NRM 3300, F24, Lab 4 Create TX Contours

Summary

In this instructional video, the presenter guides viewers through creating and editing templates in a GIS software, focusing on the title area and inserting images. They demonstrate how to adjust and align elements using smart guides and coordinates, and introduce the process of creating hollow boxes and locking map frames. The tutorial also covers copying layouts, working with terrain layers, and generating vector-based contours from a DEM. The presenter emphasizes the importance of understanding fundamental GIS concepts for becoming a proficient user.

Takeaways

• 🖥️ The video is a tutorial focusing on a GIS software, guiding users through creating and editing map layouts and templates.
• 🔄 The instructor demonstrates how to delete and rearrange elements in a map layout, emphasizing the importance of the title area.
• 🖼️ A new logo (TTU word Mark) is introduced and inserted into the map layout, replacing the old Tech logo.
• 📏 The video covers how to use the polygon tool to draw a hollow box and adjust its size and position.
• 🔗 The concept of 'smart guides' is introduced as a tool for aligning and positioning elements within the layout.
• 🔒 The tutorial shows how to lock and group elements in the layout to keep them organized and prevent accidental changes.
• 🔄 The process of copying and pasting layouts is explained, highlighting the importance of naming layouts appropriately for organization.
• 🌄 The video discusses the use of terrain layers, including streaming terrain layers and the creation of hillshade layers for better visualization.
• ⛰️ The instructor explains the difference between raster-based and vector-based contours, emphasizing the need for the latter for more detailed and smooth maps.
• 🛠️ The tutorial guides users through the process of blurring a DEM (Digital Elevation Model) to simplify the terrain for contour creation.
• 📊 The use of statistical functions to refine the appearance of the terrain layer is demonstrated, with a focus on using standard deviations to improve visualization.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the video script?

The main focus of the video script is to guide users through creating and editing templates in a GIS software, specifically for an elevation lab.

Why is the title area considered important in the script?

The title area is considered important because it sets the first impression of the map and contains crucial information such as the name of the person who created the map and the logo of the institution.

What is the purpose of deleting the Tech logo and moving the name in the title area?

The purpose is to simplify the title area and ensure that the name of the person is more prominently displayed, which is a common practice for clarity and professional presentation in map layouts.

Why is the TTU word Mark image being added to the template?

The TTU word Mark image is being added to the template to replace the previous logo, as the instructor believes it will work better for the title area of the map.

What is the significance of drawing a hollow box around the image in the script?

Drawing a hollow box around the image serves as a visual frame, which can help to highlight the image and make it stand out within the map layout.

Why is the class name text size being reduced in the template?

The class name text size is being reduced to make it less prominent and to ensure that it fits well within the design of the title block without overwhelming the other elements.

What is the reason for locking and grouping elements in the layout?

Locking and grouping elements in the layout helps to keep the design organized and prevents accidental movement or changes, which is essential when creating a template that will be reused.

Why is the instructor emphasizing the importance of naming layouts appropriately?

The instructor emphasizes the importance of naming layouts appropriately to ensure that each layout is easily identifiable and to maintain order when working with multiple layouts and maps.

What is the benefit of using a local DEM file instead of streaming one for creating contours?

Using a local DEM file allows for more detailed and accurate contour creation because it is not limited by the streaming data's resolution or potential connectivity issues.

Why is the instructor blurring the DEM before creating contours?

The instructor is blurring the DEM to simplify the terrain details, which helps to create smoother and more manageable contour lines, especially when working with a large dataset that might be too detailed for contouring.

What is the purpose of setting a contour interval of 40 meters?

A contour interval of 40 meters is set to provide a balance between detail and simplicity in the contour lines, ensuring that the contours are neither too dense nor too sparse for the map's scale.

