Querying Data. Data checking

Overview

In this lab you learn to find and select features in ArcGIS Pro in three ways: by attribute values, by location (spatial relationship) and interactively on the map. You will also save a query, export the selected features and check the data source differences (shapefile, personal geodatabase, file geodatabase).

Method	Where in ArcGIS Pro	Use it when
Select By Attributes	Map tab → Select By Attributes	you know a rule about the table values (e.g. area > 500 and type = 'residential')
Select By Location	Map tab → Select By Location	the rule is spatial (intersects, within a distance, contains, ...)
Select tool	Map tab → Select	you pick features by drawing on the map (rectangle, polygon, lasso, circle, line)
Geoprocessing tools	Analysis tab → Tools → Select Layer By Attribute / Select Layer By Location	you need the same selection in a model or a Python script

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Assignment Instructions

⚠️ Work Environment

On university computers, work inside the folder:
C:\Users\Public\ or C:\Users\Public\Documents
(This is recommended even on personal computers, as the program may encounter issues when files are located elsewhere.)

📦 Required Software

• ArcGIS Pro – Required ✅
• Google Earth – Optional (depending on the task) ✅

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Warning

Do not delete completed work until the end of the semester.

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Danger

File Naming Rules

❌ Incorrect:

Giorgi Kapanadze.Group/1$ work1

❌ Do not use:

• Georgian characters (ა, ბ, გ, დ, etc.)
• Special symbols (other than an underscore _)

✅ Correct:

Giorgi_Kapanadze_Group_4_work_11

Tip

Use only Latin letters, numbers, and underscores (_) for:
Archive names, folder and file names, and table column names.

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📘 Step-by-Step Guide

Note

You must be authorized (logged in) on elearning.gtu.ge to download the data.

Step I: Folder and Project SetupStep II: Select By AttributesStep III: Select By LocationStep IV: Interactive SelectionStep V: Final Checks & Submission

• Download the data Chiatura_Selection.gdb.rar from elearning.gtu.ge and extract it.
• Create the main folder, e.g. Giorgi_Kapanadze_Group_4_work_11, and put the geodatabase inside it.
• Create a new ArcGIS Pro project (Map template) in this folder and name it Querying_project.
• Connect the main folder: Catalog pane → right-click Folders → Add Folder Connection.
• Add the layers from Chiatura_Selection.gdb to the map. Open the parcels layer's attribute table (right-click layer → Attribute Table) and look at the fields.

graph LR
  A[FirstName_LastName_GroupNumber_Assignment_Number] --> B{Project};
  A --> C{Data};
  A --> D{Queries};
  A --> E{Results};

• Open Map tab → Select By Attributes. Choose the parcels layer.
• Build an expression with two conditions (for example one with = and one with >), joined by And / Or. Click Verify before you apply it.
• Selection type (the dropdown in the tool):
  • New selection
  • Add to selection
  • Remove from selection
  • Select from current selection: the reselect variant
  • Switch selection and Clear (the unselect variant)
• Save the query with the Save button of the expression builder, and bring it back later with Load. Keep the files in the Queries folder.
• 30 ready-to-use expression examples are in the SQL Expression Examples section below.
• Sort the attribute table (right-click a field header → Sort Ascending / Descending) and use Show selected records to see only the selected rows.
• To keep only some features visible on the map, use a Definition Query: layer Properties → Definition Query. This filters the layer itself and is not a selection.

Differences between data sources (shp, mdb, gdb)

Field names and wildcard characters depend on the data source. In file geodatabases and shapefiles the text wildcard is % (many characters) and _ (one character). In a personal geodatabase (.mdb) the wildcards are * and ?. Shapefiles accept only a limited SQL subset and have field names of up to 10 characters. Test the same query on the same data in each format and note what changes.

• Open Map tab → Select By Location.
• Choose the parcels layer as Input Features and another layer (for example roads, rivers or a boundary) as Selecting Features.
• Try several Relationships, such as Intersect, Within a distance, Contains, Within and Boundary touches, and compare the results. For Within a distance set a Search Distance.
• Export the result: right-click the layer → Data → Export Features. Make sure only the selected records are exported. Save the result in the Results folder.
• Clip (extract data by a boundary): Analysis tab → Tools → search for Clip. Compare the clipped result with the exported selection.

