While working with GIS, a lot of time is spent trying to minimize redundancy and striving to make processes work as fast as possible. Therefore I find it interesting how there are so many operations in ArcMAP that you can do in multiple ways with the same result. There are at least three ways to add data to your data frame, not counting adding X,Y data. Here’s a quick run through:
- Right click layer then choose Add Data.
- Use “Add Data” icon on toolbar. Here you can click the icon, or use the little dropdown menu on the side for more options.
- Use ArcCatalog and use the drag & drop method to add files. You can open ArcCatalog in a separate app or in ArcMAP.
- Use the menu: File -> Add Data -> Add Data
