Begin using the Homeland Security Data Model in ArcMap

Summary

Instructions provided describe how to begin using the Homeland Security Data Model in ArcMap. The Homeland Security (HLS) Data Model provides a framework for managing Emergency Management data. This article describes how to begin using the Operations portion of HLS Data Model that has been designed to work with Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Homeland Security Working Group (HSWG) symbology. More information is available by following the Homeland Security Data Model link in the Related Information section below.

Note:
For instructions on how to symbolize data using the HSWG fonts, see the article in the Related Information section below.

Procedure

1. Download the 'Homeland Security Data Model Templates, images and documents' from the ESRI Support site - see the link in the Related Information section, below. Save the ZIP file to a location on the hard drive.
2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file. Read the file readme.txt for an overview of the items included.
3. In ArcMap, click the Add Data button and navigate to the location of the downloaded file.
4. Double-click on each of the following to open an empty Incident layer:
   HLS2.mdb > Homeland Security Operations > Incident
5. Add a new point to the empty Incident layer:
   A. Start editing the Incident layer.
   
   
   A. Select 'Editor Toolbar' from the Tools menu, if the Editor Toolbar is not already open.
   B. Click Editor and select 'Start Editing' from the pop-up menu.
   C. Select the data layer for the list box, and click OK if prompted by the 'Start Editing' dialog box.
   D. Set the Target drop-down list to the layer to edit.
   
   
   B. Use the Sketch (pencil) tool from the Editor toolbar to draw a point on the map canvas.
   C. Click the Attributes icon on the Editor toolbar to open the attribute table.
   D. Click the value for the Incident_Group property, then select a group from the dropdown list.
   E. Click the value for the Incident_Type property, then select a type from the dropdown list.
   F. Close the Attributes window.
   G. Click Editor > Stop Editing in the Editor toolbar. When prompted to save the edits, click Yes.
   
   

   Note:
   Starting editing and sketching points at version 10 has changed slightly.

   
   
6. Right-click on the Incident layer and select Properties.
7. Click 'Unique values, many fields', in the left pane of the Symbology tab. Three Value Fields dropdown lists appear near the middle of the Symbology tab.
8. Select the following fields:
   A. In the first Value Fields dropdown list, select Incident_Group.
   B. In the second dropdown list, select Incident_Type.
9. Click the 'Add All Values' button found at the bottom of the Symbology tab.
10. Click OK to close the Layer Properties dialog box. The new point is drawn with a unique symbol, and the Incident Group and Type information appears in the TOC.
11. See the appropriate article in the Related Information section below for instructions on how to use the HSWG fonts to symbolize the data.