Skills Tutorials

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the Basics
Mapping Data
Analyzing Data
and Making Data

The skills tutorials aim to introduce GIS and geospatial learners to the range of activities performed by GIS analysts across multiple platforms and software. Most of the skills tutorials assume some familiarity with the geographic or cartographic concepts employed by each tool, based on the context of the work.

For learners: The tutorials explain how to perform a particular task or operation using specific software or on a given platform, usually with a quick example.
For teachers: The tutorials are designed to readily plug into any exercise, assignment, or other instructional materials. They are written with hope of wide applicability, whether your students are GIS-ing for the Earth sciences, public health, or social sciences. Their URLs are permanent, and the content is reviewed and updated—so, your teaching materials stay current even as software changes.

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FAQs & Other Help

Software FAQs. A list of common questions with links to relevant tutorials.

Working with Attributes. See a categorized list of tutorials related to working with attribute tables, including a growing collection of tutorials to help write field calculations.

Finding Data. See a list of tutorials on downloading datasets from various common sources here.

Basics

Beginners! Start here with a ordered sequences, including Getting Started and Setting Up and Exporting a Basic Map.

See a categorized list of all Basic tutorials here | back to top

Getting Started

in ArcGIS Pro

Getting Started and Basic Settings

The ArcGIS Pro Interface

Adding and Ordering Layers in a Project

Accessing Feature Attributes

Making Interactive Measurements

Changing the Background of a Map View

Map Views in ArcGIS Pro

the Layout View & Map Frames

in QGIS

Getting Started and Basic Settings

the QGIS Interface

Adding and Ordering Layers in a Project

Accessing Feature Attributes

Making Interactive Measurements

Changing the background of a Map Canvas

Print Layouts, Map Surrounds, and Exporting a Map

Set Up & Export a Basic Map

in ArcGIS Pro

Rotating a Map

the Layout View & Map Frames

Adding Additional Elements to a Layout

Exporting a Map

in QGIS

Rotating a Map

Print Layouts, Map Surrounds, and Exporting a Map

Mapping Data

Skills tutorials focused on visualizing and examining geospatial data. Topics include queries and selections, map projections and CRS, symbology and classification, basic webmapping, and others.

Browse all Mapping Data tutorials here | See a categorized list of all Mapping Data tutorials here | back to top

Queries & Selections

in ArcGIS Pro

Interactive Selections & Other Selection Basics

Querying by Attributes

Querying based on Spatial Relationships

More about Selections

Creating a New Layer from Selected Features

in QGIS

Interactive Selections & Other Selection Basics

Querying by Attributes

Querying based on Spatial Relationships

More about Selections

Creating a New Layer from Selected Features

Projections & Coordinate Reference Systems (CRS)

in ArcGIS Pro

the CRS of a Map View

Identifying the CRS of a Feature Layer

Accessing (and Modifying) CRS Details

Reprojecting Spatial Data

Defining the Projection of a Vector Feature Class

in QGIS

The CRS of a Map Canvas

Identifying the CRS of a Feature Layer

Accessing (and Modifying) CRS Details

Reprojecting Spatial Data

Defining the Projection of a Vector Dataset

Vector Symbology & Classification

in ArcGIS Pro

the Symbology Panel

Single Symbols for Vector Features

Categorical Symbols for Vector Features

Unclassified Quantitative Symbology for Vector Features

Classifying Features by Quantitative Attribute Values

Classified Quantitative Symbology for Vector Features

in QGIS

Accessing Layer Symbology Options

Single Symbols for Vectors

Categorical Symbols for Vector Features

Classifying Features by Quantitative Attribute Values

Classified Quantitative Symbology for Vector Features

Raster Symbology & Classification

in ArcGIS Pro

Categorical (Unique Values) Symbology for Raster Datasets

Unclassified Quantitative Symbology for Rasters (”Stretched” Colors)

Classified Quantitative Symbology for Raster Datasets

Symbolizing Composite Rasters as Stretched RGB values

Dynamic Range Adjustment for symbolizing rasters

Basic Webmapping with Leaflet

in Visual Studio Code with Leaflet

Getting Started in Visual Studio Code

Getting Started with Leaflet

Adding GeoJSON Points to a Leaflet Map

Zoom & Pan Settings with Leaflet

Creating Popups on Points in Leaflet

Analyzing Data

Software resources for executing geoprocessing operations and other functions to support spatial analysis. Topics include basic vector and raster geoprocessing, spatial statistics, remote sensing, network analysis, and more.

Browse all Analyzing Data tutorials here | See a categorized list of all Analyzing Data tutorials here | back to top

Vector Geoprocessing

in ArcGIS Pro

Count Overlapping Features

Feature Unions

Spatial Joins

Accessing Geoprocessing History & Results

Accessing Geoprocessing Tools

Archived 2025: Spatial Joins

Calculating Kernel Densities

Creating Points from Polygons (Feature to Point tool)

Creating Buffers

Dissolving Features

Creating a Boundary Polygon

Converting Vector Features to Rasters

Clipping Features

Plotting XY Coordinates

in QGIS

Clipping Features

Feature Unions

Dissolving Features

Spatial Joins

Plotting X,Y Coordinates

Creating Multi-Ring Buffers with a constant distance

Creating Points from Polygons (Centroids tool)

Creating & Comparing Bounding Geometry

Raster Geoprocessing

in ArcGIS Pro

Creating Distance Rasters from Points

Converting Rasters to Point Features

Accessing Geoprocessing History & Results

Accessing Geoprocessing Tools

Calculating Zonal Statistics

Calculating Kernel Densities

Converting Rasters to Polygon Features

Making a Raster Layer from a Multiband Raster Dataset

Exporting a Raster Dataset (to a new raster dataset)

Creating a Composite Band Raster Dataset

Converting Vector Features to Rasters

Using the Raster Calculator for Map Algebra

Extracting Rasters with a Mask Layer

Reclassifying Rasters

Archived 2025: Creating Euclidean Distance Rasters from Vector Inputs

Spatial Statistics

in ArcGIS Pro

Finding the (Average) Center of Features

Using the Average Nearest Neighbor Test for Spatial Clustering

Calculating the Standard and Directional Distributions of Features

Using the Hotspot Analysis tool for Getis-Ord Gi*

Network Analysis

in ArcGIS Pro

from a Polyline Feature Class to an Esri Network Dataset

Working with Network Analysis Layers

Making a Service Area Analysis Layer

Adding Locations to a Network Analysis Layer

Solving a Network Analysis Layer

Creating & Building a simple Esri Network Dataset

in QGIS

Creating Service Areas from an Interactively Chosen Point

Creating Service Areas from an Input Feature Layer

Remote Sensing

in ArcGIS Pro

Using Esri’s Image Classification Wizard

Creating Training Samples for Supervised Image Classification

Making Data

The Making Data tutorials cover skills to create GIS datasets from scratch and working with different data types. These include georeferencing, digitizing, and geocoding; creating new geometry from existing data; and converting between data types.

Browse all Making Data tutorials here | See a categorized list of all Making Data tutorials here | back to top