Lab 8: Layouts and File Exports

Now I am beginning to realize that all this time and effort spent into organizing and making constant changes to my maps pays off. All 47 maps are ready to go and I am satisfied with the colors I have chosen, though I have not yet looked at them on the projector screen, one of my final mediums. They appear to be fine on the computer, at least! I had an enjoyable time choosing a layout for each of the four different types of maps. ArcGIS has a lot of options to choose from and many things that I can include to support my map. They have north arrows of various styles, they have an extendable scale bar for distances, and a few other things. I always enjoy this part of any large project, putting the final touches on it.

The interface for creating a legend is just counter-productive as the properties and symbology tabs for the map data. If I wanted to make an adjustment to one aspect of my legend, say the size of the text, I would have to make sure I changed everything again and again, because it would always revert back to the default settings, at least for me anyway. However, once I was able to set my layouts for the fist one of each category, the rest were just copy and paste.

Professor Krygier said that it would be easier to export the legend separately, then add it to each image when working in Photoshop. I actually didn’t do it that way. I kept the imbedded legend in ArcGIS and just made adjustments on its size and style from the legend tab. It worked out well, and when I got to the cropping step in Photoshop, all the legends were in the same place. I did have to go back and move the states around a bit because they somehow got dragged and were about 2 pixels off on a few of them. It’s always a pain to get them all finished and find that one in the middle is off center.

Here are finished layouts for all four types of maps (they are a little blurry, navigate towards my animation page for better quality):

At this point I am ready to animate my maps. I’ve never used an animator tool before so I looking forward to it.

Lab 7: Data Classification and Mapping

It seemed that even with good organization from the previous labs, this one was difficult and time consuming. ArcGIS is not very user friendly, and because everything needs to be a certain way or done in a certain order it get extremely tedious. However, I think it has less to do with ArcGIS’s interface and more with the fact that I needed to repeat, over 40 times, the same process of inputing my scheme, making sure the nonexistent data is excluded, etc.

Something I really don’t like about ArcGIS (this version anyway) is how it auto adjusts many things in your scheme. For instance, trying to make the scheme have a range from -86 to 421 couldn’t be done on some layers because the data did not go that low or that high. The reason I don’t like this is because I tend to have to improvise when working on a large project like this. If something goes wrong, I try to find an alternative. ArcGIS, unfortunately, doesn’t work that way. If you put something in wrong, you’ll have to find it and adjust everything to get it right.

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I chose the schemes I did for my choropleth and other maps based on personal judgment of trying to create a relatively even spread of data. I didn’t want a whole bunch in one category with few in the rest, or to have some at an extreme on either end of the spectrum. Because I have hardly any experience I creating a map step-by-step like this, it’s hard for me to imagine how my schemes will affect the final product. At this point in time I feel as though I can just choose one at my best judgment and keep going. I can always change it if I want to, but that would take some time considering ArcGIS is slow to work with.

Here are a few basic maps I have created as a start:

This is a graduated color map, also known as a choropleth map of population change for 1990-2000 for Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The browns indicate gains in population and the turquoise indicates losses, all of varying degrees.

This is a proportional symbol map, the larger the circle the more people living there. The blank counties are ones that have no data listed for them. they are just removed from the map altogether. I think this allows you to focus on the ones that do have data, thank worrying about the ones that don’t.

For this lab I need to create 11 graduated color maps, 12 graduated symbol maps, 12 proportional symbol maps and 12 dot density maps, each with an appropriate classification scheme.

Lab 5: Data Processing 2

ArcGIS terms and their definitions:

.DBF/dbase file – a shape file that ArcGIS uses to store geometric location and attribute information. The dbase specifically stores the attribute information in which you can combine with other files of similar data.

Select by attributes – an option which allows you to select features from a specific layer

Query – a request to select features or records from a database.

Fields (in a table) – the categories in the attributes table that contain the data. Example: “FIPS” values and “County_Names”

Records (in a table) – all the information that is contains within a field. These can be used to calculate related values or can be combined with other sets of data.

Attributes – any sort of non-spatial information about a location, like the name, population, elevation, etc.

Relational database – used to match data with similar characteristics in the same dataset, often making it easier

Join function – for users to understand.

Calculate/field calculator – by combining multiple groups of data, you can calculate change between them, allowing you to create different kinds of data. Example: population change between 1900 and 2000.

Lab 4: Introduction to ArcGIS

The most prominent feature about ArcGIS is that it is very tedious. The number of tools and what they do was at first very confusing, especially having never used this software before. It was also difficult to navigate the toolbars and menus.

