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The type of Feature you can digitize in a Map Layer is dependent upon which Feature Class type was set during the creation of the Shapefile in ArcCatalog.  Features are most commonly Polygons, Lines, or Points.  For more information, see the tutorial on Creating New Shapefiles or Feature Classes.  The following instructions assume that users will be digitizing shapes in a new, empty shapefile.  These directions are  also relevant to digitizing and editing Shapefiles with existing features.

Add a New Feature to the Map Layer

  1. Add all of the Basemaps and other necessary layers you want to work with in the Map Project to ArcMap.
  2. Add the new, empty Shapefile/Map Layer you created in ArcCatalog to which you want to add Features.

Change the Symbology for the New Features

  1. Double-click on the Symbol below the name of the new Shapefile.  The Symbol Selector dialog box will appear.
  2. Change the Symbology for your new Features to match the purpose of your map.
  3. Add the Editor Toolbar to Your Tools
    (Click image to enlarge)

    #Click Customize → Toolbars → Editor.  If there is a check box next to the Editor option already, it means that the Editor Toolbar is already enabled and visible.

If there is not a check box next to the Editor option, click on Editor to add the Toolbar to your list of tools.

Create New Features

Begin Digitizing Features

  1. Click the Editor button in the Editor Toolbar. (Click image to enlarge)


  2. Choose Start Editing.  The Create Features menu will appear.  The name of your new Shapefile should appear in the list of Templates. (Click image to enlarge)


  3. Click on the name of the new, empty Shapefile.  A set of options will appear in the Construction Tools area at the bottom of the Create Features menu.
  4. Click on the tool you will use to create your features.  The main tool for creating each type of Feature appears as the first option in Construction Tools.  When you move the cursor over the main Data Frame, the cursor will become a cross-hair. Click with the cross-hair to begin digitizing the Feature you want to create. 
    1. Points: You only need click once to create the Feature, which will be a vertex (point).
    2. Lines: Click along all of the points where you want to line to appear.  A vertext will appear each time you click, but these vertices will disappear when you are done creating the Feature.  Double click on the last vertex to end a Line Feature.
    3. Polygons: Click along the main points of the Feature's perimeter.  A line will continue to connect the first vertex drawn to the cross-hairs.  Polygons are closed shapes, so the last vertex and the first vertex should be in the same location.  Double click on the last/first vertex to finish a Polygon Feature.





If you have properly finished a Feature, it will appear in cyan in the Data Frame.


Edit Attributes of the Feature

Click on the Attributes button of the Editor Toolbar.  The Attributes menu will appear.

Click inside the cells next to the Attribute names to fill in data about each new Feature.  It's advisable to at least name each new Feature during this part of the process to create a human readable label.

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