CUSTOMIZING ARCMAP
Problem
The default interface for ArcMap is fairly user-friendly and can readily provide access to some of the most essential tools required for geospatial analytics. However, much of the ArcMap functionality is not readily available. Therefore, ArcMap users can customize the ArcMap interface by creating custom tool bars, new menus, and by installing third-party add-ins. The purpose of this assignment was to explore customization options available in ArcMap.
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Analysis Procedures
The data used for this assignment included an ESRI tutorial dataset titled CityofOleander.mdb as well as an installation package for a third-party add-in called EasyCalculate 10. This add-in could be used to manipulate the tutorial data. Additionally, the Customize Mode feature of ArcMap could be used to create custom toolbars and make changes to the context menu.
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For this analysis, I began by creating a new .mxd file and ensuring that the map document properties were set to save the relative name path, to enable future sharing of the created toolbars. I first downloaded and installed the EasyCalculate 10 tool, and used that tool to fill two newly created fields within the attribute table for the Police Districts polygon layer. These two fields corresponded to the x center and y center of each polygon.
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I then used the Customize mode to create two new toolbars. The first toolbar, named HenryTools1, was created for raster analysis tools. The tools included: Image Analysis, Pixel Inspector, Slope, Aspect, Hillshade, and Run EasyCalculate 10. Additionally, a new menu was added to include the Weighted Overlay and Fuzzy Overlay tools. Another toolbar called HenryTools2 was created, containing a single menu with statistical tools including: Statistics, Calculate Statistics, Batch Calculate Statistics, Cell Statistics, and Summary Statistics. Lastly, the feature layer context menu was changed to include the Select by Location tool.
Figure 1. Diagram of methods.
Results
Figure 2. Custom toolbars created in ArcMap.
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Figure 3. Context menu addition.
Application & Reflection
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Problem Description: Being able to customize the ArcMap interface and toolbars is extremely useful for GIS analysts that focus within specific areas. For instance, someone who focuses solely on special statistics might want to have a custom toolbar with just statistical tools.
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Data Needed: No data would be required for this. Instead, the analyst would simply need to know what type of data is being worked with and which tools would be best suited for the necessary analysis.
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Analysis Procedures: The analyst would simply have to go to the Customize mode and select new to create and name a new toolbar. Then, the analyst could switch to the Commands tab and search for commands containing “statistics”. This would result in numerous statistical tools which could then be selected and manually placed in the new toolbar.