CHAPTER 4: EDITING DATA

MOHD KHAIRUL BAZLI BIN MOHD AZIZ

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SYNOPSIS

This course is designed to introduce the student to the basic principles and
techniques of GIS(Geographic Information Systems). GIS is a computer-
based tool that uses spatial (geographic) data to analyze and solve real-
world problems. The lab material will emphasises GIS data collection, entry,
storage, analysis, and output using appropriate software such as ArcGIS. The
students will be able to describe what geography and GIS are; will
understand the importance of scale, projection, and coordinate systems in
GIS; will understand vector and raster data structures and the appropriate
use of each of these data structures; will understand the basics of data
capture, storage, analysis, and output in a GIS; and will understand typical
uses of GIS in business, government, and resource management.
CONTENT
 4.1 Table Structure
 4.2 Data Types
 4.3 Table Manipulation
 4.4 Calculating Statistics
 4.5 Connecting Tables
 4.6 Navigating the Editor Toolbar
 4.7 Managing the Edit Session
 4.8 Selecting Features to Edit
 4.9 Simple Editing Functions
 4.10 Working with Feature Template
 4.11 Working with the Attributes Dialog
 4.12 Using the Field Calculator
TABLES

 A table contains formatted descriptive information. In

ArcGIS™ software, the information in a table is generally
associated with spatial data, such as a feature attribute table.
However in ArcGIS, tabular information may also be
independent of any spatial data, such as nonspatial statistical
data. For the purposes of this course, you will consider only
tables that contain information that is directly or indirectly
related to spatial datasets.
 The feature attribute table contains descriptive information
about the features in a feature class. To open a feature
attribute table in ArcMap™ software, right-click the layer,
then click Open Attribute Table. In ArcCatalog™ software,
you highlight the table and view it using the Preview tab.
 The feature attribute table consists of fields (also known as
columns). Each field represents one type of descriptive
information. Each row (also known as a record) contains the
attributes of one feature in the dataset.
UNDERSTANDING TABLE ANATOMY

 Each table has the same basic format: an array of rows and columns.
The intersection of a row and a column represents a specific
attribute for a single feature.
 Some tables, like a feature class's default attribute table, have a preset
number of columns. For instance, a polygon coverage has four
standard columns: area, perimeter, coverage#, and coverage-id. Other
tables are completely user-defined. The table in the graphic has two
user- added columns:ZONE_CODE and DESCRIPTION. ArcGIS™
software automatically adds the first column for displaying the record
number. For a feature class this item is the FID (Feature ID), for tables
in the geodatabase it is the OID (Object ID) and for Info tables it is
called the Rowid. These items are not physically stored as part of the
table but you can perform queries on it as you would any other
column.
 Each table should have unique column names but can have a variety of
column formats. In general, you can store numbers, text, and dates.
Specifically supported formats in ArcCatalog include short integer,
long integer, float, double, text, date, object-id, and blob. Consult the
online documentation for more information about these column
types.
TABULAR DATA FIELD TYPES

 Tables are capable of storing date, number and text values,

but most tabular formats have several different field types
to store this information. Choosing the best field type for
the values to be stored is an important consideration. In
addition, the available field types can vary between tabular
formats. Supported formats in ArcCatalog include short
integer, long integer, float, double, text, date, object-id, and
blob.
TABLE MANIPULATION

 Many operations, such as sort, find, select, and freeze, can

be performed on the tables in ArcMap and ArcCatalog. In
ArcCatalog, you can create new tables as well as create,
and delete fields for existing tables. In ArcMap, you can
edit the table record values.
ARCGIS TABULAR FORMATS

 ArcGIS supports the use of multiple formats for the

storage and management of tabular information. Each of
ArcInfo’s primary spatial formats has its own native
format. Coverages use INFO formatted tables; shapefiles
store their attributes in dBase (dbf) format; Geodatabases
rely on the format of their supporting RDBMS (Access or
Oracle, for example).
 Some formats, such as the coverage, can link to
independent tables, regardless of their format.
 Deciding on the proper format to store attribute
information is an important part of a database design and
can affect the efficiency with which you are able to access
tabular information. To facilitate sharing of data in different
formats, ArcGIS contains tools to convert between the
various tabular formats.
ASSOCIATING TABLES

