What are Geographic Information Systems (GIS)?
GIS Data
There are 2 main types of GIS Data: Vector and Raster.
Vector: Point, lines, and poylgon data. This can be boundaries, lakes & streams, roads, locations of cities, and many more things!
Raster: Aerial photography, satellite imagery, pictures
ArcGIS Pro
ArcGIS Pro is an application that allows for complex analysis of GIS data – points, lines, polygons, and aerial photography. Maps created in ArcGIS Pro can be exported to ArcGIS Online for sharing on interactive plate forms.
To use ArcGIS Pro, you must first have a St. Olaf ArcGIS Online account. Contact that IT Helpdesk if you currently do not have an account. After activating your account, we can assign ArcGIS Pro to your username and the program can be accessed. Anyone on campus can have an account while they are at St. Olaf to use ArcGIS Online or Pro for any project! It is not required to be part of a course or research group in order to have an account.
Tips for Working with GIS Data
- Google File Stream: Connect your Google Drive (G Drive) directly to your local computer! This can be connected directly to ArcGIS Pro for file sharing and editing. Be careful about multiple people editing files at the same time – while the data is stored in Google Drive, it is be edited in ArcGIS Pro which can not always accommodate multiple editors in the same project.
- When downloading data from another source – always make duplicate copies of the data: one original and one working copy. This will help in the event that the data accidentally became corrupted or is accidentally deleted. There will always be an original version of the data.
- Create a Google Sheet or text file – record all of the locations that the data came from along with the name of the file that was downloaded! This will make it easier when compiling a bibliography or citing sources.
- Google Drive is not compatible wtih working with raster tools in ArcGIS – if you try to run any raster tools and save the results to Google Drive, you will most likely receive and error or the output will be corrupted. Any raster work can be done on the local machine or a network folder. Network Folders are available on a case by case basis.
ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, or other GIS Resources
Create an ArcGIS Online Story Maps project.
Adding shapefiles to ArcGIS Online – this shows specifically borders from the US Census Bureau site.
Embed audio, video, or other types of media content into an ArcGIS Online Story Map.
Add an interactive, clickable table of contents to an ArcGIS Online Story Map. This will improve navigation for the user if there is a lot of content in the Story Map.
Creating a time-aware map using ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro – animation maps that show changes in data over time. For vector layers only.
After uploading a map to ArcGIS Online from Online or ArcGIS Pro – adding the map to a Story Maps project.
Raster test data: download the geodatabase to add to ArcGIS Pro! Minnesota DEM (Digital Elevation Model) 30m resolution. Data obtained from MInnesota Geospatial Commons
Vector test data: Job and Activity Centers in Minneapolis and St. Paul – download the geodatabase and add to ArcGIS Pro. Data obtained from Minnesota Geospatial Commons