Outlines

00:00

🖼️ Designing a Title Block in a GIS Project

The speaker begins by continuing a GIS lab session, focusing on improving the title area of a map layout. They remove an existing Tech logo and reposition their name, then insert a new picture from a specified folder on Blackboard named 'TTU word Mark'. The image is adjusted for size and position using smart guides and X and Y coordinates. A hollow box is drawn around the image using the polygon tool, with dimensions specified. The box is then moved and resized to fit the title area. The speaker emphasizes the importance of aligning elements properly within the layout. They group and lock the title box, and the session concludes with a focus on making copies of the template for future use.

05:02

🔄 Refining Templates and Managing Layouts

The video script details the process of refining a GIS project template by adjusting the class name font size and centering it. The speaker demonstrates how to use smart guides to align text and elements within the layout. They also show how to group and lock elements to maintain consistency across multiple layouts. The focus then shifts to managing multiple layouts and maps within a project, including copying and pasting layouts, renaming them for clarity, and saving the project. The speaker also discusses the use of streaming terrain layers for analysis, demonstrating how to enhance visualization through dynamic range adjustments and the creation of hillshade layers.

10:03

🏞️ Enhancing Terrain Visualization with GIS Tools

The speaker continues the lab by showing how to enhance terrain visualization using GIS tools. They discuss the importance of using the correct base layer for analysis and demonstrate how to create contour lines from raster data. The speaker emphasizes the difference between raster-based and vector-based contours, explaining that raster files are pixel-based, while vector files are point-based. They guide the audience through the process of adding a high-detail boundary layer for Texas and using it as a clipping reference. The video concludes with the addition of a detailed terrain layer and a discussion on simplifying the contour creation process for better visualization and analysis.

15:05

🗺️ Adding and Customizing Terrain Layers

The focus of this segment is on adding and customizing terrain layers in a GIS project. The speaker instructs on how to add a high-detail Texas boundary layer from the USDA and remove the previous one. They guide the audience on how to clip the terrain layer to the new boundary and add a detailed terrain layer that is more suitable for contour creation. The speaker then demonstrates how to simplify the contour process by blurring the DEM and adjusting the dynamic range for better visualization. They also discuss the importance of choosing the right scale for contour lines and the process of creating vector-based contours using the Contour tool from the Spatial Analyst toolbox.

20:08

📝 Emphasizing the Importance of Fundamentals in GIS

In the final paragraph, the speaker stresses the importance of understanding the fundamentals of GIS software. They encourage students to take comprehensive notes during the lab sessions, as these notes account for 50% of their grade. The speaker compares the importance of fundamentals in learning software to learning sports or life skills, emphasizing that a strong foundation is key to becoming a power user. They conclude the session by reminding students to save their work and express anticipation for the next video, where they will continue exploring advanced GIS techniques.

Keywords

💡Elevation

Elevation refers to the height of a geographic location above a fixed reference point, typically sea level. In the context of the video, elevation is a key theme as the lab focuses on creating elevation maps. The script discusses various techniques for visualizing and analyzing elevation data, such as using contour lines and hillshade layers, which are essential tools in cartography and geographic information systems (GIS) for representing the three-dimensional aspect of terrain on a two-dimensional map.

💡Templates

In the video, templates refer to pre-designed layouts or frameworks that are used as a starting point for creating maps or documents. The instructor is working on finishing up two templates, which will be used to make copies for various projects. This is an efficient way to maintain consistency across multiple maps or documents, as it eliminates the need to recreate the same elements repeatedly. The script mentions deleting and rearranging elements within the template to improve its design.

💡Smart Guides

Smart Guides are a feature in many design and GIS software that assist users in aligning and positioning elements accurately on a layout. The script mentions using smart guides to help draw and position a picture within the title area of the template. This tool is crucial for ensuring that elements are placed precisely relative to each other, which is important for maintaining a clean and professional appearance in the final product.

