Project window Shape files are saved in projects (Shape file is a non-topological format for storing the geometric location and attribute information of geographic features. The basic features of the startup screen are, (See Fig. 1.3) When the view window is opened rename the new view in Name column Fig.
To start the work double click Arc view GIS 3.3 Double click on ArcView GIS 3.3 in your Desktop (See Fig.User’s Guide to ArcView 3.3 for Land Use Planners in Puttalam District
Copies of this User’s Guide will be given to selected users free of charge and IUCN does not have any commercial interest in preparing and distribution of this Guide. This user’s guide was prepared drawing heavily from Arc View 3.3 help menu and Arc View 9.2 for the sole purpose of providing simplified instructions to the users of GIS maps produced under the BMZ project.
As a continuing capacity building exercise, it was felt necessary that a user’s guide for operating GIS software be provided. The recipients were trained on the GIS techniques. As a part of this programme, various State Agencies in the Puttalam Lagoon area were provided with GIS Maps incorporating several databases collated and analysed by the Project. An important component of this project was the capacity building of State Institutions responsible for managing the resources in the Puttalam Lagoon. IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Sri Lanka implemented the project, Ecologically and socio-economically sound coastal ecosystem rehabilitation and conservation in tsunami-affected countries of the Indian Ocean with financial assistance from Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) (German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development) in the Puttalam lagoon area in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. However, there are often limitations in using of this new technology due to lack of funds for obtaining the relevant software and expertise in the area. Currently, many government agencies as well as non-government agencies in Sri Lanka successfully apply GIS technology as a decision making tool to coordinate resource utilization plans. And also GIS technology is often used for decision-making, because the data can be easily modified, shared, accessed, updated and linked with photographs, video and audio clips. Therefore GIS allows to see pattern, distance, area, relationship, trend, and Location on the ground. GIS can reveal hidden patterns, relationships, and trends that are not readily apparent in spreadsheets or statistical packages, often creating new information from existing data resources.
Each feature is linked to a position on the graphical image on a map and a record in an attribute table. These might be represented as several different layers where each layer holds a particular kind of data.
Typically, GIS is used for handling maps of one kind or another. GIS is often used as a decision support tool involving integration of spatially referenced data in a problem-solving environment as well. It is the merging of mapping and database technology. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is a collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of data with geographically referenced information. User’s Guide to ArcView 3.3 for Land Use Planners in Puttalam District Dilhari Weragodatenna