GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Exercise

2 D Digitizing

W.J.Kock
January 2006

INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR GEO-INFORMATION SCIENCE AND EARTH OBSERVATION

 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................4

Exercise : 2 D Digitizing...........................................................................................................5

1.1 Starting with the points: trees .................................................................................................5

1.2 Remarks .................................................................................................................................6
1.3 Continue with the line strings: paths and railways .................................................................6
1.4 The shapes (polygons) for the buildup areas and the buildings ............................................7
1.5 The shapes (polygons) for the land use.................................................................................8
1.6 The roads ...............................................................................................................................9

Chapter 2 Corrective editing .................................................................................................11

2.1 Check for errors....................................................................................................................11

2.2 Tools to correct errors ..........................................................................................................11

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Introduction

In this exercise you are going to learn how you can enter spatial and
attribute data in ArcGis. You will populate the empty feature classes of the
My_Enschede personal Geodatabase by adding spatial and attribute data by
means of digitizing.
In Module 2 you will learn how to create a personal geodatabase.

You can find the link to the exercise data on Blackboard (Module 1,
Assignments)

Copy the whole folder “Digitizing” to your personal drive

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Exercise : 2 D Digitizing

In the “ Goereferencing” exercise, you learned how to georeference a raster

image. A georeferenced raster image can be placed in ArcMap and from this
image, the features can be traced.
The feature classes, feature data set and the personal Geodatabase will be
created in the “Create a new personal Geodatabase” exercise in module 2.

Start ArcMap and create a new, empty map document

Add the Feature dataset Area_around_ITC_2 which is inside the

personal Geodatabase “My_Enschede_2 to the map.

Add the geocoded (rectified) image: rectified_image_2 to the map

(folder: Digitizing) The corners of the image should fit with the
control points.

Save the map as Digitizing

(demo1)

1.1 Starting with the points: trees

Enable the editor toolbox:

[View] [Toolbars] [editor]

[Editor] [start editing] [start editing]

[task] [create new feature]
[target] [trees]

trees

(You are going to create a new tree feature in the trees feature class)

Zoom in on some trees in the map

Click on the pencil tool

Place a data point (click) on the position of a tree
(the point representing the tree will appear)

Place a data point for the next tree.

Continue in this way to digitize the trees

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

After you digitized the trees, save your digitizing:

[editor] [save edits]

(demo2)

1.2 Remarks

Remark: In case you made a mistake when digitizing, you can

“undo” your last operation: [edit] [undo…..]

Remark: If you want to delete a feature: Select the feature with the

selection tool (selected=blue), then, press the [delete] key on

your keyboard.

Remark: you should save your work with regular intervals: [editor]
[save edits]

Remark: To stop digitizing session: [editor] [save edits], [editor] [stop

editing]

1.3 Continue with the line strings: paths and railways

If you stopped editing, you have to switch on the editor again:

[Editor] [start editing]

Activate the snapping facility:

The snapping facility gives you the possibility to find the
exact endpoints of lines in order to connect the lines (nodes)
perfectly together with each other.

[editor] [snapping] a small window will be opened

In that window, click on the checkbox at the “end” row of the
paths and the railways features

Close the window

You activated the snapping facility for the end of the
footpaths and the railways features.

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Zoom in on some footpaths in the map

[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [paths]

Click on the pencil tool

Place a data point (click) at the beginning of the line.
Continue by following the line and place a data point (click)
each time the line changes in direction. You have to stop
(double click) when there is an intersection (junction)
with another footpath.

To continue, and make a perfect connection with your already

digitized segment of the footpath, you have to use the
snapping facility: Move the mouse cursor close to the
endpoint of the digitized line. The cursor will then jump
(snap) to the exact location of the endpoint of the digitized
line. At this point, you can continue to digitize another part of
the line string.

Continue with digitizing the paths and make use of the snapping
facility.

After the paths, continue with the railways:

[task]:[create new feature], [target]: [railways]
Digitize the railway lines. Digitize from node (begin) to
node (junction). Snap to connect the lines at the railway
junctions.

After you digitized the paths and railways, save your digitizing:
[editor] [save edits]

(demo3)

1.4 The shapes (polygons) for the buildup areas and

the buildings

Zoom in on some buildup areas in the image

[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [Buildings: [+] BuildupAreas]

Click on the pencil tool
Place a data point (click) at a corner of a buildup area.
Continue by following the shape and place a data point
(click) each time the line changes in direction. When
reaching the starting point, double-click to finish the
polygon.
After that, continue to digitize the other buildup areas.

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

After finishing the buildup areas, continue with the buildings:

[task]:[create new feature], [target]: [Buildings: [+]
Buildings]
Digitize the buildings in the same way as the buildup areas.

(Do not forget to save your edits at regular intervals!)

