, a container for any tools you
might create associated with the project.

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I can look at the current working directory and geodatabases through the Catalog Pane,
found via the View tab:

The catalog pane is usually shown by default on the right-hand side of the main window, but
may be hidden below another tab, so you may use View-Catalog Pane, or the tabs on the
bottom right of the main window to display.

The Catalog lets you inspect the Databases in your current project (lower arrow, figure
above).

You can create and

add a new
geodatabase by
right clicking on the databases
icon,

and then left clicking on New File

Geodatabase from the dropdown menu:

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GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

This should display a menu to create

a new database. Set the directory to
where you have stored your current
project (in our example, Lab1), and
create a new geodatabase, named
something like test_gdb_1:

This may take a bit of time, be

patient.

A geodatabase is usually empty when first created. We can import data directly into one.

Right click on the test_gdb_1.gdb

geodatabase (in catalog tab under
databases), and select Import – Feature
Class…

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GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

This will open a Geoprocessing tab:

We need to specify the input features. Click on

the folder icon to the right of the Input
Features slot, navigate to your data directory
(here, Lab1), and specify the [Link] layer
as your Input Features.

Set test_gdb_1.gdb as your output location.

Name the Output Feature Class Lakes_imp, or

something similar.

Ignore the rest of the parameters lower down,

these are for advanced control during imports,
and the defaults suit us here.

When you click Run at the lower right, a

processing progress bar should appear, and
eventually, a message that the process
completed successfully.

You just copied the [Link] data into your

geodatabase.

Now also import the [Link] layer to your

geodatabase.

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GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

You’ve just created a copy of all the data in the Lakes and Roads shapefiles, as Feature
Classes in the test_gdb_1.gdb geodatabase.

You can verify the new layers are there by

1) clicking on the Catalog tab near the bottom of the Catalog panel (right side of the
main window, at the bottom), and then
2) looking at the drop-down list under Databases – test_gdb_1.gdb, for your two
imported layers.

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GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

We mentioned that you may also create something called a Feature Dataset, and place
Feature Classes within this Feature Dataset.

While the naming convention is rather confusing, just remember that a Feature Class is a
layer of information, e.g., the polygons that define a set of counties, or the lines that define a
set of rivers. On the other hand, a Feature Dataset is a container for the collection of data
layers, all with the same coordinate system, that you wish to store together.

Right click on the test_gdb_1.gdb

geodatabase and select New – Feature
Dataset.

Note that this will open a geoprocessing

window (see below), that asks you to
specify:

1) The geodatabase where you will

store your new collection of data,

2) The Feature Dataset name, and

3) The coordinate system.

We’ll learn about coordinate systems next

week, but for now just understand that like
we can measure distance in centimeters
or inches, we can specify locations with
different units and measurement systems
– we just have to know which to be able to
convert.

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Name your feature dataset

something like “MyFirstFDS”, and
Run the geoprocess.

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GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

Switch back to the

Catalog view
(remember, the tab on
the lower left on the
right third of the
program window).

You should now see the

MyFirstFDS feature
dataset displayed in
your Database tree. If
not, make sure that the
test_gdb_1.gdb is
toggled down to display
(click on the little
triangle, it rotates
clockwise when open).

Right click on the

MyFirstFDS and
select New –
Feature Class:

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GIS Fundamentals: Supplementary Lessons with ArcGIS Pro Introduction to ArcGIS Pro

This should open a menu for specifying

the location, name, Geometry type, and
other options:

Name the feature class “NewLakes”

Specify a polygon Geometry type.

Note that the Geometry Type window

has a drop-down menu to specify point,
multi-point, polyline, or multi-patch
Types.

As described in the textbook, these are

different ways of conceptualizing real-
world things, and organizing them in a
spatial data layer.

Hold the mouse cursor just to the left of

the title “Geometry Type”

Note that a small information icon

appears. Clicking on the icon will
display an explanation banner.

This help is available on most menus.

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Accept the defaults for now, and Run the

geoprocess to create the new Feature Class.

If successful, you’ve just created a new, empty

data set into which you may place data. You
usually do this when you create new data, for
examples, when you interpret a drone or
satellite image, or often when you are modifying
old layers and want to keep an original version.

Activate the Catalog, and verify that the

NewLakes Feature Class has been created
within your MyFirstFDS Feature Data Set.

You may have to expand the list (click on the

leading triangle) to see the contents of the
MyFirstFDS.

There is nothing to turn in for this section of the

lab, but make sure you can successfully create
layers with the Catalog tools. We’ll be doing
this several times in future labs, and won’t
include specific instructions in how to do so in
those labs.

There is something to turn in!

Turn in snips of your ArcGIS Pro Catalog showing what you’ve
created and where it is (just like his above).
AND
snips from windows explorer that you annotate (in paint? or?) to tell
me what some of the files and folders are, including at least your
geodatabase, a shapefile and the project file for this last section,
but you should differentiate these from the first exercises.
Post these to your lab report.

The last thing in your lab report should be the names of other pdfs
(the maps) that you’re turning in.

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