💡Raster Functions

Raster functions are tools in GIS software that allow for the manipulation and analysis of raster data, which is data composed of pixels. In the video, the instructor uses raster functions to adjust the dynamic range of a terrain layer, create hillshade layers for visual enhancement, and generate contour lines. These functions are essential for preprocessing raster data to make it more suitable for analysis or for improving the visual representation of the data.

💡Contour Lines

Contour lines are lines of equal elevation that are used in cartography to represent the three-dimensional shape of the terrain on a two-dimensional map. The script discusses the process of creating vector-based contour lines from a digital elevation model (DEM). This involves simplifying the DEM data to avoid overly detailed and jagged lines, which can be visually unappealing and technically challenging to work with. Contour lines are crucial for understanding the relief and slope of the land.

💡Vector Data

Vector data represents geographical features as points, lines, or polygons, which are defined by their coordinates. In contrast to raster data, which is pixel-based, vector data allows for more precise and scalable representation of features. The script mentions creating vector-based contour lines, which are more useful for analysis and manipulation than the raster-based contour lines that are generated from streaming terrain layers.

💡Symbology

Symbology in GIS refers to the visual representation of data, including the colors, patterns, and styles used to depict different types of information. The script discusses adjusting the symbology of a raster layer to improve its appearance and make it more suitable for analysis. This involves choosing appropriate colors and patterns to represent different elevations and features, which can enhance the readability and aesthetics of the map.

💡Clipping

Clipping is a GIS technique used to limit the extent of a layer or feature to a specific area, such as a boundary or shape. In the video, the instructor uses the detailed Texas boundary layer as a clipping reference to limit the terrain layer to the state of Texas. This ensures that the map only displays data relevant to the area of interest, which can improve performance and reduce clutter.

💡Dynamic Range

Dynamic range in the context of GIS and image processing refers to the ratio between the brightest and darkest elements in an image. The script mentions adjusting the dynamic range of a raster layer to improve its visual appearance and make it more suitable for analysis. This can involve stretching the contrast to enhance details in the image or to make certain features more visible.

💡Geodatabase

A geodatabase is a type of database designed to store and manage geographic information, including vector and raster data. In the script, the instructor refers to a geodatabase as a source for the high-detail Texas boundary layer. Geodatabases are important in GIS for organizing and managing spatial data, allowing for efficient data retrieval and analysis.

Highlights

Introduction to the elevation lab and setting up the base layout.

Editing the title area by removing the Tech logo and repositioning the name.

Inserting a new picture for the title area and using smart guides for alignment.

Adjusting the picture's X and Y coordinates for precise positioning.

Creating a hollow box around the picture using the polygon tool.

Sizing the hollow box to 3 inches wide and adjusting its position.

Locking the map frame and selecting everything but the map frame for alignment.

Ensuring equal vertical and horizontal space around the title box.

Grouping elements and naming the group 'title box'.

Adjusting the class name size and centering it within the title box.

Locking the title box and preparing to make copies for other projects.

Copying and pasting the Texas base layout for the elevation map.

Importing a high-detail Texas boundary layer for the map.

Removing unnecessary layers and setting the new boundary layer as a clipping reference.

Adding a detailed terrain layer and adjusting its dynamic range for better visualization.

Creating vector-based contours instead of raster-based for better accuracy.

Blurring the DEM to simplify the contouring process and reduce file size.

Using the statistics tool to refine the DEM's appearance and prepare for contouring.

Creating contours with specific intervals and settings for the Texas map.

Emphasizing the importance of understanding the fundamentals for becoming a power user of the software.

