{"id":174401,"date":"2011-02-01T20:15:16","date_gmt":"2011-02-02T04:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=174401"},"modified":"2018-12-18T11:39:29","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T19:39:29","slug":"an-easy-way-to-add-gps-data-to-arcmap","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-desktop\/data-management\/an-easy-way-to-add-gps-data-to-arcmap","title":{"rendered":"An easy way to add GPS data to ArcMap"},"author":7641,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[23851,37511],"tags":[42281,28101,29351],"industry":[],"product":[36991],"class_list":["post-174401","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-data-management","category-sharing-collaboration","tag-explorer","tag-gps","tag-gpx","product-arcgis-desktop"],"acf":{"short_description":"So, you have a GPS and have been\u00a0cruising around all day collecting waypoints and tracks which are now stored on your device.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

So, you have a GPS and have been\u00a0cruising around all day collecting waypoints and tracks which are now stored on your device. Suppose you\u2019d like to get those into ArcMap\u00a0for further work or analysis, how\u00a0would you do that?\u00a0An easy way is using ArcGIS Explorer Desktop.<\/p>\n

The first step is to export your data\u00a0to a GPX file using\u00a0your GPS device (a format\u00a0just about all of them support). Next, we\u2019ll add the GPX file to Explorer by choosing Add, then GPS Data Files, as shown below:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Then choose what you\u00a0want to add:<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

After making choices and clicking Add, we now have our GPX file displayed in ArcGIS Explorer Desktop with all the correct symbols.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Next,\u00a0right-click the layer in contents and choose Share.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

You can choose to share as either a layer package, KML, or Explorer map content file. We chose layer package since not only does ArcMap support LPKs, but the layer package also captures the symbols for display in ArcMap.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Start ArcMap, then drag and drop the layer package onto your map. Below we\u2019ve also connected to the ArcGIS Online world imagery basemap which serves as our\u00a0foundation for displaying the now-converted GPX file, just like we used in Explorer. Note that the symbols are exactly the same.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If you are interested in a live feed from a GPS device, you have another option. ArcMap\u00a0enables you to create a direct connection to\u00a0a GPS unit for live input. Right-click on the menu and look for the GPS toolbar:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

And\u00a0you can find out more about it in the ArcGIS Help (just search for GPS).<\/p>\n

You can also learn more about importing GPS data files in ArcGIS Explorer Desktop by taking a look at the\u00a0Add GPS Data Files<\/a>\u00a0Explorer help topic.<\/p>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":7641,"user_firstname":"Bernie","user_lastname":"Szukalski","nickname":"Bern Szukalski","user_nicename":"bszukalski","display_name":"Bern Szukalski","user_email":"bszukalski@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-26 17:55:14","user_description":"I am a corporate technology evangelist and geo advocate at Esri, focusing on ways to broaden access to geographic information and helping customers succeed with ArcGIS. \r\n\r\nOn a good day I'm making a map, on a great day I'm on one. Email bszukalski@esri.com or connect on LinkedIn (https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bernszukalski\/).","user_avatar":""}],"related_articles":"","card_image":false,"wide_image":false},"yoast_head":"\nAn easy way to add GPS data to ArcMap<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-desktop\/data-management\/an-easy-way-to-add-gps-data-to-arcmap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An easy way to add GPS data to ArcMap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-desktop\/data-management\/an-easy-way-to-add-gps-data-to-arcmap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ArcGIS Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" 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