 Two tables can be connected, or associated, if there is a

similar field in each table containing common values. In the
example, the tables are linked by the common field called
ZONE_CODE. Once the tables are connected, the
description of what each zone_code means (from the
DESCRIPTION field) can be accessed from the feature
attribute table by looking up the value in the associated table.
Because very often features have many attributes, most
database design guidelines promote organizing your database
into multiple tables—each focused on a specific topic—
instead of one large table containing all the necessary fields.
This scheme prevents duplicate information in the database
because you store the information only once in one table.
Tables can be connected so that when you need information
that isn't in the current table, you can access it from a table
associated with it.
TABLE RELATIONSHIPS

 When you associate two tables together, you need to

know how the individual record values will relate to each
other. The record relationships (cardinality) are: one-to-
one, one-to-many (many-to-one), and many-to-many.
 Knowing which relationship type you have will prevent
potential record omission errors. For instance, if you have
a one-to-many association and you connect the tables as
if they were one- to-one, then you will omit needed
information from the connected table because one-to-
one record searches stop looking for more matches after
they find the first match. You can avoid these types of
problems by becoming familiar with tabular database
management strategies— strategies that will also make
you a better GIS user. Read the sections about tabular
management in the online documentation.
JOINS AND RELATES

 ArcMap provides two methods to associate data stored in tables with

geographic features: joins and relates. When you join two tables, you
append the attributes from one onto the other based on a field common
to both tables. Relating tables defines a relationship between two tables—
also based on a common field—but doesn’t append the attributes of one
to the other. Instead, you can access the related data when necessary.
 You’ll want to join two tables when the data in the tables has a one-to-
one or a many-to-one relationship—for example, you have a layer showing
store locations, and you want to join a table of the latest monthly sales
figures to it.
 You’ll want to relate two tables when the data in the tables has a one-to-
many or many-to-many relationship—for example, your map displays a
parcel database, and you have a table of owners. A parcel may have more
than one owner, and an owner may own more than one parcel.
 Joins and relates are reconnected whenever you open the map. This way, if
the underlying data in your tables changes, it will be reflected in the join
or relate.
 When you’re through using a join or relate, you can remove it.
CONNECTING TABLES WITH JOINS

 You can connect two tables together in ArcMap using a join.

Join works with shapefiles, coverages and geodatabase files.
Once the tables are connected, you can query, symbolize, or
analyze the new table based on the joined values.
 Tables connected using the ArcMap join are not permanently
connected. The tables are dynamically linked together in
ArcMap and you can remove or add them whenever you
want. When joining two tables, the names of the common
fields need not be identical but the fields must be the same
type (e.g., text, date, float, etc.). The ArcMap join data menu
allows you to choose which field contains the values that will
match.
 Table joins are designed for one-to-one or many-to-one
relationships. For other cardinalities you should use a relate
instead of a join. If you use join with one-to-many or many-
to-many cardinality, you will omit all records after the first
match for each primary key value.
CONNECTING TABLES WITH RELATES

 Another way that you can connect tables in ArcMap is by

creating a relate. Like joining tables, relating tables defines
a relationship between two tables and is also based upon
a common field.
 Unlike joining tables, a relate doesn't append the fields of
one table to the other. Instead, the two tables remain as
independent tables in ArcMap. ArcMap knows there is
connection between the two tables and you can access
data in the related tables when you need it.
 You relate tables instead of joining them when there is a
one-to-many or many-to-many relationship between the
tables or you need to maintain the information in the
related table independent of the attribute table.
CALCULATING SUMMARY STATISTICS

 After making a spatial or attribute selection, you may

want to calculate a simple statistics summary. This can be
done by clicking the Statistics option from the Selection
pulldown menu. This operation invokes the Selection
Statistics window. Here you need to select which layer, as
well as which field in the feature attribute table, you want
the statistics to be calculated for. Once these are selected,
a numeric statistics summary, as well as a frequency
distribution chart, appears in that window.
EXERCISE
THANK
YOU