Transcripts

okay let's jump into mini section 2 for

our elevation

lab and I have Pro open

already so this is where we left off at

the end uh of course we were in the base

layout now I want to finish up our two

templates because we're going to start

making copies of them

okay so I am not super crazy

about this little uh but it's very

important this title area so I'm going

to delete this Tech

logo okay and I'm going to delete

that and I'm just going to move my name

above that

guy all right and now I'm going to come

up

to insert the insert Tab and here I'm

going to click on the

picture Okay so navigate to your 09

folder and then add this new one that I

just put on blackboard uh for you and

it's called TTU word Mark okay I think

this one's going to work better and then

let's just use our smart guides

and just draw it out like that and see

how that works okay

so let me click

on

okay I don't know why these guys are

hard to

move so let me click

on okay so let me click on the double

click on the picture over here and that

usually selects it so what I'm going to

do is just use

these positional

arrows uh the X and Y coordinates and I

want to move it on the x axis which is

the horizontal axis and then that looks

pretty good I'll just move it up a here

nope that's too

much okay that looks good so we've got

that simplified and now what I would

like to

do is let's draw

a

hollow box around it so choose your

polygon tool and then what we can do

let's just draw it out like this for now

and then we can adjust the shape over

here so why don't we all make

ours 3 in wide

and 1.75 or 1 and 3/4

in

wide okay and then we can move that over

I'd like to use

my get that over like Okay so

and let's just make this

a05 there we go that looks pretty good

all right now come up to your layout

and full

extent okay and now let's use hold down

on yours uh left Mouse

button and let's select everything but

let's lock our

map frame

okay and the reason I wasn't using those

align tools is because see how there's

extra space in there and um that's kind

of a shame that we couldn't do that but

now you could just kind of pick it up

all together and move it

over and what you're looking for is that

this space uh this vertical space and

this horizontal space are just about

equal okay now over here here now we're

done with that so let's select all of

these guys rightclick and we we're going

to choose

group and we're just going

to call this um

title

box okay and then we can close that up

and we can lock

that okay nice so I'm going to come back

up here and and look at everything okay

so now we can make copies of this and we

don't have to

constantly

um we don't have to constantly redo any

of that the only thing I want to do

is and you want to get this right on the

template is I want to make that class

name a little bit smaller so I'm going

to select that and go to text symbol and

I'm just going to take that down to

20 okay and then that should have been

in the

center all right let's see paragraph

position there it is okay so there's

where you can put it in the

center and now let's just grab

that class name again and hold down

shift and use your or just it's not

working for some reason I don't why

those are grayed out okay so let me move

this over there and using your Smart

Guys you can get it right in the middle

okay so that looks better now we have

more space around all of that now I'm

going to

select everything but the rectangle and

I'm just going to move that up I know

this is kind of tedious work but like I

said once you get it right

once you have this title block and you

can use it for other projects okay so

now we're going to lock that up and

close that

up and zoom out okay so we were working

with the

streaming terrain layer okay and we are

now going to make from our Texas base

okay cuz this template is done and now

this template is done okay so now what

we can do is right here under

catalog let's go to project and let's

open up our

layouts and we can simply rightclick on

this and we're just going to choose copy

and come up here to layouts and

rightclick and we are going to paste it

Okay now what's very important when you

start making multiple layouts and Maps

is that you name them

accordingly okay so we are simply going

to call this elevation

okay all right now what we're going to

do is the same thing with our map okay

so let me get rid of these guys you

shouldn't wish just something I must

have been doing to get ready for this

okay so now same thing right click on

your Texas

Bas you are going to choose

copy and here just choose

paste okay now once again click on this

and just name it

elevation okay now close out of both of

these these are your

templates okay and let's do a control s

to save our

project all right now double click on

your elevation

map okay and we'll get to the layout

later okay so you remember how I was

telling you how powerful this

terrain uh layer is that you can stream

in and I'm going to wait for mine to

load yours is probably might be taking a

little bit of time too okay and then I

want to show you you just how quickly

for example um say you were doing an

analysis

