To start off I really had issues saving and reloading information from previous tutorials. I couldn’t find my data that I had submitted for Ch3 on the ArcGIS Online site. When I opened my ArcPro  in the computer lab, my maps did not change when I was clicking buttons to do the Ch 4 tutorials. I continuously had issues altering my maps and view my previous projects. Maybe I had done something wrong when saving all of my progress, but I couldn’t find any of my old work or make new progress in the tutorials. So I didn’t have a ton of notes on getting all this done, but I did manage to get it finished.

Week 5: GIS Software II – GIS Tutorial for ArcGIS Pro

Chapter 4: File Geodatabases

This chapter covers the management and organization of spatial data using file geodatabases. The tutorials demonstrate how to create a new project, connect external folders, and convert shapefiles into feature classes. Attribute table modifications include renaming fields, deleting unnecessary columns, and performing SQL queries. Spatial joins allow the combination of data based on location, while central point calculations differentiate between centroids and central points. These techniques help in structuring and analyzing geographic data more efficiently.

Chapter 5: Spatial Data

This chapter focuses on projections, coordinate systems, and working with external geospatial data. It highlights the importance of selecting the correct coordinate system to ensure spatial accuracy. The tutorials explain how different projections affect data representation and how external datasets interact with ArcGIS Pro. Working with U.S. Census data and adjusting coordinate systems is emphasized to maintain consistency across datasets.

Chapter 6: Geoprocessing

This chapter introduces key geoprocessing tools that help automate spatial analysis. Tutorials include dissolving features, extracting study areas, and merging datasets to enhance organization and visualization. Symbolizing data using graduated colors makes population density patterns clearer. Labeling and adjusting map properties ensure the readability of spatial data, making geoprocessing essential for refining and structuring geographic information.

Chapter 7: Digitizing

This chapter covers the creation and modification of spatial features. Tutorials guide users through adding new features, editing existing ones, and transforming polygons. The Split tool is introduced for precision in dividing features while maintaining dataset integrity. Digitizing is essential for creating accurate and detailed maps, requiring careful manipulation of spatial data.

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Geocoding is the process of converting addresses into geographic coordinates. This chapter explains how to use address locators and refine match rates for accuracy. The tutorials explore batch geocoding and handling errors in address-based datasets. The ability to transform raw location data into meaningful spatial insights is a key application of GIS technology.

Chapter 4: File Geodatabases

I found Chapter 4 to be easy as it focused on how to import data into geodatabases and how to create different queries.  This chapter focused on data how it can be used to modify the attribute tables in ARCGIS which you then are able to calculate and create different queries to get the information you need for new fields that you create for the attribute table.  Overall this chapter was straightforward and easy to follow and I didn’t run into any issues.

Chapter 5: Spatial Data

I found Chapter 5 to be the most time consuming chapter.  This chapter looked at map projections, coordinate systems, and looking at and working with US Census Bureau spatial and tubular data.  This chapter started off easy and I found doing the map projections to be simple and fun.  Changing a map’s coordinate system was also easy and I found the first half of the tutorials for this chapter to be very straightforward and easy to follow.  Likewise working with the US Census Bureau data was also easy to follow and this chapter also showed how to join data and create choropleth maps.  Creating the choropleth maps was easy but time consuming as there were a lot of different factors to take into consideration and I somehow managed to spend a good amount of time on tutorial 5 of chapter 5.  The rest of the chapter was easy.

Chapter 6: Geoprocessing

Chapter 6 was very easy to follow through.  I don’t really have any comments on this chapter as it focused on different geoprocessing features and how to edit and change them.  Overall very simple and easy.

Chapter 7: Digitizing

Chapter 7 was really fun to go through as it looked at editing and changing polygon features and learning how to use cartography tools.  Moving the features and using the different edit tools was very easy and fun to do.  I also found it interesting the different cartography tools and how it is able to smooth out various polygons that represent land and water.  The final tutorial of this chapter was the most interesting as it showed how to transform polygons.

Chapter 8: Geocoding

Chapter 8 looked into geocoding and I ran into an issue with the collect events tool as I could not get it to work.  This chapter was very short and so it was the least time consuming and was very straightforward with the instructions.

