Introducing Geographic Information Systems with ArcGIS: A Workbook Approach to Learning GIS, 3rd Edition

Reports

As useful as an attribute table is, its format leaves a lot to be desired. It is seldom reasonable to print out a large table in regular form. What is very useful at times is a summary of the information in the table. ArcMap gives you the ability to generate textual reports from an attribute table. You will see this ability demonstrated in a three-step process. First, you will create a second table by using the Summarize feature, available by right-clicking a column in a table. Secondly, you will make a report from the second table. Finally, you will put that report on a map.

Report making requires design and usually a pair of tasks: manipulating the information on a mockup and then looking at the results of the manipulation, which take the form of the actual report. You will be alternating between an editing window—in which you will use a Report Designer—and “running” the report to examine the results of your design.

You may recall that the Wildcat Boat data contained a personal geodatabase feature dataset named Sewers. It consisted of a few linear segments representing lengths of sanitary sewer pipe of two different diameters: 60 inches and 45 inches.

Assume that you need a map of the sewers and want to place a report on that map showing the total lengths of each diameter of pipe. You might proceed as follows.

____ 28. In ArcMap, start a new map, using the Letter (ANSI A) Portrait. This will automatically put ArcMap in Layout View. Add as data the Sewers feature ...