of pla lakes on the Yano esato okay and

you zoom way in here well once again you

can't see anything okay but that dynamic

range

adjustment is still working and you'll

see how this pops into um you know just

a really incredible definition so I'm

going to push pause and wait for that to

kick

in okay so see that's that's just

incredible to me I mean that's beautiful

the there are your pla Lakes okay

because remember the darker the color

the farther it is uh the farther away it

is from you so this is going to be your

high point in this area now it's just

taking into account

the area that is on your screen okay and

so this data source is is really really

incredible and again you can come up

here to

analysis and you could go to raster

functions okay and go down to

surface and very quickly you can say you

want to accentuate

you want to make it easier for people to

visualize this well you can just make a

quick hillshade layer okay and you would

just put in

terrain okay and then you would just say

create a new

layer okay so I'm going to apply the

dynamic range to this area give me a

second

okay so that can help people visualize

uh the terrain because it has some

slight shadows and and there's other

things we can do with that uh to make it

look better remember we may uh we can

also make contour lines very quickly

okay now here's what the reason I'm

doing all of this and we want to always

choose your your base layer as the

raster to work from but the reason I'm

doing all of this and let's make our

contour

interval you know like maybe five

because they don't know how flat this

area is

okay but these

Contours okay these are these are

actually raster based Contours okay and

that's uh remember we went over that

term

before raster files are made up of

pixels okay and Vector files are made up

of vertices okay which is um a

mathematical term for points in space

okay so if I was going to zoom into one

of these do you see these are made up of

pixels okay and what you really can't do

a whole lot with the these kind of tools

except

visualize which is very powerful and if

you need to make quick maps for your

client or for your

class get your terrain loaded in uh zoom

into your aoi and you can even mask it

as we did before okay up

here and then you can just

apply uh these different raster

functions to it and uh you know you can

end end up with some very striking

visual

results okay the but what we want to do

in in

this lesson is we want to create Vector

based Contours so once again I just want

to show you the difference see how

that's real pixelated now that'll clean

up a bit but again

these these are just uh these are just

pixs okay so now I want you to hold down

your shift key and we're going to we're

going to get rid of all three of these

layers okay so rightclick after you

select them all with shift and choose

remove okay now head over to your

catalog and you should have

downloaded this uh zipped file file from

Blackboard and unzipped it and just all

you have to do is just place that file

in your project file don't put it in

another folder and if you do it that way

you're going to see it right here okay

so I want us to

use

um a better outline uh of the State of

Texas okay I want us to add

this uh better layer uh boundary layer

for Texas okay that I put in our Geo

database okay and if you're having

trouble seeing the Geo database okay you

can rightclick up here and choose

refresh now you may have left it in the

the zipped folder uh after you unzipped

it and if that's the case you can right

click here and hit refresh and then you

you might see it like this down here

okay so you should be able to find it

and then I want you to open that up and

just drag and drop this High detail

Texas boundary layer from the

USDA okay and uh remove the other Texas

boundary layer that you had okay so now

you should really just have

three uh boundary layers you have have

the outer boundary that we just got okay

let's turn these

on okay

and zoom to that

layer okay there we go and then you you

should have your

counties okay and your cities okay and

we don't need any of these to be turned

on for this current lab all right

but what I want you to do is come up

here even though it's not turned on we

can still use this as a clipping

reference okay so you're going to choose

clip to an outline and you will pick

your new uh detailed boundary from the

USDA and then just click

okay okay so now let's add a Terrain

layer like we had except it's one that

I've created for us and we can actually

do a lot more with it uh because it's

not streaming in from the internet okay

so let's rightclick here on big text and

go add to current

map okay boom that looks uh really good

all right so what we're going to do for

this uh map normally at this scale you

don't don't add Contours to a map okay

Contours are really for maps that are

maybe at 1 to 500,000 maximum maybe 1 to

100,000 maximum but we are you know well

over a million so what we're going to do

is we're going to simplify the Contour

process the contour lines and then we're

going to add a style that's going to

make them look really nice okay and it

will really accentuate the elevational