I came to some problems in Chapter 4-2. When I was getting the data for tracts from the field view, I only had 1 piece of data for the tracts information. I tried restarting the file since I hadn’t saved it and maybe deleted the data, but when I restarted it, it was still the same. I kept going back through my steps to figure out what was wrong but nothing would change the outcome of the data. I kept moving on and then when I tried to make a new field “popyouthunder20” it wouldn’t let me save, so then it wouldn’t add it to the Maricopa table. I had to skip the rest of 4-2 because I wasn’t able to do any of the steps because my file was all screwed up and probably corrupted. In 4-3 I would move the map and the colors would be dark red and green but as soon as I let go of the map it turns into a cyan blue. 

In chapter 5 I really enjoyed going back to the basics and just exploring the different map projections to learn them and get familiar with them. It was cool going to the National map website to input information into arcGIS. 

Chapter 6 was fairly simple, the tutorials were short and continued from the last tutorials helping you remember what you just did and using it for the next tutorial. 

The start of chapter 7 was really fun, I liked editing the map and changing where the building polygons were to match the buildings. My construction toolbar didn’t show up automatically so it was hard to find it. It was fun creating the perimeters to label the buildings, it reminded me of like the OWU map and how they created it. In the last tutorial of chapter 7 my HBH1 layer was slanted and not aligned with Hamburg Hall, but I went back and retraced my steps and was able to fix it which felt very rewarding. 

In chapter 8, when I tried to run the Collect Events tool it kept failing, so I had to skip it. Other than that, learning about the geocoding process was very smooth.

This section was harder and more complex than the previous assignment.  I ran into a few problems where I don’t think my final maps were correct but I tried my best to work through them.

Chapter 4:

The first tutorial in chapter 4 focused on importing data into a new ArcGIS pro project. At first, this was easy but soon I realized I had messed up somewhere. I realized that I missed the your turn portion and was completely lost when the second half was talking about tracts. I did not realize this until I had already left the lab and thought that it must have been a problem within the program. Comparatively to last week’s assignment I felt like I didn’t fully understand the work I was doing in some of the tutorials and was really just following along with what the book said. I understood that different tools helped find different results but I wasn’t really exactly able to understand how they were doing that work.

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5 begin by working with world map projections. It taught us how to change the given map into a different type of projection such as the Albers equal area projection. In tutorial 5-3 we worked on setting projected coordinate systems. It was mentioned that there are many ways for setting a maps coordinate system and regardless to the coordinate system apply you can always change it in the map properties menu. I enjoyed tutorial 5-6 about downloading geospatial data from the USGS National map viewer. I found it interesting that we can download data and input it into our own ArcGis program. I encountered a problem while trying to download the correct document as it was not working. I tried various methods to extract the contents from the downloaded file and then put it into the program but it was just not working. So I was unable to complete this tutorial. I still read through the tutorial and have a general understanding of what I was going to have to do.

Chapter 6:

Chapter 6 started off with a tutorial about dissolving features to create neighborhoods and fire divisions and battalions. We used skills we had learned in the first part such as opening attribute table and sorting different fields. We learned about the pairwise dissolved tool and what it is used for. We learned how to merge features and created a new NYC water layer that included all of the water features into one. I found this chapter to be less intriguing than others that I have completed.

Chapter 7:

Chapter 7 was the most fun tutorial chapter for me during this section I liked being able to actually move things around on the map rather than just him putting data into different tools like the last couple tutorials. It was fun putting the correct shapes of buildings back where they’re supposed to be and learning how to rotate them and change their size. Learning how to use the vertex points was a little bit of a struggle at first but I understood it after messing around with it for a little bit. We learned how to smooth a green space polygon. The result was a new feature class of smooth polygons for the golf courses. Tutorial 7-4 was a little bit harder than the last few. I had trouble transforming my building to fit into the smaller shape. I had to redo this step multiple times for it to finally work.

Chapter 8:

Chapter 8 was the easiest set of tutorials I’ve done so far because there was only two. It started off strong and I was able to complete tutorial one. However in tutorial two I ran into a problem when trying to use the create locator tool. I tried putting in the correct settings and running it multiple times without being able to get it to work. I attached a picture of what it looked like I am not sure what else I could have done.

