GIS Software and Tools

Software

• ArcGIS 8.2 is a new and more advanced software than arcview 3.2. ArcGIS 8.2 is used at the Golda Meir Library at UWM in accordance with the UW-System ESRI site license. It is a complete, single, integrated system for geographic data creation, management, integration, and analysis. It includes ArcInfo, ArcCatalog, and ArcMap. ArcGIS 8.2 has almost everything ArcView 3.2 has in addition to a more user-friendly interface and new features; Data automation and editing are enhanced, data management is improved, and the Geoprocessing and data manipulation are handled via wizards and tools for conversion and analysis. All of the ArcGIS related software and data is available for use by faculty, staff, and students of the University, as well as the general public in the AGSL. ArcGIS is available in most campus computer labs at UWM. For more information about ESRI's ArcGIS 8.2: http://www.esri.com/


• ArcView 3.2 is used at the Golda Meir Library at UWM in accordance with the UW-System ESRI site license. Data in ArcView is in the format of a .shp file and is brought into a view as a theme. These themes are layered for map production, analysis, and modeling. Data in ArcView can be both queried and analyzed. You can aggregate data geographically by summarizing it based on areas such as states, counties, census tracts and block groups. For creating map layouts, ArcView GIS provides automatic data-driven classifications, color ramps of data ranges, graduated symbols, chart symbols, standard deviations, normalization, and business graphics. All of the ArcView related software and data is available for use by faculty, staff, and students of the University, as well as the general public in the AGSL. ArcView is available in most campus computer labs at UWM.
  For more information about ESRI's ArcView GIs: http://www.esri.com/

Other Software and Tools

• Feature Manipulation Engine (FME) is a GIS data translation tool which allows translation between a wide range of geospatial data formats. Our current version is FME 2004 ICE Oracle Suit and it supports most data formats. Includes all data provessing funcions including on-the-fly topology creation. Coordinate Conversion is also included. More information about Safe Software, Inc. and FME is available at their website.


• Topo USA is a Delorme software product that allows you to view digital topographic maps of the entire USA. You can search for specific place names or locations and zoom in to see street, park, and building names.


• 3D Topo Quads of Wisconsin is another Delorme product that allows you to view all the topographic quadrangles of Wisconsin, along with the option of seeing the terrain in 3D.
  For more information about Topo USA and 3D TopoQuads:
  http://www.delorme.com/


• MicroDEM/ TerrabaseII is a freeware developed by the US Naval Academy and available at their website. It can be used to view and analyze vector and raster data. It reads a variety of formats including ArcView shapefiles. And it also includes a 3D viewer and the ability to create fly-though movies of DEM's.


• DLG Viewer is a freeware available from the USGS that reads several government formats for digital spatial data such as DLG, DEM, DRG, DOQ, and SDTS. It is mainly a viewing software without much analysis capabilities

ArcGIS Extensions & Utilities

• Spatial Analyst is an ArcView extension tool.. With Spatial Analyst you can: convert feature themes (point, line, or polygon) to grid themes; create raster buffers based on distance or proximity from feature or grid themes, create density maps from themes containing point features, create continuous surfaces from scattered point features, create contour, slope, and aspect maps and hillshades of these surfaces, do cell-based map analysis, and perform Boolean queries and algebraic calculations.


• 3D Analyst is another ArcView extension tool. The ArcView 3D Analyst extension enables users to create, analyze, and display surface data. Some features of 3D Analyst include support for triangulated irregular networks (TINs) and simple three-dimensional vector geometry.
  
• Business Analyst is another ArcView extension. With ArcView Business Analyst you can create and analyze market areas, analyze customer profiles, find people for target marketing, and create simple or complex reports. Business Analyst comes with two large data sets that contain a huge variety of statistics to query or classify by.
  
• ArcPress is an extension used to enhance printing capabilities. Using the ArcPress extension allows you to retain the original quality of the image or map being printed. It is especially useful for patrons who need to send detailed maps to the AGSL's large format plotter from ArcView.
  
• GeoWise Webmapper This extension allows you to create html pages and associated image maps from an Arc View View.
  
• Print Wizard This extension can be added into any project. It allows professional quality maps to be produced in less than 25% of the time required using standard Arc View tools.
  The extensions listed above are major and significant extensions used in ArcView at the AGSL. For a comprehensive list of all the extensions used at the AGSL, click here.


• Import 71 is an ArcView 3.x utility used to convert and import ArcInfo (or .e00) files so that they can be viewed and worked with in ArcView as shape (.shp) files.
  
• SDTS Raster to Grid/SDTS Point to Arc are ArcView 3.x utilitiesused for importing SDTS file formats into ArcView. All SDTS files must be changed to the appropriate ArcView-compatible format for viewing.


• Shapedxf is an ArcView 3.x utility converts shape files to the CAD file format dxf.

ArcView Tips

• The AGSL Digital Spatial Data Clearinghouse has compiled a collection of tips and instructions to help execute some useful ArcView software functions. This collection of tips and instructions grow as we find out more useful information that would be useful to know for ArcView users. This collection is not a comprehensive instruction booklet on how to use ArcView, but rather additional instructions and tips that have little or no coverage in general popular classes or literature. The focus of these instructions are to help academics who use ArcView for research or class projects.

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