Frequently Asked Questions
| What is GIS? | Geographic Information System |
| What is a Shapefile? | Shapefiles are GIS files that consist of .shp, .dbf, .shx, and .prj files. |
| What is Metadata? | Metadata is “data about data”. These are xml, txt files that describe the GIS layers. |
| What is ArcGIS Explorer? | ArcGIS Explorer Desktop is a free GIS Data Viewer program from ESRI. |
| What is ArcGIS? | ArcGIS is a purchasable GIS mapping software by ESRI. For more information, go to ArcGIS by ESRI. |
| What is ArcGIS Online? | ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based GIS web mapping system. |
| Which version of GIS layers should I use? | If you are unfamiliar with using GIS files, we recommend using the NAD83, shapefile format. |
| What is a .zip file? | A .zip file is a compressed file consisting of one or more files with file sizes smaller than the originals. Zip files are compressed or uncompressed using Zip programs such as WinZip or PKzip. |