SPATIAL DATA EDITING AND MANIPULATION

Monday, October 14, 2024 Felix Mutua, Ph.D.

Course Outline
1. Review of Basic GIS concepts
2. Data models and structure: Spatial data models, topology, format conversions,
vectorization, and rasterization.
3. Database models: Relational, Hierarchical, Network, Object oriented. Data
interchange.
4. Database management: Spatial data; Editing, manipulation, analysis, updating.
5. Data analysis: Spatial analysis; Query, reclassification, overlay, coverage
rebuilding, connectivity analysis.
6. Development and maintenance of a Geographical Information System (GIS)
database.
7. GIS database security.
8. Legal issues in GIS.
9. Applications of GIS.
10/14/2024
 Outline
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 Review spatial data

 Data errors
 Spatial Data editing techniques
 Vector / Topological
 Rasters

 Spatial Data editing techniques

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Spatial Data
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The data or information that identifies the geographic

location of features and boundaries on Earth, such as
natural or constructed features, oceans, and more.

 is usually stored as coordinates and topology, can be

mapped.
 is often accessed, manipulated or analyzed through
GIS.
 What is spatial data editing?
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 Once data is loaded into the GIS, it is often not exactly how we need it to look,
it may be outdated and in need of an update, it may be missing features, or it
may have bits that are completely wrong. This is where data editing comes in.
 Data editing comes in two basic types: direct feature editing, and attribute
table editing. While both kinds are lumped together as editing, since they go
hand-in-hand
 Basically, working with GIS data is broken into four major categories:
 creating data,
 editing data,
 geoprocessing tools, and
 cartography.
 As we've learned so far, there are many tasks which fall into each category, but
it's important to understand how these grouped tasks are referred to the in the
real world.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Data Errors
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Errors affect the quality of GIS data. Once the data is collected,
and prepared for visualization and analysis it must be checked for
errors.
 categories for sources of error :
1. Common sources of error
2. Errors resulting from original measurements
3. Errors arising through processing
 Common Sources of error
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 Old data sources - The data sources used for a GIS

project may be too old to use. Data collected in past may
not be acceptable for current time projects.
 Lack of data - The data for a given area may be
incomplete or entirely lacking. For example the land-use
map for border regions may not be available.
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 Map scale: The details shown on a map depend on the

scale used. Maps or data of the appropriate scale at
which details are required, must be used for the project.
 Observation: High density of observations in an area
increases the reliability of the data. Insufficient
observations may not provide the level of resolution
required for adequate spatial analysis as expected from
the project.
 Errors Resulting from Original Measurements
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 Positional accuracy: Representing correct positions of

geographic features on map depend upon the data being used.
Biased field work, improper digitization and scanning errors
result in inaccuracies in GIS projects.
 Content accuracy: Maps must be labeled correctly. An
incorrect labeling can introduce errors which may go unnoticed
by the user. Any omission from map or spatial database may
result in inaccurate analysis.
 Errors Arising through Processing
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 Numerical errors: Different computers have different

capabilities for mathematical operations. Computer
processing errors occur in rounding off operations and
are subject to the inherent limits of number manipulation
by the processor.
 Topological errors: Data is subject to variation. Errors
such as dangles, slivers, overlap etc. are found to be
present in the GIS data layers.
11 Typical Data Editing Techniques (Vector)
Geometry Editing (Shape)

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 Vector data editing
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is a post digitizing process that ensures that the data is free

from errors. It suggests that
 Lines intersect properly without having any undershoots or

overshoots

 Nodes are created at all points where lines intersect

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 All polygons are closed and each of them contain a label

point and topology of the layer is built
 Spatial data Editing and geo processing
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 Purpose:
Manipulation of vector-based map features.

 Goal:
to rework existing map , point and polygon map
features into more useful map elements.
 Functions
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 Merge
use the merge process when you want to create a new
theme containing two or more adjacent themes of the same
shapefile type.

