APPLICATIONS USING ARCVIEW 3.

2
CHAPTER 6
This applications section starts with a simple method for attribute data entry in Task 1.
Tasks 2 and 3 cover linking tables and joining tables respectively. Tasks 4 and 5 show
how new attributes can be created through data classification and data computation
respectively. All five tasks use ArcView. Although both packages have similar
functionalities for attribute data entry and management, ArcView is more user-friendly
and flexible than ARC/INFO.
Task 1: Enter attribute data in ArcView
What you need: landat.shp, a feature theme with 19 records.
For Task 1, you will add a new field to a table and enter the field
values. Because it works with one field and one record at a time, this
data entry method is good for updating rather than entering a large
amount of data.
1.
Start ArcView, open a new view, and add landat.shp to
view. Select Table from the Theme menu to open the landat.shp theme
table.
2.
First you need to add a field to the theme table before you
can enter the field values. Select Starting Editing from the Table menu.
Notice that the field names in the theme table become non-italic
signaling editing is enabled. To add a field, select Add Field from the
Edit menu. In the Field Definition dialog, change the name to lucode,
select Number as the type, change the width to 4, and leave the
decimal places as 0.
3.
Now you are ready to enter lucode values. Click the Edit
tool. Then click the first cell under lucode, type in its lucode value
according to the table below, and enter it. Type and enter the
remaining lucode values.
4.
Select Stop Editing from the Table menu. Answer Yes to
Save Edits?
5.
After lucode has been added as an attribute to landat.shp,
you can display lucode values. Activate the view. Double click
landat.shp in the Table of Contents to open the Legend Editor. Select
Unique Values as the legend type and lucode as the value field. Click
Apply.
Landat-ID
59
60
61
62
63

Lucode
400
200
400
200
200

Landat-ID
69
70
71
72
73

Lucode
300
200
300
300
300

64
65
66
67
68

300
200
300
300
200

74
75
76
77

300
200
300
300

Task 2: Link tables in ArcView

What you need: wp.shp, a forest stand theme; wpdata.dbf and
wpact.dbf, two attribute data files that can be linked to wp.shp.
Wpdata.dbf includes vegetation and land type data, and wpact.dbf
includes activity records.
ArcView offers LINK and JOIN for attribute data management.
Task 2 uses LINK to link a feature theme table to two separate dBASE
files. The data files are part of a relational database.
1.
Start ArcView, open a new view, and add wp.shp to view.
Select Table from the Theme menu to open the wp.shp theme table.
2.
Make the Project window active. Click Tables and Add to
open the Add Table dialog. Make sure that the File Type is dBASE in the
dialog. Click on wpdata.dbf and wpact.dbf to add them as new tables.
3.
Arrange the three tables of attributes of wp.shp,
wpdata.dbf, and wpact.dbf so that they are all visible on the monitor.
Wpdata.dbf and wpact.dbf are dBASE files containing additional
attributes of wp.shp. What you want to do next is to link wpdata.dbf
and wpact.dbf to the wp.shp theme table. In linking, wpdata.dbf and
wpact.dbf are called the source tables and the wp.shp theme table is
called the destination table.
4.
First, link wpdata.dbf to the wp.shp theme table by using
the field of Id in both tables as the relate item. Click on Id in
wpdata.dbf and Id in the wp.shp theme table. Then select Link from the
Table menu. Repeat the same procedure to link wpact.dbf to the
wp.shp theme table.
5.
Click a record in the wp.shp theme table. The record is
highlighted, so are its related records in wpdata.dbf and wpact.dbf and
the selected map feature in wp.shp.
Task 3: Join tables in ArcView
What you need: wp.shp and wpdata.dbf, same as Task 2.
Task 3 asks you to join a dBASE file to a feature theme table. The
choice between JOIN and LINK in ArcView depends on the task. JOIN
combines attribute data from different tables into a single table,
making it possible to use all attribute data in query, classification, or
computation. Tables that are linked remain separate, thus limiting
attribute data manipulation to individual tables.
1.
Start ArcView, open a new view, and add wp.shp to view.
Select Table from the Theme menu to open the wp.shp theme table.