Chapter 4

This unit was more difficult as the instructions didn’t involve much detail, and I had to remember many procedures from previous chapters. In Tutorial 4-1, I created a new ArcGIS Pro project named “YouthPopulation” and connected external folders, allowing access to spatial data. Converting shapefiles to feature classes reinforced the importance of proper file organization. Tutorial 4-2 involved modifying attribute tables, deleting unnecessary columns, and renaming fields, but I accidentally skipped the “Your Turn” section, which required creating the Tract feature class. This mistake forced me to redo the tutorial, reinforcing the importance of completing all exercises. In Tutorial 4-3, the SQL syntax was challenging, but ArcGIS Pro’s query builder helped. Tutorial 4-4 introduced spatial joins to aggregate burglaries by neighborhood, emphasizing data organization. In Tutorial 4-5, I learned how to create central points from polygons using the “Feature to Point” tool and the “Calculate Geometry” tool to add coordinates. The distinction between centroids and central points was particularly useful. Tutorials 4-6 covered creating a code table for crime hierarchy codes and performing a one-to-many join for better data representation. Managing these joins and understanding the limitations of large datasets were key takeaways.  

Chapter 5

This chapter focused on projections, coordinate systems, and working with U.S. Census data, making it a more technical and detail-oriented unit.. Tutorial 5-2 highlighted the importance of selecting the correct coordinate system early on, as it impacts later analyses. Working with external geospatial data and understanding how different formats interact with ArcGIS Pro was a valuable experience,  the need for precision in GIS workflows was proved to me again from this chapter. By the end of the chapter, I had a stronger understanding of how projections influence spatial accuracy and how to effectively prepare datasets for mapping and analysis. This unit served as a great reminder of how foundational GIS concepts come together in practical applications.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 focused on geoprocessing techniques such as dissolving features, extracting and clipping study areas, and merging layers,  for mapping fire company zones in Manhattan. A key task involved using the Pairwise Dissolve tool to group fire companies into battalions. In the beginning, I didn’t understand what the point of this tool was, after using it and experimenting for a bit I got what it is about. Fire battalions were symbolized using graduated colors to represent population density. Using graduated colors gave useful information to the map, and the different densities are easy to tell apart with this feature. Labeling the fire battalions was the most challenging part, as it required working with label properties to ensure the names and numbers were displayed correctly without cluttering the map and making it hard to read. 

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 introduced digitizing techniques, focusing on editing, creating, and transforming polygon features in ArcGIS Pro. This unit involved various tools and methods to manipulate spatial data, such as modifying existing polygon features, adding new ones. One of the key things I learned was working with tools that enhance the visual representation of geographic features, along with spatial transformations. A particularly challenging part was figuring out how to use the Split tool effectively, as it required precision in dividing features correctly while maintaining the integrity of the dataset. Unlike previous chapters, this unit required a more direct interaction with the features rather than simply applying geoprocessing tools. The experience was engaging and I liked it.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 introduced geocoding, which focused on converting addresses and zip codes into mappable points, making it one of the more practical and engaging topics so far. This unit involved working with both zip codes and street addresses to analyze spatial data, which was interesting because it showed how location-based information can be transformed into meaningful insights. I found the process of matching addresses to locations straightforward, especially after getting used to ArcGIS Pro’s handling of data inconsistencies. Unlike previous chapters, nothing in this unit felt overwhelmingly difficult—I’ve started to adjust to the workflow and feel more comfortable navigating the tools. The matching techniques for improving address accuracy were particularly useful, and it was satisfying to see how geocoding could be applied to real-world scenarios, like analyzing event attendance based on survey data. Overall, this chapter reinforced how GIS can make spatial data more practical and accessible, and it felt like a natural progression in applying everything I’ve learned so far.

Chapter 4:

As I started tutorial 1, the Tracts feature under youth population in the catalog pane was not appearing. As I could not find the Tracts feature, I also cannot do tutorial 2 in Chapter 4 as it requires the tracts feature… I, however, can start on Tutorial 3. In tutorial 3, I was supposed to get 444 remaining, but I got 430. In tutorial 4, I was very easily able to complete it. I liked when I was able to add color at the end for the choropleth map.

