Clip the Streets.SDC file into a smaller study area

Summary

Instructions provided describe how to convert the SDC feature class 'Streets' from the ESRI Data & Maps and StreetMap USA DVD into a smaller subset of data.

Procedure

1. Insert the Data & Maps and StreetMap USA DVD into the computer DVD-ROM drive.
2. Start ArcCatalog.
3. Click the 'Connect to Folder'
   
   button.
4. Browse to My Computer and select the DVD-ROM drive and click OK.
5. Open ArcToolbox.
6. Expand Analysis Tools > Extract > Select.
7. For Input Features, browse to Counties.sdc feature class in the <DVD>:\usa\census folder.
8. For Output Feature Class, specify the name and location of the output feature class.
   
   

   Warning:
   Change the default drive path as it defaults to the DVD-ROM drive.

   
   
9. Next, click the SQL query button to launch the SQL dialog box. The counties.sdc file contains both county names and state names so set up a query to look for both since the same county name could be in multiple states. This example is Johnson County, Iowa, which looks like this:
   
   
10. Click OK to run the tool.
11. Run the Clip tool, which is also in the Analysis > Extract toolset. For Input Features, browse to the streets.sdc located in the \usa\streetmap_usa\streets\ folder. For Clip features, use the county shapefile that was created in the previous steps. Specify the output name and location.
    
    
12. Click OK to run the tool. This produces a streets shapefile for Johnson County.
    
    

    Note:
    Depending on the size and number of streets within the county, this process could take a few minutes.