Here are some maps I made when fiddling around with ArcGIS, just to get used to how the software worked and memorize the menu scheme.

This Idaho map show the density of males in each county. Darker means more male population

In this Montana map, I found that I was able to select individual components of a map and remove them, like puzzle pieces. For instance, I can grab a single river and move it from where it originally was. I feel lie this would be useful if you need to examine an area of the map more closely.

Below is the layer the I will be using to create the maps for my project.

ArcGIS terms and their definitions:

Map document/.mxd file – a map document, identified by file extension .mxd, contains all the attributes, layers and other information that ArcGIS has contained in its database. Instead of actually saving the map, ArcGIS finds the data in the database that it has been saved to. In other words, when you open a map document, the software searches the database and displays the information.

Table of contents – this is the sidebar in which you can see all the layers that are currently added to the map. You can switch them on and off and obtain the properties of the file as well. Basically, this is your main menu for your map layers.

Data frame – this is where the all the information for a particular layer is displayed. Simply put, it is the image that displays when you bring up certain layers. For example, when you add rivers as a layer it displays the geography of the rivers of a location in the data frame.

Map layer – this is the actual visual representation of the information.

Attribute table – this contains all the information that is stored about a specific location in the ArcGIS database.

While exploring the ArcGIS website, I found a few things that really interested me about how this software can be used. I first navigated to the Defense and Intelligence page. I read that this software can help the military create patterns of natural, social and military movements in a specific area in order to give commanders a better idea of surrounding enemy territory. It can also be used to plot out evacuation routes based on information collected about vehicle and pedestrian traffic, highway usage and things like that. The fact that this software can potentially save lives is definitely something worth mentioning. Another interesting use for GIS systems is in the field of archeology. It can be used to produce 3D models of a dig site and help diggers make an evaluation of the site prior to digging further.

Lab 3: Data Processing 1

Let me just start by saying Microsoft Excel is always a pain to work with. I always have trouble getting started with any work I do on it and there is so many things that could go wrong (move a cell where it isn’t supposed to be, deleting an entire column when all you wanted was a number) that it makes it seem almost hopeless to compose a large-scale chart of any kind. I suppose I should thank the Lord for the “undo” button, huh? I suppose I just haven’t used it enough to be able to do something quickly and efficiently.

That being said it took me longer than I think it should for me to completely organize my data so I would successfully be prepared for using it in ArcGIS. Having two folders open was a must in this lab, seeing as I would always have to switch between my data, my spreadsheet and near the end my open Office files. Speaking of Open Office, I find it simple to use and I was able to convert my excel files into DBF rather quickly. I don’t yet understand why we are number missing or “crazy” data as 999999999, or putting apostrophes in front of the FIPS codes. It always seems unnecessary to do such things; If we know the cell is blank, why doesn’t ArcGIS. I have a feeling I will learn why soon enough…

Also, I find it interesting how the software we are using has been only slightly updated but causes some problem as we work our way through this lab. Specifically I’m referring to how Excel no longer allows you to export a DBF file. Just tat one little update means we have to spend time searching for an alternative. Luckily this is a class project and not one for work, because if I were to be working on this project alone, there would be no way I could find a working alternative and keep on schedule. All of it builds into quite a tedious task.

Entry 4: Oct 7

Lab 2: HTML & Map Mashups

I had a lot of fun, amidst a little bit of frustration while working with HTML coding. I was going into the lab without any prior experience. I didn’t even know what the source page of a website looked like before this. I quickly realized the importance of organization in HTML coding. Every so often, while trying to center text or change the color of the background, something would go completely wrong and my website looked nothing like what I intended. They only way for me to fix that problem is to meticulously scan over my coding and find the problem myself. The majority of the time it was because I forgot to close brackets.

There was one point, when I was organizing my GoogleMaps mash-up, where I had no clue of what I had done wrong. I was easily able to upload my Google Earth placemarks to my online map, but when I went to change the color of my background and text was when I hit a snag. I had changed the background to black and my text to white. When I went to check the text in the bubbles that pop up when you click on a placemark my text was gone however. All the other text outside of the map was there, but the text inside the map was gone. I scanned over the code for about 20 minutes. Then, out of frustration I tried to highlight the bubble. Guess what, the text was there all along. I failed to realize that changing the static text on the background to white also meant that the text inside the map was white, too. It was such a simple mistake but it caused me quite a lot of frustration. But, like Professor Krygier said, these types of mistakes are very easy to make.

