Geoprocessing is the processing of geographic information, one of the most basic functions of a geographic information system (GIS). Within any of the ArcGIS® Desktop products—ArcInfo™, ArcEditor™, and ArcView®—you can perform geoprocessing tasks on your data. Geoprocessing provides a way to create new information by processing existing data. Any alteration or information extraction performed on data involves a geoprocessing task. You can perform such tasks as converting geographic data to various formats, clipping one dataset by another, or intersecting datasets together to create a new dataset. These operations can be leveraged individually via dialog boxes or in sequence by creating models or scripts that consume multiple tools.

You'll learn how to:
Use tools through dialog boxes or at the command line.
Build, execute, and manage models that perform a sequence of geoprocessing tools.
Create and run a script that uses geoprocessing tools.
Use system batch processing scripts for repetitive tasks, such as those that carry out the same tool on multiple inputs, or create your own scripts that execute geoprocessing tools.

Begin by following the quick-start tutorial to get an overview of how to perform geoprocessing tasks with ArcGIS. If you prefer, jump right in and experiment on your own. When you have questions, you’ll find concise, step-by-step answers that are fully illustrated to help you complete a task.