• Use the Select tool on the Map tab. The dropdown gives you the selection shape: Rectangle, Polygon, Lasso, Circle and Line. Draw the shape over the features you want.
• Combine methods: first make a selection by attribute, then use the Select tool with Add to selection or Remove from selection, or run Select By Location with Select from current selection.
• Use Clear to remove the selection and Switch selection to invert it.
• Run the same selections with Geoprocessing tools: Analysis tab → Tools → Select Layer By Attribute and Select Layer By Location. These tools can be used in ModelBuilder and in Python scripts.
• Properly save the ArcGIS Pro project (.aprx). Name it Querying_project.

• Compress (zip) your folder (named after your first and last name). 💾
• Use formats like .rar or .zip.

• Name the archive as:
  FirstName_LastName_GroupNumber_Assignment_Number

• Send it to: [email protected]

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SQL Expression Examples

Use these in Select By Attributes (and in a Definition Query). The field names (AREA, LAND_USE, NAME, OWNER, PARCEL_ID, FLOORS, PRICE, REG_DATE) are placeholders: choose the real fields of your layer from the field list and click Verify before you apply. Text values go in single quotes, numbers without quotes. The examples are for a file geodatabase.

Comparison operators

#	Goal	Expression
1	Area equals 500	AREA = 500
2	Area greater than 1000	AREA > 1000
3	Area at least 500	AREA >= 500
4	Area smaller than 200	AREA < 200
5	Area at most 200	AREA <= 200
6	Everything except forest	LAND_USE <> 'forest'

Text: equality and LIKE patterns

#	Goal	Expression
7	Exact text match	LAND_USE = 'residential'
8	Name starts with "Chi"	NAME LIKE 'Chi%'
9	Name ends with "ura"	NAME LIKE '%ura'
10	Name contains "mine"	NAME LIKE '%mine%'
11	One unknown character (_)	NAME LIKE 'C_iatura'
12	Case-insensitive match	UPPER(NAME) = 'CHIATURA'
13	Contains "school", any case	LOWER(NAME) LIKE '%school%'
14	Name longer than 10 characters	CHAR_LENGTH(NAME) > 10
15	First two characters of the ID are "37"	SUBSTRING(PARCEL_ID FROM 1 FOR 2) = '37'

Lists and ranges

#	Goal	Expression
16	One of several values	LAND_USE IN ('residential', 'commercial')
17	None of several values	LAND_USE NOT IN ('forest', 'water')
18	Inside a range (both ends included)	AREA BETWEEN 300 AND 800
19	Outside a range	AREA NOT BETWEEN 300 AND 800

Empty values

#	Goal	Expression
20	Owner is not filled in	OWNER IS NULL
21	Owner is filled in	OWNER IS NOT NULL

Logical operators (AND, OR, NOT)

#	Goal	Expression
22	Both conditions are true	AREA > 500 AND LAND_USE = 'residential'
23	At least one is true	LAND_USE = 'forest' OR LAND_USE = 'water'
24	Negation	NOT LAND_USE = 'forest'
25	Brackets set the order	(AREA > 1000 OR FLOORS >= 5) AND OWNER IS NOT NULL
26	Several conditions together	AREA > 500 AND AREA < 1000 AND LAND_USE IN ('residential', 'commercial') AND OWNER IS NOT NULL

Calculations and dates

#	Goal	Expression
27	Arithmetic between fields	PRICE / AREA > 100
28	Arithmetic with a number	FLOORS * 3 > 12
29	Registered after a date	REG_DATE >= date '2024-01-01'
30	Registered in one year	EXTRACT(YEAR FROM REG_DATE) = 2023

Data source differences

	File geodatabase (.gdb)	Shapefile (.shp)	Personal geodatabase (.mdb)
Text wildcards	% and _	% and _	* and ?
Date value	date '2024-01-01'	date '2024-01-01'	#2024-01-01#
Field names	up to 64 characters	up to 10 characters	up to 64 characters
SQL support	most functions	limited subset	limited subset

Pick fields from the list instead of typing them: the expression builder adds the right delimiters for the data source. Not every function from the examples works in every format; if Verify reports an error, simplify the expression.

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Warning

If you experience any issues with the submission process, contact:
[email protected]
Or use any file transfer services.

Info

📌 If anything is unclear, feel free to ask! 😊
If something here was done incorrectly, I’ll correct it — or you can create a pull request.