Content last reviewed:
Specific software/file formats
Help for Architecture students
Help for Civil Engineering students
Help with mapping the Census of Canada
We have a wide variety of help guides that include everything from overviews of GIS to step-by-step instructions for how to perform common tasks. If none of the guides below are what you are looking for, please let us know.
Most Popular Help Guides
- How to search for GIS data
- Digital Elevation Model (DEM) formats
- Make elevation contours for anywhere (yes, anywhere) on earth.
- Get topographic data (streets, building footprints, etc.) for anywhere (yes, anywhere) on earth using OpenStreetMap.
- Georeferencing and digitizing scanned maps or aerial images in Google Earth
- Making an online map using Google My Maps
- Get locations of Canadian businesses and services
Help Guides by Topic
Are you new to GIS?
- What is GIS?
- How to search for GIS data
- ArcGIS FAQ
- GIS File Formats
- Geocoding: from addresses to latitude-longitude coordinates
- Citing Geospatial Data
- Shapefiles
GIS File Formats
- CAD formats
- Converting shapefiles to AutoCAD DWG files
- Digital Elevation Model (DEM) formats
- Image formats
- LiDAR formats
- Shapefiles
- Working with LiDAR
Subject-specific GIS data sources
- Architecture and Urban Planning:
- Accessing Carleton building information (floor plans, etc.)
- Converting shapefiles to AutoCAD DWG files
- Ottawa site plan resources
- Make elevation contours for anywhere on Earth
- Get topographic data (building footprints, roads, etc.) for anywhere on Earth
- Aerial image with scale
- Climate GIS data and maps
- Geology maps and GIS data
- Indigenous Studies GIS Resources
- Soil maps and GIS data
Sofware- and resource-specific help
ArcGIS
- ArcGIS FAQ
- GeoNet - GeoNet is an Esri community forum where users can ask questions, share, chat and collaborate.
- Aerial Image with Scale
- Joining Census data to boundary shapefiles
AutoCAD
Census/Statistics Canada
- Choosing a Census geography
- Downloading Canadian Census Analyser data
- Joining Census or NHS data to a shapefile
