1. Spatial Analysis, Geoprocessing,
and ArcToolbox
Geography 405/605

2. Spatial Analysis
“The study of the locations and shapes of geographic features and the relationships between them.” ESRI definition
“Spatial analysis is a set of methods whose results change when the locations of the objects being analyzed changes.” Longley et al. definition

3. Geoprocessing
“A GIS operation used to manipulate GIS data. A typical geoprocessing operation takes an input dataset, performs an operation on that dataset, and returns the result of the operation as an output dataset.” ESRI definition

4. ArcGIS Geoprocessing Environment
ArcToolbox
Command Line
Model Builder
Scripting

5. ArcToolbox Toolbox Toolset Tool Models Scripts
Can be accessed from ArcMap or ArcCatalog

6. Using the tools Tools consist of an input, an output, some
parameters, and help.

7. Additional Help

8. Custom Toolboxes
Users can create custom toolboxes and fill them with existing and new tools. Custom toolboxes are a convenient way to access often used tools.

9. Environments Set working directory Set default coordinate system
Set default cluster tolerance
Set spatial extent
Set raster cell size

10. Command Line Quick and easy if you know what you are doing
Can repeat the same tasks for several feature classes or rasters quickly
Commands are similar to ArcINFO aml
Instant feedback tells you if the processing is successful
Easy to document

11. Model Builder Useful as a documentation tool
Communicate to others your methods
Drag and drop interface
Chain together several processes and let it run overnight
Can set variables to make the model flexible

12. Documentation Your model can be exported as a jpeg or as HTML
You can create help for others who might use your model
Model Builder uses existing tools from ArcToolbox, so interpretation is easy

13. Variables
A variable is a parameter, such as an input file, that can be made flexible. A variable could be created that would allow the user to choose his or her own input files.
Models can be static (use fixed datasets) or flexible (use variables) depending upon your needs.