Create sites

Note:

ArcGIS Community Analyst is being retired. See Deprecation notice for ArcGIS Community Analyst: Transition to ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App for more information.

In ArcGIS Community Analyst, a site is an area where analysis is performed. To create sites, you can place a point on the map, select from standard geography levels (such as states or counties), or draw a polygon. Once you have created a site, you can modify it, analyze it, or remove it from the map using the site menu and the action menu. By default, sites are stored in the project under Point locations (sites), Polygons (sites), and Geographies (sites).

Note:

Depending on the data source selected, sites may be affected by geographic boundaries. Infographics and reports may only display data from the selected country's dataset.

Place a point on the map

To create a site, you can place a point on the map and define an area around it.

1. Do one of the following:

   • From the map tools, select Pin . If necessary, pan and zoom to change the map extent. Click anywhere on the map to place the pin.

   • Type an address or latitude and longitude coordinates in the application search bar. Press Enter or select a suggested address. A pin appears on the map.

   • On the Maps tab, click Define areas and select Find location. The Find location workflow pane appears.

     Type an address in the text field or click or enter a Lat/Long and provide coordinates in the text fields. Click Go. The point appears on the map. Optionally, name the location by providing a name in the corresponding text field and clicking Apply.

2. From the site menu (a pop-up menu that appears at the point on the map), you can add or modify the site name, move the point, remove the point, or create a site. Click Create site.
3. Choose how the site area around the point is measured.
   • Rings—Create up to three rings around the point using specified distances. You can use non-whole numbers, such as .1, .3, and .5, for ring sizes. The limit for ring size is 1,000 miles or kilometers.
   • Drive time—Create drive-time areas around the point using specified times or based on road networks. These areas represent the distance traveled to or from the site in a given time. The limit for drive-time size is 300 minutes, 300 miles, or 482.8 kilometers.
   • Walk time—Create walk-time areas around the point using specified times or distances based on paths and roads that allow pedestrian traffic. The limit for walk-time size is 300 minutes, 27 miles, or 43.45 kilometers. The default walking speed is 5 kilometers per hour.
4. Set the unit of measurement using the drop-down menu and change the distances or times using the Radius or Time text box.

   You must specify at least one buffer around the point to create a site. You can set up to three buffers around the point, measured according to distance or time.

   For any of the buffer options, you can check the Use bands check box. Bands create concentric areas that do not overlap. For example, checking Use bands and specifying values of 5, 10, and 15 miles results in bands that are 0-5, 5-10, and 10-15 miles from the point location.

5. Optionally, for Drive time, click More options and specify the following:
   • From the drop-down menu, choose a driving mode: Driving time, Rural driving time, or Trucking time.
   • Choose a travel direction option: Away from facility or Toward facility.

   • Check the Use traffic check box. Choose Live traffic to calculate time based on the current traffic conditions. Use the slider to factor live traffic conditions up to 12 hours from the current time. Live traffic is not available for all countries.

     Choose Traffic based on typical conditions for to set a day of the week and time of day on which to base traffic calculations. You can set times for typical conditions by 15-minute intervals for the entire day and night.

6. Click Apply.

   If you are using the Find location pane, use the check boxes in the Apply rings, Apply drive time, or Apply walk time window to select the location of the site you want to create. You can create sites for multiple points at one time, choosing from all the points on the map. Points that do not yet have sites created are selected by default. Click Apply.

   The site is created and displayed on the map with the specified buffers. The site is saved in the project pane under Point locations (sites) under My point locations or in the target layer you specified.

7. If you are using the Find location pane, click Next to view options for working with sites you created. To close the workflow, click I'm done.

Select a geographic boundary

You can select a geographic boundary, such as a state or county, to create a site.

1. On the Maps tab, click Define areas and select Select geography.

   The Select geography workflow pane appears.

2. Choose a method of selection.
   • Search—Enter a city, county, ZIP Code, block groups, census tracts, and so on. You can also enter part of a name or number to search.
   • Select from map—Click a geographic area on the map to select it.
   • Select from full list—Browse a full list of all geographic areas.
3. If you chose Search, do the following:
   1. Provide geographic information in the Search for your geography field and click Search .

      The search results appear, showing the first 100 results.

   2. Check any search result check boxes. Use the Selected items drop-down menu to modify the selections.

      Checked items appear shaded on the map and are added to Selected items in the workflow pane.

4. If you chose Select from map, do the following:
   1. Click a geographic boundary type from the list.

      The selected geographic boundaries and labels appear on the map.

   2. Click a geographic area on the map to select it.

      You can select multiple geographic areas.

      Selected areas appear shaded on the map and are added to Selected items in the workflow pane. Use the Selected items drop-down menu to modify the selections.

5. If you chose Select from full list, do the following:
   1. Click a geographic boundary type from the list.
   2. Use the drop-down menus and check boxes to select geographic areas. For example, to select ZIP Codes, use the Select state and Select county drop-down menus to view a list of relevant ZIP Codes.

      Selected areas appear shaded on the map and are added to Selected items in the workflow pane. Use the Selected items drop-down menu to modify the selections.

   By default, selected areas are combined into one site.

6. To create individual sites for each selected area, click No for Combine selected geographies into one site? When you finish selecting geographic areas, click Next.

   The site is created and displayed on the map. The site is saved in the project pane under Geographies (sites) under My geographies or in the target layer you specified.

   The workflow pane displays options for working with sites you created.

7. To exit the workflow, click I'm done.

Draw a polygon

You can draw a polygon to create a site.

1. On the Maps tab, click Define areas and select Draw polygon.

   The Draw polygon pane appears.

