What's new in ArcMap 10 basics
Updated icons and pull-down menus
In ArcGIS 10, all the icons have been re-created to take advantage of more colors and make them more attractive. The symbols used in the icons are the same, though, so you'll still be able to recognize them.
The pull-down menus are generally the same, so you don't have to relearn your workflows when you migrate to ArcGIS 10. There are some small changes that have been made:
- The Tools pull-down menu has been removed and replaced with a Customize pull-down menu that contains just those commands that you use to customize the application, such as the ArcMap Options dialog box, Extensions, and the Customize dialog box. The command used to launch the Customize dialog box has been renamed Customize Mode to help indicate that when the Customize dialog box is open, you are in a mode in which you can drag and drop controls directly between menus and toolbars to customize the application—you don't need to interact with the Customize dialog box itself when you do that. Going into the Customize dialog box enables you to find any control, command, or geoprocessing tool and drag it onto a toolbar or menu. But if you just want to reorganize controls on a toolbar, you can do that directly while you are in Customize mode.
- The commands for geocoding, adding XY data, and adding linear referencing route events that used to be in the Tools pull-down menu have been moved into the File pull-down menu in a new pull-right menu called Add Data. In this way, the File > Add Data pull-right menu centralizes the commands for adding data into your map in one convenient place.
- The commands for working with graphs and reports that used to be in the Tools pull-down menu have been moved into the View pull-down menu. Think of graphs and reports as being additional views of your GIS data.
- The My Places command that used to be in the Tools pull-down menu has been moved onto the Data Frame Tools toolbar.
- There's a new Geoprocessing pull-down menu that centralizes all the geoprocessing commands in one convenient location. This menu is your starting point for all geoprocessing functionality. The menu includes a set of commonly used tools, like Buffer, Clip, and Intersect, so you can use these immediately without having to find them first. Using the Customize > Customize Mode menu, you can add your own favorite geoprocessing tools into this menu. In ArcGIS 10, you can also add geoprocessing tools onto toolbars while you are in Customize Mode.
Easy to access great-looking basemaps for your map
The Add Data button on the Standard toolbar is now a menu button that includes two new commands for adding online content to your map:
The Add Basemap command lets you choose an online basemap for your map. The gallery of basemaps includes the key ArcGIS Online basemaps, such as World Imagery, World Streets, and the World Topographic Map, as well as the Bing Maps services. These basemaps all require an Internet connection for them to draw in your map. This makes it quick and easy to immediately add great basemaps to your own map without having to download or manage the data locally. The content in these services is frequently updated, too:
Tip:If you have not upgraded to ArcGIS 10 yet, don't forget that you can access these basemaps and use them in your current version of the software. In 9.3, launch the File > Add Data From Resource Center command. In 9.3.1, launch the File > Add Data > Add Data From ArcGIS Online command .
New dockable window controls make it easy to arrange and organize your display
With ArcGIS 10, you can arrange the windows in your map display any way you want so you can see more of your map and reduce clutter. Dockable windows, such as the table of contents, the ArcToolbox window, the new Catalog window, and the new Search window, are easier to work with.
A new pin control on every dockable window lets you unpin it to autohide it. An autohidden window is shown as a tab in the display, which you can pause over or click to make the window expand whenever you want to use it. After you expand an autohidden window, it will automatically hide itself again when you click somewhere else, such as choosing a tool from a toolbar, or click on the map display. At any time, you can click the pin control again to dock the window so it remains in place.
To move a docked window to a new location, drag its title bar. When you do this, blue targets appear representing the different locations where the window can be docked. Drop the window onto the target of your choice. Pause over a target to get a preview of where the window will be located if you drop it on that target. If you want the window to float over the display instead of being docked, don't drop it onto one of the blue targets.
In addition to being able to dock a window to the left or right or above or below another docked window, you can also stack windows on top of each other so they appear as tabs. This is a convenient way to work with multiple dockable windows. Simply drag one dockable window over another, and you'll see an extra target appear that enables you to stack them together. In the graphic example below, the Catalog window is being stacked with the Table Of Contents window:
You can double-click the title bar of a window to quickly toggle it between docked and undocked. If you've stacked two or more windows together, you can also double-click the tabs with which they are shown to toggle between their being docked and undocked. This is useful, for example, if you normally work with a particular window docked but want to quickly pop it out to be a larger, floating window.
More windows are now dockable
GIS is about working with maps and their attributes together. ArcGIS 10 allows you to dock windows that show the attributes of your layers next to your map so that they don't cover up your map. Table windows, the Identify window, and the Attributes window (launched from the Editor toolbar) are now dockable. If you open multiple tables, they are all automatically displayed inside the same Table window, making it easier to manage them together in your display. Each table is shown as a tab at the bottom of the Table window, and you can also drag and drop these tabs so you can view the tables side by side.
Table of contents
In ArcGIS 10, the table of contents has been enhanced to add two additional views for working with your data. These two new views are in addition to the existing display and source views. You choose the table of contents view you want to work with using the new buttons at the top of the Table Of Contents window instead of tabs at the bottom of the window, like in previous versions.
- List by Visibility: This groups layers based on whether they are currently visible, out of scale range, or not visible (turned off). This view shows you the data type of each layer via an icon next to each layer. You can click this icon to turn the layer on or off.
- List by Selection: This groups layers based on whether they have features currently selected, selectable but have no feature currently selected, and not selectable. It replaces the Selection tab in previous releases. This view shows you the data type of each layer via an icon next to each layer. You can click this icon to make the layer selectable.
Learn more about working with the table of contents in ArcGIS 10