2.
Make the Project window active. Click Tables and Add to
open the Add Table dialog. Click on wpdata.dbf to add the table.
3.
At this point, you have opened two tables: the theme table
(Attributes of wp.shp) and wpdata.dbf. Next, you want to join the data
from wpdata.dbf, the source table, to the theme table, the destination
table, by using Id in both tables as the key.
4.
Click on the Id field in wpdata.dbf to make it active. Click
on Id in the theme table to make it active.
5.
Click the Join button to join wpdata.dbf to the wp.shp
theme table.
Task 4: Attribute Data Classification in ArcView
What you need: wp.shp and wpdata.dbf, same as Task 3.
You have joined a dBASE file to the wp.shp theme table in Task 3.
Task 4 demonstrates how this expanded theme table and its attribute
data can be used for data classification and creation of a new attribute.
1.
Make sure that wp.shp is still in view, and attribute data
from wpdata.dbf are still joined to the wp.shp theme table.
2.
You want to classify values of the field Elev into 4 classes.
Elev represents average elevation in a vegetation stand and is
measured in hundreds of feet. Elev in wp.shp ranges from 24 to 52.
One record has an Elev value of 0, because the polygon is not under
the jurisdiction of the national forest. The four classes of Elev are <=
40, 4145, 4650, and > 50.
3.
First, you need to add a new field, called Elevzone, to save
the results of classification. Follow the same procedure as in Task 1:
select Starting Editing from the Table menu, select Add Field from the
Edit menu, and define the new field as having the name of Elevzone,
Type of Number, Width of 2, and Decimal Places of 0.
4.
Click the Query Builder button to open the Query Builder
Box. Prepare the logical expression as:([Elev] > 0) and ([Elev] <= 40).
Click on New Set in the dialog. Those records that meet the logical
expressions are now highlighted in the wp.shp theme table. Click the
Promote button so that the highlighted records are at the top of the
table. Close the Query Builder dialog.
5.
Select Calculate from the Field menu to open the Field
Calculator dialog. The lower left corner of the dialog is the display area
for the computation expression. Notice that the field, Elevzone, is
shown above the display area with the equal sign. Enter 1 in the
display area and click OK. Now the highlighted records in the table all
have the value of 1 under Elevzone, or are classified into Elevzone 1.
6.
Click the Query Builder button again and prepare the
logical expressions as: ([Elev] > 40) and ([Elev] <= 45). Click on New
Set in the dialog. Open the Field Calculator dialog, and enter 2 in the
display area. Now the classification of Elevzone 2 is done.

7.
Repeat the same procedure to complete the classification
of Elevzone 3 and 4. To save results of the classification, select Stop
Editing from the Table menu and answer Yes to save edits.
Task 5: Attribute Data Computation
What you need: wp.shp and wpdata.dbf, same as Task 3.
You have created a new field from data classification in Task 4.
Another common method for creating new fields is computation. Task 5
shows how a new field can be created and computed from existing
attribute data.
1.
If wp.shp is still in view, make it active; otherwise, add
wp.shp to view and make it active. Open its theme table.
2.
The field area in the wp.shp theme table is measured in
square meters. You want to convert the area measurement to acres in
this task. Select Start Editing from the Table menu. Notice that the field
names in the theme table become non-italic when editing is enabled.
Select Add Field from the Edit menu. In the Field Definition dialog,
change the name to acres, select Number as the type, change the
width to 8, and change the decimal places to 2. After you click OK and
dismiss the dialog, the new field, acres, is added to the wp.shp theme
table.
3.
Select Calculate from the Field menu to open the Field
Calculator dialog. The lower left corner of the dialog is the display area
for the computation expression. Notice that the field, acres, is shown
above the display area with the equal sign. Double click the field area,
double click the / request, type 1000000, double click the * request,
and then type 247.11. The completed calculation expression should
read: [Area] / 1000000 * 247.11. Click OK in the Field Calculator dialog
and dismiss it. The acres field is now populated with the calculated
values in acres.
4.
To save results of the calculation, select Stop Editing from the Table menu
and answer Yes to save edits.
Develop a report of the practice: objectives, sequence, layout,
functions learned and conclusions.