aspect of of

Texas okay so with uh your Dem selected

come up to your raster layer and let's

do our Dr dynamic range okay and then

for the stretch type let's go to minimum

maximum okay and that looks a little

better you don't want all that super

high bright white okay and again Texas

there's there's good data in there okay

there's plenty of data in there okay so

even though you can't see it sometimes

it's in there all right now let's get

ready to start making our Contours now

when I zoomed in did you see just how

detailed that that

is this this data is if we used that we

would run into a lot of problems because

it's overd detailed for Contours and you

know we like to have Contours to be

smooth flowing lines okay and if we used

it like this it would it would really

just be jaggedy the file size would be

too big so what we're going to do is

we're going to blur this demem

okay and again these

raster um function tools are great for

doing uh quick things like that okay now

there's no tool in here called blur for

some reason you got to go to

statistical okay and what we're going to

use is

statistics okay and we need to tell it

which

raster and then

let's turn these up to

nine okay and under general of output

pixel type you're going to choose

16bit

unsigned and then you're going to choose

create new layer so you're not creating

a whole another data set you're really

just

symbolizing this existing data set in a

different manner it's kind of like when

we just change the color of a feature

okay so create a new

layer okay now it might take a little

bit of time turn off your your big text

okay nice now you can see that we've got

a much

blurrier um land formations and while

that doesn't sound good it it is in in

this case Okay so let's come up to

raster light we're going to choose our

dynamic range again and let's

choose standard deviation but let's come

over here and refine that a bit so

rightclick on your statistics go to

symbology and let's try three standard

deviations because what I'm trying to do

is wipe out that big white mess there

and maybe with

four there we go okay so that is going

to work now I want you to hit contrl

s okay and then the last thing we are

going to do for this mini section is we

are actually going to create our

Contours okay so let's do that with this

analysis

tool and right regular uh click on your

toolbox and I want to explain that if we

were streaming in that terrain layer and

we tried to use um we tried to make real

Contours so to speak and not just raster

Contours it wouldn't work okay but since

we have our own

Dem it will work okay so let's go to the

tool boxes and I just want you to type

in

Contour okay so let's choose Contour

spatial

analyst and then they make you click on

that all right now it's important that

you choose the

statistics okay that's the whole reason

we did uh that

operation okay let's call

this TX

uncore

Contours okay now these numbers are

important all right you we're going to

have a contour every 40 m okay and that

sounds like it's too much it's not okay

because it's going to be plenty to work

with trust me now our base

Contour okay we're going to leave that

at zero the Z Factor will be one and

then here's where we are going to do

something really really cool in the next

video okay we are going to work with

polygon Contours so they're actually

going to close in on themselves okay and

we wouldn't be able to do this

technique uh this symbolization

technique if they were just contour

lines okay open-ended lines now maximum

vertices per feature let's do

50,000 and that's sounds like a lot but

if you don't put anything in there you

could have a million or more vertices

per contour line and then it it just

becomes a mess okay in

environments for the coordinate system

just choose this map and for your

parallel processing Factor type in

100% okay and then

click oh and if you're using a school

computer okay I'm glad I thought of this

if you're using a school computer just

don't put anything in there okay because

I don't know if that's going to cause an

error but if you're using your own

computer use fire it up on all eight

cylinders okay then just hit

Run Okay so mine uh popped out nice and

quick all right

and that is where we are going to leave

this mini section okay I hope you took

some good notes there is a lot in there

and by the way some of you are taking

extraordinary notes and please remember

that is 50% of your grade okay because I

don't want us to just follow recipes

throughout the semester that are quickly

forgotten if you take those notes like a

lot of you are and really understand

understand the fundamental concepts of

this program you will quickly become a

power user I've learned a lot of

software programs and what I've un what

I've learned is the most important thing

is the

fundamentals and there's a whole lot of

stuff this program can do but if you

really don't know the

fundamentals

then this stuff is is really going to be

unobtainable

and you know the fundamentals like 80%

90% of football basketball pretty much

life is working with the

fundamentals okay so let's hit a contrl

s and I will see you in the next video