arc.open: Open dataset, table, or layer

Description

Open ArcGIS datasets, tables, rasters and layers. Returns a new arc.dataset-class object which contains details on both the spatial information and attribute information (data frame) contained within the dataset.

Arguments

path

file path or layer name

Value

An arc.dataset object

Supported Formats

Feature Class: A collection of geographic features with the same geometry type (i.e. point, line, polygon) and the same spatial reference, combined with an attribute table. Feature classes can be stored in a variety of formats, including: files (e.g. Shapefiles), Geodatabases, components of feature datasets, and as coverages. All of these types can be accessed using the full path of the relevant feature class (see note below on how to specify path names).
Layer: A layer references a feature layer, but also includes additional information necessary to symbolize and label a dataset appropriately. arc.open supports active layers in the current ArcGIS session, which can be addressed simply by referencing the layer name as it is displayed within the application. Instead of referencing file layers on disk (i.e. .lyr and .lyrx files), the direct reference to the actual dataset should be used.
Table: Tables are effectively the same as data frames, containing a collection of records (or observations) organized in rows, with columns storing different variables (or fields). Feature classes similarly contain a table, but include the additional information about geometries lacking in a standalone table. When a standalone table is queries for its spatial information, e.g. arc.shape(table), it will return NULL. Table data types include formats such as text files, Excel spreadsheets, dBASE tables, and INFO tables.
rasters: A raster dataset TODO

References

Examples

Run this code

# NOT RUN {
## open feature
filename <- system.file("extdata", "ca_ozone_pts.shp",
                          package="arcgisbinding")
d <- arc.open(filename)
cat('all fields:', names(d@fields), fill = TRUE) # print all fields

## open raster
filename <- system.file("pictures", "logo.jpg", package="rgdal")
d <- arc.open(filename)
dim(d) # show raster dimension

# }