I looked on the internet for sites that I could use to change the color, features, etc. of my website, mainly my homepage. There were a lot of free sites to choose from that offered basic designs for background, text and things like that. Click more to see the link to the site I’ve been using.

http://www.grsites.com/archive/textures/category/27/texture/0/

http://www.backgroundlabs.com/

http://www.web-source.net/html_codes_chart.htm

http://html-color-codes.info/

Finished looking up 15 significant places of interest for Lab 1. These locations are marked with placemarks in GoogleEarth. They include parks, museums, cities and environmental wonders.

Significant places in states

Idaho: City of Rocks, Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, World Center for Birds of Prey, Boise (state capital), Shoshone Falls

Montana: Glacier National Park, Museum of the Rockies, Capital City Helena, Fort Peck Field Station of Paleontology, Ghost Town of Bannack State Park

Wyoming: Old Faithful Geyser, Buffalo Bill Historic Museum, Devils Tower National Monument, Snake River Canyon, Yellowstone National Park

Copyright Information

According to the Census Bureau website, anyone is free to use data from the site and Bureau itself. Only, that they require that the Bureau is cited as a source. They state the law that says that the Government is precluded from copyright infringement.

Sites of Importance

Basic Information

Visit Idaho (some basic information)

Access Idaho (basic info)

Montana History (basic info)

Montana Government Website

Wyoming Government Website

Population Information and Population Change

Census Scope

Idaho Census Research

Montana county population estimates

Wyoming population change

More on Wyoming population change

Lab 1: Mappable Data

Created folder in C:\Geog_353 under Gruber.

Searching for mappable data: Yahoo! Directory search

Government > scroll down Census Bureau > U.S. Bureau of the Census

Government > U.S. Government > Executive Branch > Departments and Agencies > Department of Commerce > Census Bureau (3^rd from top) > U.S. Bureau of the Census

Having used the Census Bureau website before for Geog222 I knew that I wasn’t going to find my data on the first couple of pages I clicked on. However I tried to find my way through the links they provided. I quickly resorted to the search bar. I wasn’t going to fin my data by stumbling on it. I knew what I was searching for in the first place. Typed Idaho in the search, it took me to QuickFacts and it took me to all the data for the 2000 census count. Clicked “browse data sets for this state” to the top right. This took me to Idaho QuickLinks. Bingo! “Historical population counts, 1900to 1990 for all counties” under “People QuickLinks” The page I found lists every county in Idaho and their populations from 1900 to 1990, just like it stated. It also lists the U.S. total population, I suppose as a comparison. All in all finding this data was simple.

The only problem I seem to have trouble with when it comes to extensive databases like that is that there is too much information on the site and can be distracting from what I really need. In a few cases, which I admit were mostly my fault I found misleading data, mainly because I didn’t read the title clearly, like if I needed Idaho population between 1900 and 1990 but found population growth between 1900 and 1990. Some of the data sets are very closely related.

Searching for mappable data: keyword search

Google keyword(s): United States census data Idaho (Montana, Wyoming) 1900 to 1990

These keyword searches resulted with links to the states’ respective QuickLinks sites. The same ones I went through to get to the actual data that I needed. This search took me much less time than the directory search, possibly because I had already found the websites with the data and I knew what to search for. Still, even if I hadn’t previously found my data, it would have been quicker to Google my search, considering I knew what to look for even before scouring through the directories. Though, I’m sure if I was given an assignment without much support it would take a lot longer, because first I would have to narrow down what I would then need to find the best sources out of the blue.

I have experienced, however with other searches the amount of useful but non-specific data. For instance, I might find useful census data, but not from historical dates. Usually, Googling ends up with results that are all recent. It is the internet after all, so the information I end up finding is, for the most part, new. The thing about Googling, however, is that I was taught how to properly search for sites that relate best to what I want to find. The best way to find things is to use more keywords than just two or three.

Search results: Bureau homepage http://www.census.gov/

• Idaho Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990 http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/id190090.txt (Saved as Idaho PopCoun 19001990)

• Montana Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990 http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/mt190090.txt (Saved as Montana PopCoun 19001990)

• Wyoming Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990 http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/wy190090.txt (Saved as Wyoming PopCoun 19001990)

• Idaho Population Estimates per County for 2000 to 2007 http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2007-01-16.xls (Saved as Idaho EstCounPop 20002007)

• Montana Population Estimates per County for 2000 to 2007 http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2007-01-30.xls (Saved as Montana EstCounPop 20002007)

• Wyoming Population Estimates per County for 2000 to 2007 http://www.census.gov/popest/counties/tables/CO-EST2007-01-56.xls (Saved as Wyoming EstCounPop 20002007)