Creating an ArcView Project so that it will run on the CDROM (and other tips)

TO RUN FROM THE CD-ROM (NOT EDIT):

1) Create a project directory at the root level of your hard drive. (e.g. C:/MyProject)  (Must be at the base drive) c:  d:  e:  etc.
                                     **It does not have to be named MyProject. - Whatever you have named your project.**

2) Within the project directory organize subdirectories in a logical manner (e.g. data, metadata, documents, av_proj, etc.).

3) Within the av_proj directory create your .apr file. In other words your .apr will be at C:/MyProject/av_proj/MyProject.apr. You may also want to keep .apr related files in logical subdirectories under the av_proj directory (e.g. legends, scripts, tables).

4) When all your data is in place, build your ArcView project file by adding themes, etc.

5) Once you are done building your .apr file, check to make sure extensions that are not needed for the project are not turned on.
    **(IMPORTANT)** For example if you have the Spatial Analyst extension turned on, and it is not being used (i.e. the check mark is black) you want to make sure the Spatial Analyst extension is not turned on. To check which extensions are turned on, check under "File" to see which boxes are check-marked, if the check mark is grayed out, that indicates the extension is in use in the project and the user's machine will need to have that extension and have it checked before your project is loaded. Save the project with appropriate extensions checked on or off.

6) Open the .apr file in a text editor or with a word processor. When using a word processor make sure the .apr is NOT saved in any format other than text. The .apr file is simply a text file that points to the location of data used by the ArcView project. You will want to replace all the occurrences of "C:/ " with" /" from all pathnames in the .apr file. Use the "find" and "replace" utilities of the text editor or word processor to replace all occurrences of "C:/" in the .apr file with "/", and save the .apr file with the text editor or word processor. Note do not simply remove all occurrences of "C:" as there may be instances where "C:" is not part of a pathname, and should not be removed.

**7) Make a copy of your "MyProject" directory to CDROM. With the "C:" stripped from all pathnames in the .apr file you should be able to read your .apr file directly from the CDROM. Check it to make sure before making duplicates of the CDROM, or sending the CDROM off to potential users.

Using an Environmental Variable

(e.g. UNIX:  /home/dir/dir)  Do Not TYPE " " in the Environmental Variable (EV).  They are only used here to set apart the words to type from the instructional information.
An Environmental Variable (EV) can be used instead of replacing all occurrences of "C:/" with "/" in the .apr file. By using an EV the user can copy the project     from the CDROM to a hard drive and still use the .apr. This makes the project "transportable." The steps are the same as above, except instead of replacing all occurrences of "C:/" with "/", you will want to replace all occurrences of "C:/MyProject" with the EV name. For example, replace "C:/MyProject" with "$MYPROJECT", where MYPROJECT represents "C:/MyProject". The user will have to set the EV (MYPROJECT) on his/her computer to the location of the MyProject/ directory on the hard drive. The method of setting the location of the EV differs depending on the operating system (OS).    $ = Designates var.name

For Windows95 and Windows98

You will have to edit your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and reboot your computer.

1) Open the AUTOEXEC.BATfile in a text editor

2) Enter set MYPROJECT=<pathname to the MyProject directory>
      (e.g. set MYPROJECT=E:\MyProject)

3) Save and close the AUTOEXEC.BAT file

4) Reboot the computer

For Windows NT = Win 2000

       You will set the environmental variable without having to reboot the computer.

1) Click on "Start" button and select "Settings"

2) Select "Control  Panel", then "System"

3) Click the  "Advanced Environmental Button" tab

4) Click New System Var.  IN the text box labeled "Variable Name" type in MYPROJECT (CASE Sensitive) and in the text box labeled "Variable Value" type in E:\MyProject D:\MyProject, etc.  (Remember CASE Sensitive)

5) Click the "Set" button, then click the "Ok" button

            You will have to edit your .cshrc-private file and source the file.

1) While in your home directory open your .cshrc-private file using a text editor.
2) Enter setenv MYPROJECT <pathname to the myproject directory>
(e.g. setenv MYPROJECT /home/jlowry/myproject)
  **(Case Sensitive)**

3) Save and close the .cshrc-privatefile.
4) Source the .cshrc-privatefile using the unix sourcecommand.
(e.g. /home/jlowry> source .cshrc-private)

Creating iterative backups of your .apr file