2. Choose a drawing method.
   • Polygon—Draw a polygon with straight edges by placing points on the map.

   • Freehand—Draw a polygon of any shape using the pointer.

   Optionally, click the Fill and Border swatches to modify the polygon colors.

3. If you chose Polygon, do the following:
   1. Click the map to start drawing, move to the next point, and click.
   2. Continue clicking at each corner of the shape until you create the polygon. A minimum of three points are required to create a polygon.

      While drawing, the Clear last button becomes active. Click Clear last to remove the most recently drawn point.

   3. Double-click to stop drawing.
4. If you chose Freehand, do the following:
   1. Click and drag the cursor to draw a shape.
   2. To stop drawing, release the mouse button.

   The site is created and displayed on the map. The site is saved in the project pane under Polygons (sites) under My polygons or in the target layer you specified.

5. To edit a polygon, click Edit in the workflow pane. Click a polygon to show its points and edit it.
6. Click and drag the points to edit the polygon. Click Undo to discard the most recent edit. When the edits are complete, click Stop edit.

Work with sites

Once the sites are created, there are several ways to work with them. You can use a site's menu to modify the site or start a workflow. You can also access actions for a site from its Action menu in the project pane.

Use a site's pop-up menu

To access a site's pop-up menu, click its location on the map. The options differ based on the type of site selected (point, geography, or polygon). Choose any of the following options:

• Edit —Provide a different name for the site.
• Attributes —For point locations, provide site attributes for the default fields specified when creating the project.
• Infographics —Run the default infographic template for the site.
• Reports —Select and run a report for the site. If you select multiple sites, click Download reports to download the reports for all the sites.
• Comparisons —Select either of the following:
  • Click Compare with geographies to open the Geography comparison window. Do any of the following:
    • You can change the geography levels displayed by clicking Geography levels and selecting or deselecting options.
    • To change the variables used, click Variables and browse the data browser.
    • Click Export to Excel to export the data from the comparison to an Excel worksheet.
    • Use the Rows per page drop-down menu to change the number of rows displayed in the table. Click Next or Back to navigate the table pages.
    • To close the Geography comparison window, either click OK or Close .
  • Click New benchmark comparison to add the site to a new benchmark comparisons workflow.
• Edit area —Alter the buffers around a point or the boundaries of a geography or polygon.
• Add photo —For point locations, view site attributes, add an image to the site attributes, and view reports run on the site.
• Details —For polygon and geography locations, view reports run on the site. For point locations, view site attributes, add an image to the site attributes, and view reports run on the site.

• Options —Alter colors for site fill and border and adjust color transparency. Click Clear site to remove the site from the map, but keep it in the project contents.

  For point locations, you can also turn labels on or off and use the Symbol drop-down menu to edit how the site symbol is stylized. Click Import custom symbol to upload a symbol in GIF, PNG, or JPG format. The recommended image size is 120x120 pixels or less.

Use a site's action menu

To access a site's action menu, locate the site in the project pane and click its Action menu . Choose any of the following options:

• Show details—View site attributes for point locations, as well as reports run for a specified site.
• Zoom to site—Zoom the map extent to view the site on the map.
• Rename item—Provide a new name for the site.
• Run reports—Select and run a report for the site.
• Run infographics—Run the default infographic template for the site.
• Edit site—Alter the buffers around a point or the boundaries of a geography or polygon.
• Move item—Move the site to a different layer in the same section of the project. You can also move the site to a different project. To keep a copy of the site in the current project, check the Keep a copy check box.
• Delete item—Delete the site.

Set preferences

You can set preferences for ArcGIS Community Analyst in the application preferences. You can specify preferences for the appearance of sites on the map, as well as values and settings for rings, drive times, and walk times. Administrators can set preferences for the entire organization.

To set the workflow preferences, do the following:

1. On the app header, click My preferences .

   The Preferences window appears.

2. Expand the Maps section, expand the Define areas section, and click Find location, Select geography, or Draw polygon.
3. You can set the following preferences for the Find location workflow. Select Rings, Drive time, or Walk time and do any of the following:

   • Set values for the site areas in the Default values fields.

   • Use the check boxes to turn the fill and border off or on.

   • Click the Fill and Border color swatches to select colors. Use the sliders to adjust color transparency.

   • Use the Thickness drop-down menu to specify the weight of the border.

   • Check the Edit and set bands check box to use bands for site areas.

   • Use the Show labels check box to turn labels on or off.

   • For Drive time, create preferences for driving options.

   You can restore the default settings by clicking Restore defaults.

4. You can set the following preferences for the Select geography and Draw polygon workflows:

   • Use the check boxes to turn the fill and border off or on.

   • Click the Fill and Border color swatches to select colors. Use the sliders to adjust color transparency.

   • Use the Thickness drop-down menu to specify the weight of the border.

   You can restore the default settings by clicking Restore defaults.

5. To save your changes, click Save or, optionally, click Save and close to close the Preferences window. To view your changes, refresh the app.

Workflow videos

The following videos illustrate workflows for creating sites in ArcGIS Community Analyst.

Note:

These videos were created using ArcGIS Business Analyst Web App, in which the user experience and workflows are identical to ArcGIS Community Analyst.

Find location

The Find location workflow allows you to enter an address or latitude/longitude coordinates to find a location on the map. You can add rings, drive times, walk times, and bands to this location.

Learn more about Find location.

Select geography

The Select geography workflow allows you to select geographic boundaries using Search, Select from map, and Select from full list.

Learn more about Select geography.

Draw polygon

The Draw polygon workflow allows you to draw a polygon for an area of interest. You can draw polygons with custom geographic shapes or draw them by hand.

Learn more about Draw polygon.