 Clip
use the clip operation when you want to cut out a piece
of one theme using another theme as cookie cutter.
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 Dissolve
Use the dissolve process when you want to remove boundaries
or nodes between adjacent polygons or lines that have the same
value for a specified attribute
 Intersect

Use the intersect process when you want to integrate two

spatial data sets while preserving only those features falling with in the
spatial extent common to both themes
 Union

Use the union process when you want to produce anew theme
containing features and attributes of two polygon themes
 Dangle
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An arc is said to be a dangling arc if either it is not

connected to another arc properly (undershoot) or is
digitized past its intersection with another arc (overshoot).
 Sliver
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It refers to the gap which is created between the two

polygons when snapping is not considered while creating
those polygons.
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 These errors can be corrected using the constraints or the

rules which are defined for the layers.
 Topology rules define the permissible spatial relationships
between features.

 Digitizing and geocoding: Many errors arise at the time of

digitization, geocoding, overlaying or rasterizing. The errors
associated with damaged source maps and error while
digitizing can be corrected by comparing original maps with
digitized versions.
 Reshape Feature
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 Reshape Feature
allows you to
select a single
feature and
change a portion
of it

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Simplify Features /Edit Vertices
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 The Simplify Feature allows you to reduce the number of vertices of

a feature, as long as the geometry remains valid. With the tool you
can also simplify many features at once or multi-part features.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Add/Delete Part
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 You can Add Part to a selected feature generating a multipoint,

multiline or multipolygon feature. The new part must be digitized
outside the existing one which should be selected beforehand.
 The Delete Part tool allows you to delete parts from multifeatures
(e.g., to delete polygons from a multi-polygon feature)

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Merge Features
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 The Merge Selected Features tool allows you to create a new feature
by merging existing ones: their geometries are merged to generate a
new one.
 If features don’t have common boundaries, a
multipolygon/multipolyline/multipoint feature is created.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Split Features/Part
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 Split Features: You can split features using the splitFeatures Split
Features tools. Just draw a line across the feature you want to split.

 Split parts : In QGIS it is possible to split the parts of a multi part

feature so that the number of parts is increased. Just draw a line
across the part you want to split using the Split Parts icon.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Generalize
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 several methods that reduce the complexity of

a line or a polygon feature while retaining its
basic shape.
 They can help you simplify features for display
at smaller scales or standardize a dataset to a
more uniform scale resolution.
 Includes
 Simplify
 Smooth Feature : changes straight edges and
angular corners to Bézier curves. The final shape is
simplified and smoothed within the maximum
allowable offset setting you specify in the pane
 Densify a feature : Densifying a feature inserts
vertices at constant intervals and changes curved
segments to a series of line segments.
Felix Mutua, PhD
 Alignment
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 Identifies inconsistent
portions of the input
features against target
features within a search
distance and aligns them
with the target features.

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 Snapping
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 How is it you know when you have connected features perfectly together?
While zooming in super far is one way, it is not the most efficient way. And
not always accurate either.
 This is where snapping comes in.
 Snapping is a feature built into the GIS where your cursor jumps or ‘snaps’
to a vertex.
 After setting a ‘snapping tolerance’, or the distance away from a vertex
where you’d like your cursor to automatically jump (think the outer edge of
the coat snap - as long as you get the snap near the edge of the receiver
end, it will line itself up and snap into place), you can use snapping to be
perfectly sure your features are meeting
Felix Mutua, PhD
28 Typical Data Editing Techniques (Vector)
Attribute Editing

