7.03.02 How To Create Shapefiles

In this exercise we will create a new shapefile from scratch. This new shapefile will be joined with attribute data in tutorial 7.03.03

Getting started

1. Start ArcMap. A window with three alternatives appears. (See image below.) Choose A new empty map. Click OK.

   

2. Start ArcCatalog by clicking on the ArcCatalog button in the toolbar. The ArcCatalog window appears.

3. Navigate to the C:\CLUP_EXERCISE_DATA\01_SE\ folder in the catalog tree.

   Creating New Shapefile

4. From the ArcCatalog menu bar, select File > New > Shapefile… (see image below).

   

5. The Create New Shapefile window appears (see image below). In the Name field type ‘SE20_SchCap08’. Choose Point in the Feature Type dropdown list .

6. Click Edit to define the shapefile’s coordinate system. The Properties for Spatial Reference window opens.

7. Click Select. The Browse for Coordinate System window appears. Navigate to the Geographic Coordinate System/Asia/ folder. Select Luzon 1911.prj, click Add. Back in the Properties for Spatial Reference window, click Apply, then OK.

   When the Properties for Spatial Reference window first opened, three alternatives were given: Select; Import; New. A smooth way to set the coordinate systems is to use the Import alternative. You will browse to an already existing shape-file and copy its spatial properties to the new shapefile. In the best case scenario a CLUP dataset collection will only consist of dataset in the same coordinate system and the Import alternative will be very easy. In other cases you must of course be aware of and choose a shapefile with the correct spatial settings.

8. Click OK. The new shapefile is created.

   Adding Field to the Shapefile

9. We will later join attribute data to this shapefile. In order to prepare for this we need to create an index column – or field - that corresponds to the template found in Chapter 5. Right-click on the shapefile in the catalog tree, then select Properties. The Shapefile Properties window appears.

10. Go to the Fields tab, see image below. Click on an empty row in the Field Name column and type ‘SCH_ID’ as the name of the new field. Select Long Integer from the Data Type drop list. In the Length field under Field Properties type 10. Now click Apply and then OK.

    

    You are done with this exercise.