ARC GIS CHEAT SHEET - ArcMap v. 10.5 - GIS setup, data import, management, and export

Oct 14, 2026

Upload by Ivy

ARC GIS CHEAT SHEET for ArcMap v. 10.5 provides step-by-step guidance for setting up a GIS project and producing map outputs. It covers coordinate systems, layout templates, scale configuration, and adding annotations such as north arrows, legends, and labels. The guide also explains how to find and import GIS data (UTS database and web sources), manage layers and file paths, handle linking and layer packages, and work with aerial imagery. It further details converting data (e.g., KML) and exporting to multiple formats including PDF, AI, Rhino/CAD, KML, and Google Earth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time9 min

AccessFree to download

1-SETTING UP A GIS FILE IN ARCMAP

1.1-Coordinate systems

1.2-Layouts

1.3-Scales

1.4-Annotations

2-FINDING AND IMPORTING GIS DATA

2.1-Finding data on the UTS database

2.2-Finding data on the web

2.3-Useful links to sources of GIS data

2.4-Data from Google Earth

2.5-Data from the ArcGIS system

3-DATA MANAGEMENT

3.1-Linking folders

3.2-Importing data

3.3-Adjusting layer properties

3.4-Adjusting symbol properties

3.5-Adjusting label properties

3.6-Creating layers

3.7-File Paths

3.8-Creating Layer Packages

3.9-Scales and Views

4-AERIALS AND IMAGERY

4.1-ArcGIS online basemaps

4.2-Sourcing and importing images from UTS Database

5-CONVERTING DATA

5.1-KML Data

6-EXPORTING

6.1-Exporting to PDF

6.2-Exporting to AI

6.3-Exporting data to Rhino/CAD

6.4-Exporting to KML

6.5-Opening in Rhino

6.6-Opening in AutoCAD

6.7-Opening in Google Earth

6.8-Opening in Google My Maps

ARC GIS CHEAT SHEET ArcMap v. 10.5 Compiled by: Stacey Edwards Ben Hardy-Clements With thanks to: Simon Kilbane CONTENTS 1-SETTING UP A GIS FILE IN ARCMAP 3 1.1-Coordinate systems 3 1.2-Layouts 3 1.3-Scales 4 1.4-Annotations 4 2-FINDING AND IMPORTING GIS DATA 6 2.1-Finding data on the UTS database 6 2.2-Finding data on the web 6 2.3-Useful links to sources of GIS data 7 2.4-Data from Google Earth 7 2.5-Data from the ArcGIS system 8 3-DATA MANAGEMENT 9 3.1-Linking folders 9 3.2-Importing data 9 3.3-Adjusting layer properties 10 3.4-Adjusting symbol properties 10 3.5-Adjusting label properties 12 3.6-Creating layers 12 3.7-File Paths 14 3.8-Creating Layer Packages 14 3.9-Scales and Views 16 4-AERIALS AND IMAGERY 17 4.1-ArcGIS online basemaps 17 4.2-Sourcing and importing images from UTS Database 18 5-CONVERTING DATA 20 5.1-KML Data 20 6-EXPORTING 21 6.1-Exporting to PDF 21 6.2-Exporting to AI 21 6.3-Exporting data to Rhino/CAD 22 6.4-Exporting to KML 23 6.5-Opening in Rhino 24 6.6-Opening in AutoCAD 24 6.7-Opening in Google Earth 24 6.8-Opening in Google My Maps 25 1-SETTING UP A GIS FILE IN ARCMAP 1.1-Coordinate systems Open up the ArcMap program. It is located under Start, Built Env and Arch, Arcgis. First thing to setup is the coordinate system for the file. Coordinate systems enable geographic datasets to use common locations for integration. A coordinate system is a reference system used to represent the locations of geographic features, imagery, and observations, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) locations, within a common geographic framework. [[http://help.arcgis.com/en/sdk/10.0/](http://help.arcgis.com/en/sdk/10.0/) arcobjects net/conceptualhelp/index. html\#//0001000002mq000000] Go to View, and then Data Frame Properties. Go to the Coordinate System tab. Go to the following folders to find the appropriate coordinate system. Projected Coordinate Systems, National Grids, Australia, and finally select the ‘GDA 1994 MGA Zone 56’ and go ‘ok’. 1.2-Layouts To the bottom left of the active window are two icons, one is for the Data View (on the left, you will be on this view by default when you first run the program), and Layout View (on the right) . To adjust the layout for the document output go to the layout tab (this should be on the toolbar by default, however if it is missing, just right-click the toolbar area and select ‘Layout’ to bring it up) . Select the ‘Change Layout’ option. In the ‘Select Template’ window, go to the ‘ISO (A) Page Sizes’ tab and select your required size. Select ‘ok’. 1.3-Scales Scales are easily modified by going into your layout view and going to the scale drop-down menu on the standard toolbar. If this toolbar is missing then simply right-click on the toolbar space and select ‘Standard’ from the options. Or goto ‘Customize’ and ‘Toolbars’. In this example I’m setting the scale to be 1:10,000 . If you wish to use a non-standard scale in the program then simply type what scale you want into the main scale box. In this example I’m setting the new scale to be 1:2,500 . 1.4-Annotations ArcMap provides many options for annotations, from labelling of regions (provided the information is within the datasets) to standard scale bars, legends, and north points.(Annotation information embedded within the datasets is further explained from Section 3.3) . To add a new annotation go to ‘Insert’ in the main menu. in this example I’m selecting North Arrow. Follow the options to customise your annotation. Once happy with your annotation, click ‘ok’. You can then drag the annotation to anywhere suitable on the page. For legends, this can only be done once you have some dataset layers loaded into your file (Section 3.2) . Go to ‘Insert’ and ‘Legend’. If you have more than one layer, just select the ones which you want to be shown in the legend and just click the highlighted a

FAQs

How do I set the coordinate system in ArcMap v. 10.5?

Open ArcMap, then go to View > Data Frame Properties. In the Coordinate System tab, browse Projected Coordinate Systems > National Grids > Australia, and select GDA 1994 MGA Zone 56.

Can ArcMap access UTS database data directly?

No. The guide states UTS database data cannot be accessed directly in the program. You must copy the relevant GIS data folder to a different location (e.g., desktop or a USB with enough space) before importing it in ArcMap.

What export formats are covered by the cheat sheet?

The guide includes exporting to PDF and AI, exporting GIS data to Rhino/CAD, exporting to KML, and opening the outputs in Rhino, AutoCAD, Google Earth, and Google My Maps.

Oct 14, 2026

Upload by Ivy