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 Direct Record Editing
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 In an edit session, each value in an attribute table

can be edited independently of the other values
by clicking inside the cell, deleting the contents,
and entering a new value, just like on would do
using Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc.
 This is the easiest way to correct or change just a
few values, however, this method also can create
unintended error in the attribute table, since we
know that “Kalifornia” and “California” are not the
same value (that's an example of a pretty obvious
error, but missing a letter while typing is actually
quite likely).
 To populate more than one record at a time and
assure the values are perfectly identical, we use
the attribute table tool, Field Calculator.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Field Calculator
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 Field Calculator is an attribute table tool which can

populate, change, or clear records within a single
field for either selected records (selected via
attribute, location, or interactive selection) or all
records.
 It's capable of populating records with either
integers, decimal numbers, text, or time/date,
depending on the field type as the result of
establishing a single value for the desired records
or the result of a mathematical calculation between
two records, a record and a value, or two values
(all of these include the words "or more", as the
calculation is not limited to just two items).
 These mathematical calculations can be between
numbers or letters, as long as the two items are a
match type.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Geometry Calculator
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 The other field calculation tool

we use in GIS is Calculate
Geometry, which has the
single task of populating
fields with area, length, or
coordinate pairs.
 For the point geometry type
> XY coordinate pair.
 For polygons : Centroid,
perimeter, area, minimum,
maximum(xy)
Felix Mutua, PhD
32 Typical Data Editing Techniques (Raster)
Raster

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 Raster Editing
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 Raster data (in GIS) is made up of pixels, where each pixel is given a
value. Data is split into a grid of cells and given a value such as x,y
co-ordinates, elevation (z), or colour in satellite images.
 Editing raster data allows for a new dimension of spatial analysis,
where hypothetical situations can be examined
 concerned with correcting the specific contents of raster images
than their general geometric characteristics.
 The objective of the editing is to produce an image suitable for
raster geoprocessing.
 Following editing functions are mostly used for raster data editing:
Felix Mutua, PhD
 Filling Holes and Gaps:
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To fill holes and gaps that appear in the raster image

 Edge Smoothing:
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To remove or fill single pixel irregularities in the foreground

pixels and background pixels along lines
 Deskewing
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To rotate the image by a small angle so that it is

aligned orthogonally to the x and y axes of the computer
screen
 Filtering
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To remove speckles or the random high or low valued pixels

in the image
 Clipping and delete
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To create a subset of an image or to remove unwanted

pixels
 Raster Calculator
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 The Raster Calculator tool

allows you to create and
execute Map Algebra
expressions in a tool.
 The Raster Calculator in
the Raster menu allows you
to perform calculations on
the basis of existing raster
pixel values
Creating an elevation raster in feet from a raster in meters, you
need to use the conversion factor for meters to feet: 3.28.
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40 Spatial Data Manipulation

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 Data Manipulation techniques
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 The maintenance and transformation of spatial data concerns the

ability to input, manipulate, and transform data once it has been
created.
 many different interpretations exist with respect to what constitutes
these capabilities some specific functions can be identified.
 Data editing is also considered as an aspect of spatial data
manipulation
 Other techniques include: coordinate thinning, coordination
transformation
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 Coordinate Thinning
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 Coordinate thinning involves the weeding or reduction of coordinate

pairs, e.g. X and Y, from arcs.
 This function is often required when data has been captured with too
many vertices for the linear features.
 This can result in redundant data and large data volumes. The
weeding of coordinates is required to reduce this redundancy.
 The thinning of coordinates is also required in the map generalization
process of linear simplification.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Map Projection Transformations
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 This functionality concerns the transformation of data in geographic

coordinates for an existing map projection to another map projection.
 Most GIS software requires that data layers must be in the same map
projection for analysis. Accordingly, if data is acquired in a different
projection than the other data layers it must be transformed.
 Typically 20 or more different map projections are supported in a GIS
software offering.

Felix Mutua, PhD

 Coordinate systems
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 A coordinate system is a reference framework that defines the position

of features in either two- or three-dimensional space. Coordinate
systems can be horizontal, defining where features are across the
globe, or vertical, defining how high or deep features are relative to
a surface.
 GIS software provides functionalities to :
 Define (Specify) the coordinate systems for datasets
 Transform from one coordinate system to another

Felix Mutua, PhD

QUESTION & ANSWERS