GIS Software & Mapping Tools

This page is an abbreviated listing of the most-used and most-applicable GIS and GIS-related software tools available to our UC San Diego community in the Data & GIS Lab or available for purchase through ACS.

• ESRI Software
• Google Earth PRO
• GIS-Related Software

ESRI Software

ArcGIS Desktop is the main GIS software we use in the Data & GIS Lab, and this product comes in three different functionality levels: ArcView, ArcEditor, and ArcInfo. The main difference between the three is in the analysis tools offered in ArcToolbox. ArcEditor has more tools than ArcView, and ArcInfo has more tools than ArcEditor. Thus, one builds upon the other. For more details on the differences, simply search do a search online for 'ESRI ArcGIS Desktop Functionality Matrix' and then choose the most appropriate result.

ArcGIS Desktop, at the ArcInfo functionality level, is available on workstations in the Data & GIS Lab. ArcGIS Desktop is also available at assorted locations across campus - see the ACS Lab Explorer for exact and current installation locations.

If you need a free viewer for ArcGIS data, ArcReader is free and downloadable from ESRI and can be used to view GIS data and maps created in ArcGIS without having to purchase the ArcGIS software.

What you, as a current UC San Diego community member, get for free from ESRI!

• Free Virtual Campus Courses
• One Free Day for any current UC San Diego student, staff or faculty at ESRI's International User Conference or Education User Conference down at the San Diego Convention Center every summer
• Free Student Versions of ArcGIS:  Any current student at UC San Diego is eligible for these software licenses. They expire after one year and are a great way to allow students to utilize GIS software on their own PCs. Available through the GIS Coordinator.  NOTE:  ONLY WORKS IN THE WINDOWS OPERATING ENVIRONMENT, SO IF YOU CAN RUN WINDOWS ON YOUR MAC, YOU CAN USE THIS.

Interested in getting an ESRI product on your own computer? ESRI products run on the Windows, Unix, Linux and Solaris platforms as well as the new Macintosh Bootcamp platform. All purchases, licensing and distribution of ESRI software is managed by Academic Computing Services (ACS).

Google Earth PRO