The key is to have a spatial component in your dataset that we can use to put points on the map. This can be latitude or longitude or it can be an address. Esri has made the process is very straight forward absolutely no programming is required.

If you don’t have a dataset, don’t worry, we will also go over how to create map layers from scratch. If you are preparing a dataset for the workshop the easiest way is to use Excel (or some other spreadsheet) to create/manage your data. You can create as many attribute fields as you like but the typical fields for map layers include:

• NAME – This is the proper name for the location
• CAPTION – A description of the location or some additional information about the location
• URL – Full URL of a photo (full-sized) for use in a pop-up
• THUMB_URL – Full URL of a photo (thumbnail) for use in pop-up (optional)
• LINK – Full URL to link to a website with additional information
Spatial Attributes can be one of the following
• LAT – Latitude of point in decimal degrees (example 40.60661587)
• LONG – Longitude of point in decimal degrees (example-75.37724030)
-or-
• ADDRESS – Full one-line address (example 3765 Elvis Presley Blvd., Memphis, TN 38116)
-or you can use separate fields for address-
• HOUSE – 3765 Elvis Presley Blvd.
• CITY – Memphis
• STATE – TN
• ZIP – 38116

If you already use GIS and have a shapefile or kml we can use those as well. Depending on the file type, the ‘free’ services from Esri have size limitations. If you are address matching you will be limited to 300 records, if you are uploading a csv or shp file the limit is 1000 records.