PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
December 2020
725
BOOK
REVIEW
Lining Up Data in ArcGIS: A Guide to
Map Projections
Margaret M. Maher
Redlands, CA: Esri Press, 2013. ISBN:
9781589483422. 2018 200 pages $24.95.
Reviewed by
Dr. Sagar S. Deshpande, Associate
Professor, Surveying Engineering, Penn State
University, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Lining Up Data in ArcGIS
was written by Margaret Maher.
The author worked at Esri for 18 years and has helped re-
solve more than 16,000 technical questions from the GIS user
community. Most of which were related to lining up geospatial
data. This book is intended to be a practical guide for working
professionals in the field of Geographic Information System
(GIS). The book does not focus on the theory and understand-
ing of map projection but is intended to help GIS professionals
line up geospatial data to appropriate map projection. The au-
thor states the book will not only assist Arc Desktop software
users but also benefit other users. The cover page is aptly de-
signed to show lining up of the word “Data.”
This book consists of ten chapters and two appendices. The
introduction of this book starts with a list of common map pro-
jection questions that reminded me of when I was first em-
ployed as a GIS analyst. Reading these questions made me
think, “I should have had this book when I was handling data
from multiple agencies with different map projections and da-
tums.”
Chapter 1, “Identifying Coordinate Systems for Data using
ArcMap,” talks about the most common issue of missing the
projection information for a shapefile. Examples of how to de-
termine if a shapefile is using Geographic Coordinate System
(latitude and longitude), state plane or UTM projection, and
local reference frame by analyzing the coordinates of the file
are illustrated in this chapter. Once the file is determined to
be in GCS coordinates, then the next question “What is the
horizontal datum used?” Chapter 2, “Identifying the Correct
Geographic Coordinate System,” addresses this question and
helps the user determine the correct horizontal datum for an
unprojected GIS dataset. Several step-by-step instructions on
how to select or change the datum are discussed in this chap-
ter. Chapter 3, “Identifying the Projected Coordinate System”
explains the geographic extents of a projection system. This
chapter briefly discusses the State Plane Coordinate System
both in NAD27, 83 datums, and the UTM zones. One example,
in both the SPCS and UTM system is shown to explain the
extents of a projection system. Chapter 4 “Applying Nonstan-
dard Units-When Standard Coordinate Systems Don’t Work”
explains the changes necessary to view data based on nonstan-
dard units. The author explains in various figures, how a user
can customize ArcMap to different units. This chapter also
covers an important discussion on how to import CAD files.
Chapter 5 “Aligning CAD Data-modifying a Standard Coordi-
nate System” starts by explaining the differences in the data
structure of Autodesk CAD file format and ArcGIS data format
which is important for users using both Autodesk and ArcGIS
software for mapping and analysis. Potential issues with CAD
files in the ArcGIS environment are discussed followed by a
brief discussion about scale factor. Chapter 6 “Aligning Rotat-
ed CAD Data” describes how to apply a rotation parameter to
align the data in the correct orientation. Once again it talks in-
depth about the rotation of CAD data to align in the GIS envi-
ronment. Chapter 7 “Analyzing Geographic (Datum) Transfor-
mations and Why We Need Them” explains different datums
and the importance of those in the alignment with datasets.
Various transformations such as Molodensky, 7-parameter,
and several more are briefly described. Chapter 8 “Applying
Geographic Transformations” is vital as it explains transfor-
mation between different datums. The author specifically ex-
plains the importance of correcting the datum for each data
using the “Project” tool so that the datasets are in the same
datum. Chapter 9 “Working with Vertical Coordinate System”
provides solutions to issues related to vertical datum. This
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 86, No. 12, December 2020, pp. 725–726.
0099-1112/20/725–726
© 2020 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.86.12.725
