ArcView GIS Support

Existing ArcView projects (which are stored on your PC with the ".apr" file extension), that referenced data on your PC's "C:\geodata" directory will need to be modified to reference the "F:\geodata" directory.  None of your work will be lost in this process, since the ArcView projects simply point to where the data resides on the server.   Your Area computer specialist will be completing the Geodata migration and modifying your ArcView projects.

Q: How can I print an ArcView map at a specific scale? I have changed the scale in the view document but it does not print at the correct scale from the layout document.

A: To print a map at a specific scale from a layout, first verify that your view document properties are set correctly; in your view click the "View" menu, then "Properties".  Verify that the "Map Units" are set to "Meters", and "Distance Units" are set to feet or miles (the user can choose any option here).  Next, in your layout document add a view frame (using the view frame icon); in the View Frame Properties box choose the view you want to print; in the "Scale" box, select "User specified scale", and enter a value in the box below it, for example to print a map at 660-scale (8 inches per mile), you would enter 1:7920.  Select the OK button, and your map will adjust to the scale you entered.  Now when you print your document it will be a the exact scale.

A: Instructions on creating a County template project are available.  Creating County Template (PDF, 69 KB)

A: The problem is that the print jobs you are sending to the printer are very large (this is especially true if you have orthophoto or topographic images in your map), and the printer is unable to process the job.  To fix the problem install the ArcPress extension, which will first convert your print jobs into the printer's native format (for HP Printers this is called HP PCL); the printer can then process the job efficiently and will dramatically reduce the amount of time needed to print the job.  If you do not already have the ArcPress extension loaded on your system, contact your Area Computer Specialist. Step-by-step instructions on using the ArcPress extension are available.  Using the ArcPress Extension (PDF, 319 KB).

A: The easiest way to turn the background color off is to use the DFG Image Catalog extension (click here if you need to download this extension). When you set up your image catalog definition for the topographic maps, set the "Color Map" setting to "colormap.drg.edgematch" (show screen). The next time you add the topographic maps to a view, the background color will be off, and can be displayed over the orthophotos. Detailed instructions on setting up and using the DFG Image Catalog extension are available.   Using the DFG Image Catalog Extension (PDF, 790 KB).

A:  The data you download from FieldWorker is unprojected (decimal degree format), your other GIS data is projected to UTM NAD83, so you cannot display them together in ArcView. You need to project your FieldWorker data to match your existing data. The easiest way to do this is to add your unprojected data to a new view, go to View>Properties, set the Map Units to decimal degrees, select the Projection button and choose UTM NAD83 Zone 15, and OK.  Now make your theme active and select Theme>Convert to Shapefile. You will be prompted for a new file name, a dialog box will appear asking if you want to save the data in the same units as the view, select "Yes".  Now the newly created file can be added to an unprojected view with your other GIS data.

A:  An ArcView GIS Extension called DFG Image Catalog is available for download that provides tools to create and add an image catalog theme (e.g., orthophotos, USGS topographic maps) to a view.  Using an image catalog allows you to access all of your image files as if they were one image mosaic. This eliminates the need to determine which individual orthophoto or topographic image to add to a view; the catalog determines which image(s) are needed to fill a view frame.

A: See instructions for adding the vector fill palette in ArcView. ArcView Print Fills (PDF, 123 KB)

Q:  How can I import FieldWorker collected GPS data into ArcView?

A:  Add the GPS Lite Import Wizard extension available here.  This extension translates FieldWorker export files into point, line, and polygon shapefiles for use in ArcView.

Q: I am not able to add an orthophoto to a view; I navigate to the F:\geodata\ortho_imagery folder but ArcView doesn't list any image files. If I look in the ortho_imagery folder using Windows Explorer there are files present with a *.sid and *.sdw extensions.

A: Your County's orthophotos are in the MrSID image format (which is a single mosaic of all the orthophoto quads in your County). This format requires you to turn on the MrSID Image Format extension. In ArcView go to File>Extensions then check the "MrSID Image Format" box. You will now be able to add the MrSID formatted orthophoto to your view.

Q: I have added a MrSID orthophoto image to my view. After I zoom in on a portion of the county-wide image, then back out to full view, the entire image does not display; only the part I zoomed in on. What is causing this to happen?

A: You can fix this problem with an updated ArcView DLL file called "avmrsid.dll" available here. After you download the file, copy it to your C:\ESRI\AV_GIS30\ARCVIEW\BIN32 folder then restart ArcView.