MIT Geodata Repository Search Tool for ArcGIS Help Guide
Getting Started
Logging In
Searching for Data
Spatial Search
Search Results
Metadata
Working with the data from the Geodata Repository
Data from Geoweb
General Search Hints
Getting started
The MIT Geodata Repository provides easy, online access to a large amount of the data held by MIT GIS Services.
One way to access the repository is via the MIT Geodata Repository Search Tool for ArcGIS. The ArcGIS tool is for
academic use by current members of the MIT community. The search tool currently only accesses MIT-owned spatial
data— to access spatial data from both MIT and MIT partner institutions, use Geoweb, a browser-based alternative to
the ArcGIS search tool.
1. In order to browse holdings through this search tool, one must first create an account. Accounts can be created
and managed via the web here.
2. Click on “Create a User Account”. (You will need your personal MIT certificates in order to create or change
your Geodata Repository account information.)
3. Check that ESRI's ArcGIS software is installed on the computer.
4. Open ArcMap (the search tool does not run in other ArcGIS applications).
5. Check that the MIT Geodata Search tool is installed.
6. If you do not see the MIT Geodata Search Toolbar (including the buttons "Search Metadata" or “Data from
Geoweb”) in the toolbar window or elsewhere on your screen, then right-click in the grey toolbar area and select
“MIT Geodata Repository Toolbar” from the drop down list. If you do not see "MIT Geodata Repository
Toolbar" as an option in your list of tools then you will need to download it from the MIT IS&T web site
(certificates required) and run the .exe file.
Logging In
To log in to the MIT Geodata Repository Toolbar, click on “Search Metadata” or “Data from Geoweb”. A log in
prompt will appear.
Searching for Data
To access the search, click “Search Metadata” on the MIT Geodata Search Toolbar and log in if necessary.
Boston search:
1. Enter the search string "Boston" as the Place
2. Click the “Start Search” button. Search results will appear below the search form.
Boston search results:
3. You can also search using a keyword instead of a place name. Enter the search string “cities” as the keyword,
and click “Start Search”.
Search and results for Cities:
The Search dialog allows you to search using both the place and keyword criteria. For example, if you would like
information on building footprints in Boston, you might enter "Boston" in the place search box and "buildings" in the
keywords search box.
Boston parcel search and results:
When inputting more than one place or keyword, searches look through the metadata for either:
1) all of these terms or;
2) any of these terms.
You can change this setting under each search box. Read the search hints for more tips on searching.
Spatial Search
You can use the spatial search check box to limit your search results to the area displayed in your ArcMap window.
The spatial search is most effective when you already have data added to your map window. Otherwise it will return all
records from throughout the world. The example below shows a keyword search for parcels limited to the area
surrounding Cambridge, MA fire stations.
Keyword and spatial search and results:
You can also check this box to look for data covering a specific area, without using any place names or keywords. This
spatial search checks the bounding box (east-west and north-south extent of the dataset) of your ArcMap data frame
and returns results that cover the same area and have a similar size bounding box. This can be very helpful when you
know the area you are interested in, but are not sure how something may be described, spelled, or if it uses special
characters. For example - location name changes like Bombay vs Mumbai, or different descriptions used to describe
something like energy vs power.
Spatial search and results—no keywords or place names:
Search Results
Results of your search and the number of records found will appear below your search criteria once you click “Start
Search”.
Use your mouse to click on the record of interest then click the "View metadata of Selected Layer(s)" button to read
the metadata, in FGDC format, in your default web browser.
To add the selected layer to ArcMap, click the “Add Selected Layer(s) to Map” button.
More than one layer can be selected at a time. Once the data is added to your view you can analyze the data using
ArcGIS tools.
Metadata
Metadata is key information regarding the capture, creation, copyright, distribution, scale, projection, attributes,
keywords and other details of data. The metadata file is important for understanding the data, documentation and
source citation. Many of the datalayers in the MIT Geodata Repository have specific licensing restrictions, which can
be found in the "use constraints" portion of the metadata.
Working with the data from the Geodata Repository
Once a spatial data layer is added to ArcGIS, you have the ability to analyze it using any tools in ArcGIS. You can
access the same data layers, and the way you have symbolized them, in your ArcMap Document, from any computer on
the network with ArcGIS software.
If you need to edit the data you must first export it into a workspace where you have read/write permissions. It is
recommended that you only export your area of interest to keep the file size small.
Downloading data is necessary if you want to edit the data or work in a place without a network connection.
Otherwise, working off the Geodata Repository server should be sufficient.
To save your shapefile, right click on the layer name in the table of contents. Click "Data" -> "Export Data". Specify
the file name and target folder in which to store your file, and click OK.
Data from Geoweb
You can also browse for data within the MIT Geodata Repository using Geoweb, a browser-based tool to discover,
preview and retrieve geospatial data from different geospatial repositories. Geoweb allows users to share a link to data
layers using the “Share” button located in the Geoweb cart. Clicking on the “Share” button creates a link which you
can copy and use to add the data directly into ArcGIS. Within ArcGIS, click on the “Data from Geoweb” button within
the repository search toolbar. Paste the Geoweb link into the box, and click “Add Layers”. The data will now appear in
your map document. Currently, this functionality only exists for MIT-distributed layers on Geoweb.
General Search Hints
Wildcards An asterix (*) will work as a wildcard for multiple letters. An exclamation (!) will work as a wildcard for a single letter.
Examples:
"*parcel*" could retrieve parcel(s) and land parcel(s)
Don't make your search too narrow : If you cannot find the file you need, you may need to be less specific. For example:
If you search for "road*" and "MA", you will only find Massachusetts roads, whereas US road files would also
contain Massachusetts roads.
If you are looking for data for another country you may want to start with keyword = "world", then narrow your
search using the spatial selection tools
Good data for specific area can sometimes be found as part of global or country level dataset.