 

Chapter 5:

I liked being able to see the globe in a different perspective. In tutorial 3, I had trouble finding the “NAD 1983 UTM Zone 11N”. It was in a different spot than what the book referred me to. I ended up finding it however. My favorite part of this chapter was adding another baselayer. It is cool to see the different parts of areas.

 

Chapter 6:

Chapter 6 was the easiest for me. I liked being able to see just the specific parts of areas. Here are a few pictures of what I got.

 

Chapter 7:

This chapter was fun. I went crazy fixing all the building polygons. It was lowkey driving me insane that they were all a bit off.

 

Chapter 8:

I was a bit confused with this chapter, but I got a bit of it understood, like the first part.

Chapter 4 

Chapter 4 was a lot of work with spatial databases and databases in general. The first part was straightforward and I got it pretty easy. However, tutorial 4-2 I ran into some problems. When trying to code GEOIDNum = !GEOID10! I kept getting error messages which took me to a webpage with a message from python saying the code was invalid. I’m not very tech savvy but I tried my best to figure it out. Eventually I had to move on from this section.  Moving on, section 4-3 was interesting. This section was about carrying out attribute queries. I was a little intimidated at first seeing what looked like lines of code in the book, but it was not that bad. Below is a picture from 4-3 with data from crime incidents.

 

Chapter 5 

This chapter was really interesting. I was happy to go back to working more with the shape of maps. The first section was fun. I was given a map of the world but with some distortions. Then I had to change the map projection to the Robinson projection, which is usually used when mapping the globe.  Below is a picture of that map in 5-1. Tutorial 5-2 was pretty straightforward. I ran into some trouble in 5-3. Everything was going smoothly, I added tracts and municipalities to the map, added tracts and layers and changed the outline color, so it was pretty basic stuff. Then I needed to change the coordinate system. There was no NAD 1983 so I could not finish this part of the tutorial. This chapter ends with working with real world data, which I thought was really cool. I like how I went to the actual US census website to use real data. However, I ran into yet another problem trying to finish this chapter. I could not figure out how to access the data to put into Microsoft excel. Downloading geospatial data seems like It will be important so I plan on going back to this part later.

 

Chapter 6 

This chapter was all about geoprocessing. 6-1 was pretty easy. I learned how to dissolve features to create neighborhoods and fire divisions and battalions. This is important for real world applications. I did not have the chapter 6 gdb so I could not export the selected features for part 6-2. I really liked 6-3 when I had to merge water features. Tutorial 6-4 was very simple and it was nice to have something easy. I simply imported two files and ran one of the tools. I will provide a picture of the data from 6-4 below. The last two sections were a little more tedious in my opinion. I am still not super confident when it comes to things like combining two sets of data.

 

 

Chapter 7 

I really liked this chapter. I appreciate any part of a chapter that does not require a lot of data input, and this first part was moving buildings to their correct locations. This was my favorite part, it was like a game being able to move all the buildings around. Below I will add a picture from 7-1 of moving the first building. The rest of the chapter had similar tasks using other cartography tools.

 

Chapter 8 

I was very pleased to see how short chapter 8 would be. This chapter is about geocoding. The first part is geocoding data using zip codes. I had to build a zip code locator, and then correct the unmatched zip codes. This part was challenging for me because at this point my brain was tired and ready to be done with GIS. But, I prevailed. The second part was really easy. 8-2 was about geocoding street addresses. I will provide a screenshot of the finished map from 8-2 below. First I built a street locator and set its geocoding option. Putting in all the data in the create locator pane was a little tedious, but very straightforward. Overall, I understood chapter 8 pretty well.

Chapter 4:

Chapter 4 was much easier to work through compared to the earlier sections. Importing data wasn’t too hard, but it did take some patience. Even though the process took a little time, I can tell that repeating these steps is helping me get better. One of the biggest improvements I’ve noticed is how much faster I can navigate ArcGIS Pro. I don’t have to waste time looking for tools like the Catalog Pane or the Toolbox—they’re starting to feel natural. It’s great to see that practice is making everything smoother. Some steps felt a little repetitive, but I know they’re helping me build a strong foundation for harder tasks later.

