GIS (Geographic Information Systems)  Tags: gis geography geographic_information_systems maps mapping spatial geospatial location environment computers computer science scientific analysis data visualization cartography  

The WUSTL GISPUBLIC server has been established to provide a local source for GIS data of interest to the Washington University community. Data layers have been compiled from sources including St. Louis City and County governments, and the data that are distributed with the ArcGIS software. This server is available only when connected to the campus network and all files are "Read-Only." If you want to edit the files, you can copy them to your local hard drive, which will also maximize speed.

There are several are methods of accessing this drive and this page will serve as a walk through of a few of the ways to help you access it more easily. The drive has security enabled so it is only accessible while on campus and you will need to log in to your library account to connect to the drive.

The drive location is:

\\epsci.wustl.edu\gispublic

Method 1: Temporary Link
This method will open the folder and create a temporary link. This works well if you need to just copy a small amount of data and don't need to maintain the connection.

In the Windows operating system open your start menu and click on "Run" . Type the address above into the space provided and hit enter.

Method 2: Mapping the Drive, Persistent connection that reappears on reboot
In the Windows operating system, in My Computer, click on the tools menu and map a network drive. Windows should automatically assign an available drive letter and in the lower field enter the drive location above. You will be prompted to log in using your library login credentials as above. If you want the connect to persist between logins click the appropriate check box.

Method 3: Connection through Arc Catalog
To browse the data using Arc Catalog you will need to connect to the folder using Windows first and then you need to create a link in Catalog as well. On standard toolbar there is a button that looks like a folder with a globe and a right facing arrow on it. This is called the "connect to folder" button. Click this button to open a navigation window. You can then either navigate to a folder or mapped drive or you can connect directly to the folder above by typing in the location. Once the folder has been connected you should be able to see it in the navigation window to the left in Arc Catalog. This same process is used when adding a folder in ArcMap.