ArcGIS Data Management
How to manage YOUR data
• On esf cluster machines you can only store data
– On the desktop (but ArcGIS can’t see it there)
– On C:/workspace
• You can’t save data on the public machines
between session because they get wiped clean
every day or so.
• So you really have to work with data in the folder
C:/Workspace
• And so does everyone else!
• So…
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So…
• Keep your data on a memory stick (flash memory)
or on your SU gig of storage
• Put it in a workspace called “yourname”*
• When you fire up a campus machine
– 1- erase everything in C:\workspace
– 2- copy “Yourname” into C:\workspace
• When you are done copy (drag) the yourname
folder back onto your memory stick or your SU
storage.
• If you are a nice person you will delete your
“yourname” folder from C:/workspace!
* “yourname” is a stand-in for your name. Example: if you
are Eustis B Nifkin then you might call your personal
workspace EUSTIS
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Why?
• There are at least 2 reasons that you
should work from C:\workspace
– ArcGIS does not like some thumb drives
– Thumb drives are slow and you may find
that the exercises are painfully slow
– I don’t know how fast the SU storage
locations are. You may be able to work
directly from them. Try it.
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For Example
On your flash memory stick
On one of the ESF computer
cluster machines
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There is more to this…
• A .mxd file (your map document) does NOT
contain ANY data!
• It stores only paths to the data (Pointers)
• So, for example, if you were to move the
data files to a new location the .mxd would
not be able to find the data.
• This is a booby trap. If this happens you
get a red “!” after the data file name. Click
on it to browse for the data
• However, there is a better way...
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However…
• You can set up your .mxd so that as long as
the data and the .mxd are in the same
relative relationship in a data tree then you
don’t have to worry about this problem
• So if you flash data structure is
Z:\Eustis\data and on a cluster ‘puter it
is C:\Workspace\Eustis\data every
thing will work just fine! 
• To set up Relative Paths …
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So how to you do that?
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Booby Trap 1
WARNING
Never, ever create a
path to ArcGIS data
that has spaces in it. If
you do
ArcGIS will not find
the data!
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Booby Trap 2
Save the .mxd often!
ArcGIS has a habit of crashing at the most
critical part of a project!
When doing something that you do not want
to lose it is a good idea to increment saves.
First save as: mystuff1, second save as
mystuff2,….mystuffn
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