MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MCDIG

CENTER FOR DIGITAL GEOLOGY

Tutorials

Most of the software packages we use have extensive on-line help, and many have tutorial CD-ROMs. Please check out these resources for additional information.

Arcview | ArcInfo | ArcPad | ENVI | MrSID

The MIT Community can take some of ESRI's Virtual Campus classes free of charge. Click here for details.

Arcview

List of Arcview tutorials maintained by the University of California at Berkeley.

From the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Geographic Information System Library

• GIS Basics
  • As with any system of knowledge, understanding the logic in which a systems stands facilitates its use for complex questions. The GIS Basics tutorials are meant to give those new to GIS and understanding of the foundations of these systems.
    • What IS GIS ? (zip file)
      • PowerPoint presentation explaining basic GIS terms and theories.
    • Linking Tables to Geographic Boundaries
      • Create tables from space delimited text files.
      • Link Census data to census boundary files.
    • ESRI Virtual Campus
    • The MIT Community can take some of ESRI's Virtual Campus classes free of charge. Please contact the GIS Specialist (gishelp@mit.edu) if you are interested in taking one of these classes.
      
• GIS Software and Hardware Training
  • In order to ask questions of spatial data it is important to grasp an understanding of software products that facilitate spatially oriented questions. Mastering these products helps to expand ones understanding of the types of spatial questions that can be explored.
    • Introduction to ArcView
      • Visualize geographic data.
      • Link data to geographic boundaries.
      • Learn about ArcView extensions.
      • Work with raster files.
    • Using the Spatial Analysis Extension
      • Work with raster data.
      • Use DEMs (Digital Elevation Models) for analysis.
      • Create new raster files.
    • Using Arcview GIS for On-Screen Digitizing using TIFF images
      • Create new ArcView Shape files.
      • Learn to edit and digitize in arcview.
      • Create and edit attribute tables.
    • Guide to Creating Arcview Extensions
      • Learn about ArcView scripts.
    • Customizing Arcview
      • Learn how to customize the ArcView Interface.
    • Resampling Using ArcView Image Analysis
      • Learn how to how to use the Image Analysis extension of ArcView.
      • Learn how rectify the spatial location of an image.
      • Learn about Georeferencing.

From the MIT Center for Digital Geology

• Adding topographic basemap data to an Arcview project
• Creating an Arcview layout for printing topographic and geologic data with a UTM grid

From Tony Soeller at the Caltech GIS Laboratory

• Creating contour themes
  • A tutorial on how to create contours from point (XYZ) data using the ArcView Spatial Analyst extension.
• LISCAD-to-ArcView shapefile
  • A tutorial on how to convert LISCAD surveying system data to an ArcView shapefile.
• Orienting symbols used in hotlinks
  • How to make oriented hotlink symbols point at the features they represent.
• Importing grids into ArcView
  • Procedures for importing grids and adding grid themes to Arcview.

Other resources

• ESRI's ArcView Home Page
  • The home page of Environmental Systems Research Institute's ArcView GIS Software. Describes ArcView functionality.
    
• ArcView Tutorial
  • An on-line tutorial on the fundamentals of how to use ArcView GIS, hosted by Sonoma State University and California State University Long Beach.

ArcInfo

List of ArcInfo tutorials maintained by the University of California at Berkeley.

GIS Analysis with Arc-Info by Shane Murnion

From Tony Soeller at the Caltech GIS Laboratory

• What is a GIS?
  • A description of GIS technology.
    
• Procedures for creating ArcInfo project directories
• Guidelines for creating project directories and README files for ArcInfo projects.
• Procedures for drafting maps for subsequent ArcInfo (ArcScan) scanning
  • Guidelines for drafting geologic maps onto mylar for subsequent scanning within ArcInfo using the ArcScan module.
• How to make an ArcInfo vector coverage using a scanned image and ArcScan
  • Steps used to set up the vector tracing operation that allows you to extract (trace) lines from an grid and store the lines as arcs in a coverage.
    
• Procedures for displaying grid lines in cyan under your trace coverage
  • This technique shows how to change the color of grid lines (for easier viewing) that are being vectorized using the "tr add" function within ArcScan.
    
• How to digitize, project, and attribute map features using ArcInfo
  • Steps used to digitize features on maps and convert them into ArcInfo coverages. Includes instructions on projecting the data and adding attributes to the coverage.
    
• How to generate a coverage of lines and add line feature attributes to the coverage.
  • Procedure for generating a coverage of lines and attributing each line feature with associated data from an ASCII file.
    
• How to construct and mosaic grids using 1:250,000 DEM data
  • Steps used to access DEM data, construct grids in ArcInfo using the DEM data, build mosaics using adjacent DEM grids, and project DEM grids from decimal-seconds to decimal-degrees.
    
• How to convert GTOPO30 data into an ArcInfo grid
  • Steps used to access DEM data, construct grids in ArcInfo using the DEM data, build mosaics using adjacent DEM grids, and project DEM grids from decimal-seconds to decimal-degrees

ArcPad

FAQ

ENVI

ENVI Tutorial Resources

• ENVI Tutorials from RSINC (the creators of ENVI)
• Tutorials from the University of California at Davis
• Quick tutorials from the University of Washington
• IDL Surface Tutorial
• IDL Tutorials
• IDL Help for Advanced Users

MrSID

• How to compress an image for ArcPad using MrSID