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GEOG 250: Introduction to Computer Mapping and GIS
Lab Exercise #3: Introduction to ArcGIS 9.3: Map Design and Layout
Description:
This week’s lab exercise continues the introduction to the ArcGIS 9.3 software from last week. In this
exercise, you will return to the Caribbean area map that mapped last week, and add some more data to
create a simple thematic map, along with some special symbolization and city and country text labels.
You will also set up a map layout for printing and exporting. Please follow these instructions very
carefully.
Also, save your map frequently!
I. Working with Map Data Symbology and Attributes
1. Start ArcMap, and open an existing map. The map document file is located in the O:\GIS\geog250\
lab3 folder. Open the geog250_lab3.mxd file. Once it’s open, save it to your M:\geog250\lab3
folder by going to File>>Save As. Use the same file name – geog250_lab3.mxd. The map extent
that you are now viewing in ArcMap’s Data View is very similar to the one you worked with last week.
You are viewing a general reference map of the countries and cities surrounding the Caribbean Sea.
See the map on page 8 of this handout for another view of this area. The wwf_terr layer is new.
Turn this layer on by clicking on the small box to the left of the map layer in the ArcMap Table of
Contents (TOC) listing. Drag and drop it above the Mexico, Central America, and Caribbean map
layer in the TOC.
2. Make sure you are at the original map extent and zoom level, and then go to Bookmarks>>Create.
A spatial bookmark identifies a particular geographic location that you want to save and reference
later. Name your spatial bookmark Caribbean Sea map, and click OK. Now, you can always get
back to this map extent and zoom level by going to Bookmarks>>Caribbean Sea map.
3. Let’s find out a little more about the wwf_terr map layer. Click on the ArcCatalog button . You
can also start ArcCatalog from the Windows Start Menu, Geosciences folder. When ArcCatalog
starts, browse to the G:\ArcGIS drive. You may need to click on the Connect To Folder button
to connect to this drive. Once you are connected to the drive, navigate through the two Data and
Maps folders, the world folder, and finally the data folder. Inside the data folder, click on the
wwf_terr.sdc file. On the right side of ArcCatalog, click on the gray Metadata tab. Under the blue
Description tab, read the short Abstract section of the metadata file, and then click on the blue
Attributes tab. Click on the green STATUS text. In GIS, attributes are characteristics of your data –
text, numeric, or alphanumeric. In this case, the STATUS attribute consists of text string that
describes the future conservation status of the WWF-defined terrestrial ecosystems. Above the
three blue tabs, click on the gray Preview tab to see a very small-scale world ecosystem map. Click
on the Identify tool , and then use this tool to click on any of the ecosystem polygons on the
map. An Identify Results window will pop up showing you the attributes associated with the
polygon that you clicked on. Click on several polygons, and notice the STATUS field. The values
in this field are either “Critical or Endangered”, “Vulnerable”, or “Relatively Stable or Intact”. For
some polygons (i.e., Greenland and most of Antarctica), there are not values for the STATUS field.
You are finished with ArcCatalog, so close it.
4. Turn on the boundaries layer. Right click on the map layer name and choose Properties. In the
Layer Properties dialog box, click on the Symbology tab. On the left side of the tab, click on
Categories followed by Unique Values. Change the Value Field to BND_TYPE, and click on the Add
All Values button. Remove the checkmark from the box next to <all other values>, and select and
remove the symbols for the Coastline and Median Line features. For the international boundaries,
change the label from Intl bnd to international. On the line above the international boundaries
