Adding GPS data to ArcView

If you're lucky, your Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) receiver came with a data cable that allows you to directly export ArcView coverages from your unit to your computer.  Most likely, however, that is not the case and you'll need to manually import your waypoints to ArcView.

  1. It is advisable to make sure that your unit is setup to record location data in the same geographic projection and datum that you will be using.  If you're not sure what projection your unit is set for, chances are it is Geographic projection, WGS84 datum, and Degree Decimal units.  To demonstrate how various coordinates look, here is the location for the GC&SU Bobcat on front campus in some different geographic coordinates:
Coordinate System X value (Long.) Y value (Lat)
Geographic Degrees Decimal, WGS 84 -83.230797 33.082269
Geographic Degrees Minutes Seconds, WGS 84 83° 13' 50.87" W 33° 04' 56.17" N
Universal Transverse Mercator zone 17 North, WGS84 291804.0 3662515.0
Universal Transverse Mercator zone 17 North, NAD27 291799.5 3662323.7
Georgia Lambert, NAD83 82522.3 12656377.9
  1. Load your location data into Excel or some other spreadsheet.  Have one column above the data with column headings (ID, X, Y).  Remember that longitude (E-W) is an X value, and latitude (N-S) is a Y value.  You can have other columns with attribute data if you like.  ArcView will read it also.
  2. If you entered your data as Degree Minute Second (DMS), you need to convert it to Degree Decimal (DD) using the formula below.  Remember that negative values are given longitude West and latitude South.

DD value = Degrees + Minutes/60 + Seconds/3600

  1. Format the columns appropriately, especially if you're using DD, which should be formated as Number with at least 6 decimal places.
  2. Select the data you want to keep.  You have to SELECT the data you want to export.
  3. File/Save As... the worksheet as either a DBF (dBASE IV) or TXT (Text Tab Delimited) format.  You may want to save the worksheet in both formats in case one or the other doesn't work.  Excel will fuss at you for wanting to save data in a non-Microsoft file system; read each dialog box carefully to make sure that you are saving the selected part of the worksheet as a .dbf or .txt file.
  4. In ArcView, select the Tables icon in the Project Manager window, and click Add.  Browse to open the .dbf or .txt file you just saved.  If the file doesn't open properly, there was some kind of problem with saving it in Excel.  This can be a real pain, but you can work through it.  View the file in Wordpad or Notebook for ideas on what went wrong.  Be sure to have a column heading for each column, with tabs between each column entry.
  5. In a View, View/Add Event Theme will read the contents of the table in as geographic data.  It will automatically select the columns for ID, X, and Y values; change them if necessary.
  6. Once the points are properly displayed, you should select the Event Theme in the View table of contents and Theme/Convert to Shapefile to save it as a shapefile.  If you need to, Reproject it to the projection you're working in.