NOAA Logo National Centers for Environmental Information

formerly the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC)...  more on NCEI
NOAA Satellite and Information Service

NCEI is transitioning to a new website and paths to data resources will be changing. Please contact NCEI.Info@noaa.gov with any questions of issues. See the new website at www.ncei.noaa.gov.

You are here: Home > Ocean Climate Laboratory > OCL Products > ArcGIS tutorial

How to create a shapefile from 'csvfromwod.c' program output using ArcMap
For additional information, how to work with Excel files in ArcGIS please see ESRI help page.
1. Start ArcMap software.
Select 'A new empty map' on the Start-Up menu. Click 'OK' button.
2. Add your Excel worksheet to ArcMap 9.3 (just as you would spatial data).
Go to File. A new popup window should be displayed ...
Select 'Add Data' or use the 'Add Data' button .



The 'Add Data' popup window should be displayed. Select 'WOD_ArcGIS.csv' file from menu, click 'Add' button.


File 'WOD_ArcGIS_demo.csv' will appear in the table of contents (TOC).
3. Right-click on the worksheet name in the TOC, and choose 'Display XY Data...'


In the dialog box 'Display XY Data', the X Field should be Longitude and the Y Field should be Latitude.


Note: If you know the spatial reference of the input coordinates, click the 'Edit' button ->
'Select' button -> 'Geographic Coordinate Systems' -> 'World' -> 'WGS 1984.prj' (for example) -> click 'OK' button.
If you do not select a spatial reference, the shapefile will have an Unknown Coordinate System.



The coordinates will plot as a point event theme.
4. To create a shapefile from the event theme,
right-click the layer 'WOD_ArcGIS_demo.csv Events' in the TOC and select 'Data -> Export Data...'.



Then select a location for the new shapefile, name it and click OK.



Add a World map layer (for better visualization).


5. To create a color quantative layer from a shapefile, first, set a Layer Properties .
Right-click on the 'WOD_ArcGIS_demo' shapefile name in the TOC. A new popup window should be displayed ...
select the last option 'Properties'.


Layer Properties Menu, Symbology tag

A separate window called Layer Properties ... 'Symbology' tag should be displayed.
6. Setting Show and Field Properties

Under Show: section (on the left of the window) select 'Quantities' -> 'Graduated colors' and
under the Fields section change the value from 'None' to desired depth level, for example, 'Sal_0m'.
Don't worry about the 'Maximum sample size ...' popup being displayed ... just click 'OK'.

Layer Properties Menu, Symbology tag
7. Setting Classification Properties

Under the Classification section click on Classify ... button in the opened Layer Properties menu.
A new Classification window appears that allows you to change how the points will be displayed.

Classification Menu

8. Setting Data Exclusion Properties

a. Under the Data Exclusion section click on 'Sampling' button in the Classification Menu and change
the number from 10000 to 80000. Click 'OK' button.

Sampling Menu

b. Under the Data Exclusion section click on 'Exclusion' button in the Classification Menu.
A new Data Exclusion Properties window appears that allows you set data exclusion properties.
Type in the SELECT * FROM WOD_ArcGIC_demo WHERE: section the statement:

"Sal_0m" = 0

Make sure you use quotation marks where shown! Click 'OK'.

Data Exclusion Properties Menu

9. Setting Interval

Set the Method to be 'Defined Interval' and the Interval Size equal to 2 under the Classification section
in the Classification Menu. Click 'OK'.

Set Interval

10. Setting Symbol Selector Menu

At this point you should have the Layer Properties menu still up.
Right click on one of the dot symbol next to a range, select 'Properties for All symbols' in the drop-down menu.

Set Symbol

A new Symbol Selector window appears that allows you to change the symbology.

Set Symbol

In the Symbol Selector window choose black color circle labeled 'Circle 1',
change dot size if needed. Click 'OK' button. It will take you back to the Layer Properties menu.
All the dots should now have the same black color with no outline.

11. Resetting the Color Scheme

Click on the 'Color Ramp', reselect the color scheme you want to use
and all the points should be broken into new colors without outlines.

All points broken into colors
12. Add the next depth layer
Go to 'File' -> 'Add Data'. Navigate the Add Data window, select 'WOD_ArcGIS.shp' shape file, cleck 'OK' button.

Add the next depth layer
13. Import Symbology Properties
Activate Layer Properties window (Right click on new depth layer, click on 'Properties' in the drop-down menu).
In the Layer Properties window under the 'Fields' section select a new level, for example, 'Sal_20m'.
Click on 'Import' button under 'Draw quantaties using color to show values' section.
It will bring up Import Symbology window.
In this window check 'Import symbology definition from another layer in the map ...'.
From the 'Layer' drop list choose 'WOD_ArcGIS_demo'.
From the 'What do you want to import?' section choose 'Complete symbology definition'.
Click 'OK' button. It will bring Import Symbology Map window.
In the Import Symbology Map window select 'Sal_20m' under 'Value Field' section. Click 'OK'.

Add the next depth layer
A new 'Sal_20m' layer has inhereted all symbology properties from the 'Sal_0m' layer.

Two depth layers

  Last modified:    Thu, 23-Apr-2015 19:57 UTC NCEI.info@noaa.gov
 
Like us on TwitterLike us on FacebookRSS feed
Dept. of Commerce - NOAA - NESDIS - NCEI
* Offsite Link Notification
Like us on Facebook
Privacy Policy - Disclaimer - Information Quality
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
USA.gov - The U.S. Government's Web Portal