Tutorial ArcGis: Manage Catalog of Data PART 2

ArcCatalog is the application that provides access to all data and documents Mapping your Geographic Information System. 

The application offers a viewing standardized the data locally or remotely (shared disks, the data server geographical ArcSDE or Internet).
Your data is in the form of a catalog in which you can navigate. Thus, each data source can be Copied, Fame, or Deleted Modified (fields, subtypes, domains, relationships, ...).

By default, ArcCatalog can manage:

•  Sources of geographic data (geodatabases, Blankets, shapefiles, AutoCAD, ...)
•  Sources of tabular data (geodatabase, dBase, INFO, Access, Excel, SQLServer, Oracle..)
•  Raster data sources (TIF, JPEG, PNG, Erdas, MrSID, ER Mapper, Grid, BIL, BIP, BSQ,..)
•  The layer files
•  ArcMap ™ Documents
•  The types of files added by the user

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Managing the data catalog

You can create a thumbnail image for each data source for each layer file for each document ArcMap. These thumbnails allow you to quickly view the content data sources, layer files or easy to find with a map made ArcMap (* or * .mxd .mxt file).

Show Thumbnails:

To view thumbnail images of all the data sources present in a directory or a database, you must place on the Content tab and click on the thumbnail button.

To create a thumbnail image:

You must display your data source using the Preview tab and click the Create button a thumbnail image. 

Remarks:

By default, documents (* .mxd) and templates (* .mxt) ArcMap are registered with their image thumbnail frame.
You do not have to create it for that file type. The option to turn off automatic backup of the thumbnail with the document ArcMap is in the menu File -> Map Properties ArcMap.

The creation of a miniature systematically leads to the creation of the XML metadata file (in which stores the thumbnail image).

You have three display modes for your data sources. Three tabs allow the switch from one mode to another:

•  The Content tab displays the contents of a directory or a geodatabase. Four options The presentation can be used: Large Icons, List, Details, and Thumbnail.

•  The Preview tab is used to display geographic data (Geography option) or data tabular (Table option) of the selected data source.

•  The Metadata tab lets you view the metadata associated with the selected data source in the catalog. By default, when the metadata from your data source does not exist, they are automatically generated. This behavior can be changed in the ArcCatalog options.

The Contents tab to view the contents of a directory, a set of classes, or basic data. Four formats are available to view with different levels of detail the contents of a directory or a database.

-Large Icons button to display the catalog items with their name and icon (large size). 

-The List button displays the catalog items with their name and icon (small size). 

-The Details button displays the catalog items with name, icon (small size), and type. 

-The Miniatures button displays thumbnail images created for each source data layer file or ArcMap document.
By default, thumbnails of documents ArcMap (* .mxd) are automatically created when they are saved.

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Display a single file:

You can view information about the content of a single file. To do this, simply select the
file and to place on the Content tab. The information displayed can be set in the box
dialog ArcCatalog ™ options in the tab Content. You can, for example, ask displayed the first name, type, size, date modified, access rights, ... the file.

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The tab "Overview"

-Geography or Table Mode Mode

To view the contents of your data you must place on the Preview tab. You choose then the Table option to display the attribute table of your data source or for Geography Show entities.
In table mode, you can perform searches, sorts, or add a field. In Geography view, you can identify entities, make zooms or save miniatures.

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The tab "Metadata"

Create and view metadata with different styles

The metadata is displayed in the ArcCatalog Metadata tab.
The metadata associated with your Data sources is stored as XML (Extended Markup Language).
How are presented this metadata is determined by style sheets. Style sheets are created by Format XSL (Extended Style sheet Language). They describe the different display properties read tags in the XML file.

Style sheets available:

- XML: This style allows you to view the contents of the XML file without any presentation. 

Tags are displayed in red and black values.
- FGDC: This style can present the set of tags in the form of a tree. These tags
were defined from the norm of the Federal Geographic Data Committee's (FGDC).
Some tags More were added by ESRI to manage metadata on Geometric type entities Networks and the relationship of classes.
- ESRI: This style displays the tags in three parts: Description, Space and The Attributes pane. The description corresponds to input information from the metadata editor and Spatial shutters
Attributes are informed and updated automatically by ArcCatalog.
- Geography Network: This style displays essential information about the data with the same format as that used on the www.geographynetwork.com site.
- Custom styles: Users can create their own styles. By creating its own style files
(* .xsl) the user can choose to display XML tags and how to present them.

Customize XML files:

It is possible to add their own tags in XML files to store information not included in the metadata model proposed by ArcInfo. In this case, the creation of an editor custom metadata will capture this new information. A new style file will then necessary to present in ArcCatalog.

A catalog consists of connections. These connections provide access to databases, disks or directories.

Connecting a disk or directory:

To quickly access a disk or to a local or remote directory, you can create a connection. Just click the Login button to a folder and specify the path to disk or directory.

Disconnecting a disk or directory:

To delete a connection in the catalog, select the connection to delete, then click the Disconnect button in a folder.

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Connect to external tables

OLE DB connection to a database:

ArcGIS ™ lets you access tables stored in external DBMS (Excel, Oracle, SQL Server, ...). 

For this, you must create a connection to the database by clicking on the control connections to databases and then double-clicking the Add Connection. OLE DB You then choose the database driver type of data to be used 

(eg: Microsoft OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers) then the connection characteristics

 (connection name, the file of the database, ...).
With regard to the Microsoft Access files (97 or higher), no connection is required. Microsoft Access databases appear directly in the data catalog.

Connecting to an ArcSDE database:

ArcGIS ™ allows you to access tables or feature classes ArcSDE stored on a server.
ArcSDE allows you to store and manage geographical data in a professional RDBMS (Oracle, SQL Server, IBM DB2, Informix, or Sybase).
For this, you must create a connection to this base data by clicking on the control connections to databases and then double-clicking the control Add SDE connection. You must then define the characteristics of the connection to the ArcSDE server (server name, ArcSDE instance name, user name, and password the user). Once created, the connection is part of your catalog.
Thus, the characteristics of a connection are preserved between two sessions of ArcCatalog. To remove a catalog connection, select the latter then execute the command File> Delete.