GEOG 172, Fall 2007
Lab Assignment 1
The activities created under items 1-3 will create a dbase file named “beacha.dbf” or
beachb.dbf”. Answers to questions 4-6 should be typed. The assignment is due on, or
before, Thursday 10/11. Email your typed answers to 4-6 and the dbf file to:
1. Download the beach image for assignment 1 from the url:
http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~sweeney/g172/assignments.htm . Choose image
A or B based on the assignment table below. You should save the file to the
c:\temp directory.
Group A: Baez, Conway, Gee, Ma, Pitman, Barrayan
Group B: Casebeer, Esteves, Kintz, Matisek, Scherer, Mai
2. Use ArcGIS to add a upload the image into a data layer and add an empty
Shapefile:
A. Choose ArcGIS>ArcMap from the start menu. Click “OK” to create a
“New Empty Map.” Use the pulldown menu to save the project in the c:\
temp directory (File>Save enter c:\temp\beachscene.mdx).
B. Use Window explorer to navigate to the c:\temp directory. Drag the
image file into the open window in ArcMap. Click “No” when it asks
about building pyramids. Click “OK” when it gives you the unknown
spatial reference message.
C. From the pulldown menus select Tools>ArcCatalog. Use the explorer
interface in ArcCatalog to navigate to c:\temp. Right click on c:\temp and
select New > Shapefile. This will open a dialog box. Enter “BeachA” (or
BeachB) as the title, and select Point as the feature type. Click “OK”.
3. Use ArcGIS to add field names to the Shapefile and to geocode the locations
of all the individuals and trashcans in the scene.
A. Return to ArcMap and use the pull-down menu to select File>Add
Data…. Navigate to the c:\temp directory and select the shapefile you just
created in step 2 (BeachA.shp or BeachB.shp). The shapefile will now
appear under the layers in ArcMap. Right click on the name of the point
shapefile (BeachA) and select Open Attribute Table. In the attribute
table window select Options>Add Field. The Add Field dialog box
requires entries for Name and Type. Add the seven field names listed
below, each as type “Short Integer”. [Note: you will need to use the add
field command once for each field name.]
