Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
7
STEP-BY-STEP
Creating Spatial Data
Sets Based on Proximity,
Overlay, and Attributes
Open your Fast Facts File.
Open the Color Figures file.
ArcGIS Desktop has three programs that create buffers. While they are similar in their intent, they have
different capabilities and allow different inputs. The fact that there are three programs, instead of one that
has all capabilities, is indicative of how the computer code for ArcGIS has evolved, rather than having been
written from the ground up. The three are:
Buffer Wizard, an older, but still supported, program that has a lot of capability but has to be added to
the menu of tools that you can use. In the author's experience Buffer Wizard doesn't always work.
1
❏
Buffer, in ArcToolbox, creates buffers, but, depending on the final output you want, have to be tweaked
with other ArcGIS tools, and which doesn't supply an important column of information in the buffer
feature class attribute table with some inputs.
❏
Multiple Ring Buffer, which allows several buffers to be created at the same time, but lacks the ability
to make variable-width buffers based on the attribute table of the feature class being buffered.
❏
You will use all three to gain an understanding of their capabilities.
Exercise 7-1 (Warm-Up)
Making Trivial Buffers around a Trivial Feature Class
1.
In ArcCatalog make or confirm a Folder Connection to
___IGIS-Arc_
YourInitials
\Trivial_GIS_Datasets.
1
The Buffer Wizard didn't work for the author in version 10 with the Roads feature class. It produced an error that
required closing ArcMap. This problem may have been fixed by Esri by the time you are learning the buffer programs.
Or maybe not. In any event, I call your attention to two ideas: (1) All major software programs have bugs, which
should be reported to the vendor (I have), and (2) with ArcGIS, there is generally some sort of workaround.
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