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Friends,
 
ESRI's FTP site of interest to you has a new and improved generic
"starter" ArcView2 project. The improvements are subtle, so I'll
describe them for you. First, the site:
 
REDLANDS.ESRI.COM\PUB\K12-LIB\SAMPLES
 
Look for "aaa.apr"
 
Now, the modifications from a basic generic default project. First, the
two newest enhancements (post-ALA).
 
(1) The disk buttons which used to direct the project to do a
"FILE/SAVE" now direct the project to do a "FILE/SAVE AS", so that you
can rename a project on the fly, and more easily protect serial versions
of the project, in case things go awry. If you are anxious to do a
regular fast FILE/SAVE, you can still do so thru the Menu choices or the
hotkey combo CTRL-S. Thus, we hope this will make it easier for you to
be more careful without making it hard for you to be efficient.
 
(2) The View and Table interfaces each have a new button which allows you
"one-button access" for bringing in external tables. Previously, you had
to know that you needed to go back to the project window, then click on
the TABLES button, then click ADD before you could add a table. Now, you
can bring in a joinable table with more natural "flow" to the movements
and thinking.
 
Next, the "pre-ALA enhancements", which many of you have already seen.
 
(3) The View interface is already set to "decimal degrees", so that
decimal degree data you bring in will automatically come in with an
intelligible scale.
 
(4) The View interface has special pull-down buttons for selecting shapes
by point, line, circle, rectangle, or polygon. The default project only
allows selecting by rectangle.
 
(5) The View interface has a button for identifying the projection. If
you are using an orthographic projection, it allows you to change center
points on the fly.
 
(6) The View interface has a button for toggling all other buttons and all
tools off and on. More just a gimmick right now, but easy to modify.
 
(7) The View interface/View menu has an option built in for merging themes,
which is especially handy if you are working with DCW or "incomplete" data
sets.
 
(8) The View interface has lost references to geocoding, which were more
confusing than helpful for most newcomers.
 
(9) The Table interface has a "histogram" button to allow you to build a
rough, quick histogram of values for a field.
 
And there are a few other odds and ends. We'll be working on preparing
better and better generic starting projects. For now, you should download
this one and use it for your basic projects.
 
Charlie
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Charlie Fitzpatrick
ESRI K-12 Education & Libraries
3460 Washington Drive, Suite 101
St.Paul, MN  55122-4301
v: 612/454-0600 x.26
f: 612/454-0705
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