Adding layers to a map (in ArcMap)

Owned by Tore Sannes (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Mar 30, 2015
4 min read

Adding a dataset

To create a new map layer, simply add a dataset to your map, globe, or 3D scene. There are a few ways to add datasets:

  • Using the Add Data button — Click the Add Data button    and navigate to the desired dataset. Then select and add it to your map.

 

  • Copying or dragging a layer — You can move layers between data frames or maps by copying and pasting or dragging the layer from one data frame to another.



  • Dragging a dataset from the Catalog window — You can navigate to datasets and add them directly in ArcMap. Using the Catalog window, navigate to the desired dataset. Drag the dataset into the map's data frame.


All datasets which are recognized by ArcMap can be copied or dragged into the active Data Frame this way. If the dataset is an excel file it will appear as a table in ArcMap. Also, if the dataset is an ascii file it will also appear as a table when dragged into ArcMap.

 

 

Adding data from Geocap Seafloor

1. From shapefiles

In the Catalogue window, browse to the folder where the exported shapefiles are located. See the files with Surfacepoints, Contours, Frame, Boundary and Seafloor etc, and drag the files into the active data frame.

2. From file geodatabase

In the Catalogue window, browse to the folder where the database myChart.gdb is located. Open the database and see the data items copied into the database. To be sure to that all data items are shown, click the 
How to symbolize the data layers will be discussed later in the document.

Adding an ASCII or text file table

In ArcGIS, you can directly access data in delimited text files and work with them as tables. ArcCatalog and the Add Data dialog box in ArcMap list files with .txt, .asc, .csv, or .tab extensions and assign them a file type of text file.

Files with a .txt, .asc, or .csv extension are interpreted as comma (or semi-colon) delimited, while files with a .tab extension are interpreted as tab delimited by default. Any file with one of these extensions will be interpreted as a text file table even if it doesn't contain tabular data. If you attempt to display a text file that doesn't contain tabular data, the software will either produce an error or attempt to display the data as a table. To avoid this problem, give your delimited text files a .csv or a .tab extension. This will help differentiate text files with delimited data from unformatted text files.

The first row of your text file can contain the column headings. The following rows can contain coordinates and attributes. Remember to use commas or tabs to distinguish the columns. The following is an example of a comma-delimited text file:

 x,y,ID,color
 8.6,5.6,001,blue
 99.3,77.0,002,blue and red
 8.01,44.3,003,orange

This can be previewed in ArcCatalog or added as data in ArcMap and will appear as shown:

To convert the table to a geographic layer you will need to run a geoprocessing tool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Convert data with the Make XY event layer tool

Having a data in a text file (ascii) the best way to import the information is from a semi-colon separated file with file type .csv. The coordinate system can be in geographic or in a projection.

The .csv file must have a header row for specifying the columns, for instance "Latitude; Longitude; Label":

Latitude; Longitude; Label
54.38228614; 18.65559966; 1
54.38222022; 18.65523383; 3
54.38215409; 18.65486909; 5
54.38208797; 18.65449803; 7
54.38202205; 18.65413099; 9

In any ArcGIS for Desktop application, you open the ArcToolbox with the ArcToolbox Window button  found on the standard toolbar or by clicking Geoprocessing > ArcToolbox.

To import the points and the labels we will use the Make XY Event Layer tool. If you have more than one data frame in your map document, check which data frame is active, if it is the Index map or the main map.

The tool is opened from the ArcToolbox window:

Data Management Tools > Layers and Table views > Make XY Event Layer 

 

The menu will have these input fields:

XY Table: Browse to the correct folder and select the .csv file containing the points and labels.

X Field: Latitude (or X if the file has Cartesian coordinates.)

Y Field: Longitude (or Y)

Z Field (optional): Set blank if the file does not have a Z column.

Layer Name or Table View: The name of the output point event layer. Will by default be the data file name without .csv.

Spatial Reference (optional): The spatial reference of the coordinates in the X and Y Fields defined above. This will be the output event layer's spatial reference. It is recommended to set the spatial reference.

 

Click OK to read the input file into the map document.