ARCHIVED: In ArcGIS, how do I add individual GPS points to an existing shapefile?

In ArcGIS, you can use data collected from a GPS device to create a shapefile containing points, lines, or polygon features. For more about shapefiles, see Shapefile in Wikipedia.

Note: With most ArcGIS functions and tools, several methods can accomplish the same task. These instructions describe one way to do this procedure, but others may work just as well for you.

The following procedure to add GPS points to a shapefile works best if you have only a few coordinates to add individually:

1. Open ArcMap and add the feature class or shapefile in which you would like to add GPS coordinate information.
   
   
2. If the Editor toolbar is not already open, from the View menu, select Toolbars, and then select Editor. To begin an editing session, from the Editor drop-down menu, select Start Editing.
   
   
3. Select the Sketch Tool (the pencil icon on the Editor toolbar).
   
   
4. Press the F6 key on your computer's keyboard and enter the X and Y coordinates for the first point or vertex. (Alternatively, you can right-click in the Data Frame window and then select Absolute XY, which will bring up the same dialog box as pressing F6.)
   
   
5. Repeat the previous step until you've added all the features or points. From this point on, the process is the same as doing ordinary digitizing in ArcGIS. For help, see ARCHIVED: Basics of digitizing in ArcGIS.
   
   
6. When you are finished, from the Editor toolbar, select Save Edits. To end the editing session, select Stop Editing.

To add GPS points as a graphic in your map document, use the Go to XY tool on the Tools menu. Select the coordinate system units and enter the XY coordinates. To insert the XY coordinate as a graphic to your ArcMap document, select Add Point. Be aware that the graphic will be saved with the map document, but will not be stored as data in the shapefile you are editing.

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