(demo4)

1.5 The shapes (polygons) for the land use

Digitize the polygons of the grass areas:

[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [Landuse [+]: grass]
Digitize the polygons of the 2 grass areas
After finishing the grass areas, you can digitize the pond:
The problem is that you cannot see anymore where the
pond is situated because the digitized grass area covers the
image of the pond.
To solve this, you can make the grass area transparent, so
that you can see the image again:
In the table of contents, click on the colour box near grass:
From the big symbol selector window which will be opened,
select “Hollow”. Then, click [OK]. The polygon of the grass
will be transparent so that you can see the image of the
pond.
Now you can digitize the pond:
[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [Landuse [+]: pond]
Digitize the polygon of the pond.
After digitizing the pond, you can change the grass area
back to a green colour:
In the table of contents, click on the colour box near grass:
From the big symbol selector window which will be opened,
select a green colour box. Then, click [OK]. The polygon of
the grass will be green.

After that, digitize the wood polygon:

You can see that the wood polygon is not a stand-alone
polygon like the other digitized polygons are. A part of the
polygon boundary of the wood area coincides with the
boundary of a park polygon.
In order to avoid overlaps and gaps between the wood and
the grass polygon because of double digitizing the common
boundary of the grass and the wood, you have to use a
different task option:
[task]: [topology tasks][auto complete polygon], [target]: [Landuse
[+]: wood]

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Click somewhere inside the polygon of the grass.

Then continue digitizing the wood area. At the end, double-
click inside the grass polygon. (You do not have to digitize
the common boundary again)
The new polygon is appended to the existing polygon.
Save your edits: [editor] [save edits]
Cutting the grass area where it coincides with the pond area:
At the moment, the pond area and the grass area are
placed on top of each other: (the grass area continuous
underneath the pond.) This is not a good solution. In fact,
the polygon of the grass area should not continuo
underneath the pond. You have to create a hole in the grass
polygon where the pond is situated:

Click the selection tool and select the digitized pond. (a blue
line will appear around the pond)
When both the grass and the pond are selected, de-select
the grass by <shift>clicking in the grass area: only the pond
should be selected.
Then: [editor] [clip]: buffer distance :0, Discard the
area that intersects. [ok]
You created a hole in the polygon of the grass area where
the pond is situated.
Save your edits: [editor] [save edits]
(demo5)

1.6 The roads

When you look at the scanned image, you see that the roads are area
features and –at this scale- should be digitized as polygons. Because of the
complexity of the road network, the boundaries of the roads will be digitized
as lines. Later, in the next module of the course you will learn how to create
polygons from these road boundary lines.

Start with the main road: (there is only one main road.)
[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [roads: main road]

To be able to snap to the edges of the roads: [editor] [snapping]

Switch on the snapping for the end of the roads
Start digitizing the main road at the edge of the frame. Continue with
digitizing by following the boundary of the main road. When
reaching the frame, finish the line. Do not digitize the part of
the road boundary which coincides with the frame.

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

To continue with the other main road boundary: Start at the frame’s
edge and digitize the other road boundary.
(Digitize from node to node: Stop the line at an intersection,
snap, and start the new line.)
When reaching the frame, finish the line.
After that, digitize the secondary road boundaries
[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [roads: sec road]
Use the same technique as when digitizing the main road
boundary: Snap to a digitized road boundary and
continue digitizing the road boundary until you reach the
frame or a digitized road boundary.

Digitize the streets boundaries:

[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [roads: street]
Use the same technique as when digitizing the other road
boundaries.

Digitize the parking places

[task]: [create new feature], [target]: [roads: parking]
Use the same technique as when digitizing the road
boundaries

(demo6)

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Chapter 2 Corrective editing

2.1 Check for errors

Positional errors:
Switch on the display of all layers
Check if you placed al the elements at the correct location.

Connection errors:
Check if you made nodes at the correct locations and that the line elements
of the railways, footpaths and roads are well connected.

2.2 Tools to correct errors

[task] [modify feature]

With this tool you can change the position of each vertex in
a selected element. ( Nodes are the start- and endpoints of
an element, vertices are the points in between)

[task] [cut polygon features]

With this tool you can split a polygon into 2 different
polygons

Deleting a selected feature can be done by selecting the feature with

the selection tool and pressing the delete key on your

keyboard.

Only some basic editing tools are discusses in this exercise. Other,
more advanced editing tools will be discussed in the “Editing
Geographic Features” exercise, which is part of Module 2 of the GFM4
program.

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 GFM4 Module1: exercise 2D Digitizing

Data collection model

Layers Type element

Points point tree

Paths footpath line string

Railways railway linestring

Buildings building polygon

build-up area polygon

Land use park polygon

Wood polygon
Pond polygon

Roads main road boundary line string

secondary road boundary line string
street boundary line string
parking place

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