How to Enter Coordinates into ArcView

ANTL 207

So, you want to make a map the “easy” way! Follow these steps:

1) Change your measurements in x,y coordinates. Something on meter 1 of the tape measure, and 10 meters away from the tape will be (1,10)

2) Enter these coordinates into two columns into Excel, with a label for each point (tree, sidewalk edge, etc.)—one column for the label, one for x and one for y. Make sure each column has a title, such as “x” and “y.” Select all your numerical columns, go to the Format Cells command, and change the format to Number with 2 places of decimal.

3) Use the “save as” command to save your database as a .dbf (IV) file in the My Documents folder.

4) Now, close Excel and open ArcView. Chose the “open a blank project” option.

5) Click on the “Tables” icon, and click “Add.” Go to the My Documents folder—to do this you will need to page back to Users, click on the Students folder, and then click on the My Document folder. Make sure the file type is .dbf, and look for your database. Click on it. Your database should appear in a separate window in ArcView. If it doesn’t, go back into excel, and save the file as a text (.txt) file. Try again.

6) Now, go back to the main menu, and click on the “Views” icon. Then, click on “New.” An empty window will appear. Go to the “View” command on the top of the screen, and scroll down to “Add event theme”.

7) A window will open—under “X field” choose the title to your x coordinates, under the “Y field” choose the title to your column.

8) Click “OK.”

9) A name and dot will appear in the “legend” section of your view. Click on the small circle. Your map coordinates should appear.

10) Add any labels you feel like, using the T button. You can get automatic labels from your label column by using the label button.

11) Go to “View” and scroll to “Properties.” Change the units to meters.

12) In the “View” menu, click on “layout”. You can now choose what shape you want your map to be.

13) When you have chosen, a new window will appear, including a N arrow and a scale. Print it out on the 2200 printer.

14) Hand it in with you and your partner’s name on it—you’re done!!

Note: If you need to save at any time, go to the “File” menu, and save it in the My documents folder. Now you’ll need to use the same computer again to retrieve your project.