User:Tlackerz/ArcToolbox

The ArcToolbox is one featured part of the ArcGIS software produced by ESRI company, the application that provides access to all of ArcInfo softwares powerful coverage processing and analysis functions. The ArcToolbox window is the central place where you find, manage, and execute Geoprocessing tools, which can also be managed and executed from ArcCatalog. The ArcToolbox window contains toolboxes, which in turn contain tools and toolsets (a toolset is just an organizational device, like a system folder). Tools must be contained in a toolbox—they cannot exist outside a toolbox.

ArcGIS ships with a dozen or so toolboxes; the exact number depends on what extensions you have installed. Toolboxes that are installed with ArcGIS are referred to as system toolboxes.The organization of the system toolboxes—their names and the tools and toolsets they contain—has been carefully thought out to provide a logical and coherent collections of tools. You can create your own tools, organize them into new toolsets and toolboxes, and share them with any ArcGIS user.

Overview
ArcToolbox provides a very rich and powerful set of Geoprocessing functions -- well over 100 tools for easy access and use. Most of the tools in ArcToolbox are used to manipulate ArcInfo coverages, the popular Geographic information system (GIS) data type. The tools in ArcToolbox create and integrate a vast array of data formats into usable GIS Databases, perform advanced GIS analysis, and manipulate GIS data. With ArcToolbox, virtually all major spatial data formats can be converted to and from ArcInfo coverages, grids, and Triangulated irregular networks (TINs). Topology can be generated and maintained; map sheets can be joined, clipped, and split; and advanced coverage-based modeling tools can be used. ArcToolbox allows you to perform tasks such as: 
 * Finding the datasets necessary for an overlay using ArcCatalog software and dragging them onto the Overlay Wizard in ArcToolbox
 * Converting 20 coverages into Drawing Exchange Format (DXF) files using the Coverage to DXF tool in a single operation
 * Creating ARC Macro Language (AML) scripts and processing them on a remote machine (UNIX or Windows NT) at a scheduled time
 * Creating custom tools in the Microsoft Windows development environment of your choice and installing them as custom tools in ArcToolbox
 * Using the Project Wizard to change the coordinate reference system of a coverage and look at its new geographic view in ArcCatalog
 * Building coverage topology using the Clean tool andadding feature attributes using the Join Tables tool

The Toolsets
ArcToolbox is organized into toolsets that provide solutions for different types of tasks. The main toolsets are:

Numerous tools, organized in categories of smaller toolsets, are contained in each main toolset. When you click an item in ArcToolbox, a description appears at the bottom of the menu. You can change the size of the ArcToolbox window and position it anywhere you like on your desktop. Changes you make to its size and position remain in future sessions. Each main toolset is comprised of a number of smaller toolsets. These toolsets further organize the tools into groups based on their function. The name of each toolset describes the type of tools it contains.The tools are organized in a logical manner based on the type of solution they provide. A fully customizable toolset called My Tools is provided. You can place tools from any toolset within it or add a custom tool you create to build on the power of the existing tools.
 * Data Management Tools
 * Analysis Tools
 * Cartography Tools
 * Conversion Tools
 * Editing Tools
 * Referencing Tools
 * Schematic Tools
 * Server Tools

Find a tool
You can use the ArcToolbox Main Menu to help you find the tool you want to use. ArcToolbox provides a Find tool that offers three ways to locate a tool. You can find the location of a tool by using its name, the equivalent ArcInfo command, or a keyword. Use an ArcInfo command when you know the command name but not the tool name. A keyword best describing the task you want to perform is useful when you dont know a tools name or the equivalent ArcInfo command.

Using the Index tab
If you know the name of the tool you want, but just can't remember what toolbox or toolset it's in, use the Index tab. You can type the first few letters of the tool name and the list will scroll to that tool, or you can scroll to the tool manually. Once you've chosen the tool in the list, you can double-click to open its dialog. Clicking the Locate button will switch back to the Favorites tab with the tree-view expanded to your tool.

When in the Index window, tool names are followed by the name of the toolbox they belong to. This is because duplicate tool names are allowed, as in the case of Clip in Figure 1, so there needs to be a way to determine the exact tool. Duplicate tool names are not allowed in the same toolbox, only among different toolboxes.

Procedures:
 * 1) Open ArcToolbox in an ArcGIS software;
 * 2) Click the "Index" tab at the bottom of the ArcToolbox window;
 * 3) In the search bar, type in the first few letters or the full name of the tool you want to use;
 * 4) The list below will provide you with all relevant tools the Arctoolbox found;
 * 5) After finding your tool, You can double-click the result and start using that tool in a new window;
 * 6) Or you can click the Locate button at the bottom right corner of the list window, which can show you where the tool is a tree-view.

Using the Search tab
The Search tab behaves a lot like the Index tab except that the search is not only by tool name, but also by its description and list of keywords.

Procedures:
 * 1) Open ArcToolbox in an ArcGIS software;
 * 2) Click the "Search" tab at the up right of the ArcToolbox window;
 * 3) In the search bar, type in the keywords of the tool or its description you want to find;
 * 4) The list below will provide you with all relevant tools the Arctoolbox found;
 * 5) After finding your tool, you can click the Locate button at the bottom right corner of the list window, which can show you where the tool is a tree-view.

Multi-application
If you have only one application open on your computer, the contents of the ArcCatalog and ArcToolbox windows are kept synchronized; if you remove a tool from a toolbox in the ArcToolbox widow, the ArcCatalog window is immediately updated, showing that the tool was removed. Likewise, if you delete a tool from a toolbox in the catalog tree, the ArcToolbox window is immediately updated.

However, If you have multiple application sessions open, such as an ArcCatalog and an ArcMap session, the contents of a toolbox are not synchronized between the two application sessions. For example, if you delete a tool in one application session, it will still be present in the other application and can still be executed. This occurs because all applications, when they are started, read the contents of all toolboxes and store the contents in memory. As you delete, remove, or add tools, these changes are made in memory and are not written to disk until you exit the application session. This means that you can always use a tool that was present when the session began, even if another application removed it.

The general rule is that if you are altering toolbox content, alter it in one application, then exit and restart other applications to see the changes.

Getting Help
A quick way to learn about the tools and wizards in ArcToolbox is to use the [| Online Help System]. You can get help in ArcToolbox in a variety of ways. Each toolset in the ArcToolbox tree has a Help node with information about the tools and wizards contained within it. Double-clicking the node displays an overview of what each tool or wizard does. If you want more detailed information about a tool or wizard without actually starting it, you can choose Help from its context menu to open its Help file. You can also get help in tool dialog boxes. When you click the What's This? button in the upper-right corner and click an item in the dialog box, a description of the item pops up. Tool and wizard dialog boxes also have a second Help button; clicking it opens a Help topic with detailed information about the tool or wizard.

External Sources
[| ESRI ArcGIS Resource Center]