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5 really opened my eyes to how world map projections work. I never realized there were so many different ways to project a map, and it was cool to see how state shapes and sizes change depending on which one is used. This helped me understand how map distortion happens and why it’s important to pick the right projection. The chapter made me think about how different projections affect the way we see and use maps.

Chapter 6:

Chapter 6 was all about making a neighborhood map, which was fun and useful. One of the best parts was working with fire department and police station layers—it was interesting to see how these important services are mapped in a community. Being able to look at and adjust these layers made the activity feel more real, not just like a regular assignment. This chapter showed me how GIS helps with city planning and keeping people safe, which made it feel more important.

Chapter 7:

Chapter 7 was definitely the most fun and interesting so far. I really enjoyed using different tools to create maps—it felt both creative and useful. The hands-on practice helped me understand the concepts better than just reading about them. But I still have some questions. Iknow how to use the tools now, but I’m not sure when to use each one. How do I decide which tool is best for a certain task? What happens if I pick the wrong one?

Chapter 8:

Chapter 8 was pretty simple and went by quickly. In section 8-1, I had a little trouble finding some buttons at first, but after looking around, I figured it out. Section 8-2 was even easier—I didn’t run into any big problems, and the steps made sense. It was nice to go through a chapter that was straightforward and reinforced my skills without being too difficult

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Chapter 3: I began by finishing the remaining tutorials for this section learning how to integrate with aspects of the online GIS system which was very interesting. I unfortunately could not get my maps to share with the online program, so to accomplish these tutorials I had to use maps already shared by classmates. However, I was able to accomplish and create all the other features on my own within the web system.

Chapter 4: The first two tutorials were interesting because I had to start from scratch and open a project with the regularly set base layers and build from there using database information in the esri folders. It was really helpful to learn how to do this, and I felt like I got much closer to actually being able to create a whole map from scratch on my own, which is obviously one of my goals in taking this course. While doing the third tutorial I was able to save and import the definition query but it would not appear in the mapping system again. I could not find what error was occurring so I moved on to the other queries in the chapter, which will definitely prove helpful in the future when working with large datasets and trying to understand different variables. Tutorial four was quick, it reminded me of how to create a map using simple data and graduated colors, it was pretty basic but at the very least made me feel accomplished. The next tutorial was pretty similar, I just had to add graduated symbols to the map which was a refresher but I was able to accomplish this with no issues. Finally, in tutorial 6 I was able to join the crime type data and manipulate the symbols to make data visualization easier.

 

Chapter 5: The first tutorial taught me how to change the type of distortion that is used in a 2D map of the world in GIS to be useful for different regions and have different rates of distortion. The second tutorial was the same but exclusively for the United States. Tutorial 3 was useful to learn more about how to use the coordinate systems within the maps and changing and manipulating the the coordinate system of a map. For the fourth tutorial, I was not able to locate the data file within the chapter 5 folder, it was not a part of my initial esripress download which is stored on my external hard drive. So I moved on to the fifth tutorial, which I spent a ridiculous amount of time extracting data from the US Census Bureau, but eventually found the proper way to integrate it all into the map. Finally, I moved on to the 6th tutorial, which involved adding even more data on things like bike stations into this map.

 

Chapter 6: I began with creating the map of New York City fire battalions which taught me how to dissolve and merge boundaries within the data of the map. I found this very interesting and I was able to execute all the actions without too much issue. Next, I used the instructions in tutorial 2 to clip the streets in the Upper West Side which was relatively simple. Then, tutorial 3 had me merge all the water features in the area of Manhattan. Tutorial 4 taught me how to merge two datasets into one with the police and fire stations of New York. Tutorial 5 was useful to find intersecting features which in this example were the streets of Manhattan and their fire companies. Tutorial 6 was all about calculating and comparing geometric attributes of the mapping data which in this case was the landuse of Brooklyn. Finally, tutorial 7 was useful to learn more ways to analyze counts of data within regions in this case the amount of people with disabilities within a fire companies jurisdiction. Overall this chapter was the smoothest one I’ve completed so far, and I actually remembered to take some pictures while I was doing it.