The editing process

To edit features, you work in ArcMap™, following the process below:

1. Open a map document and add the data you want to edit
You can add just the data you want to edit to an empty map document, or you can add other layers for orientation and reference. For example, you may want to add an aerial photograph as a background layer to assist with editing feature shapes.

2. Display the Editor toolbar and start an edit session
The Editor toolbar is where you access many of the ArcMap editing tools. It's also where you access the option to start an edit session. Once you start an edit session, the data referenced in your map document becomes available for editing. Within an edit session, you can only edit feature classes that are stored in the same workspace (folder or geodatabase). If your map references data stored in different locations, you must choose the folder or geodatabase that contains the data you want to edit.

3. Set the editing environment
After starting an edit session, you specify your editing target (the layer whose data you want to edit) and the editing task you want to perform. You can also enable some settings that make editing easier. You'll learn more about these settings in the next concept.

4. Select the feature and display its sketch
Before you can edit a feature's shape, you must display its sketch. The sketch shows the locations of the feature's vertices and segments.

5. Make your edits
After displaying the feature sketch, you can move, insert, or delete vertices and make other edits as desired.

6. Save your edits
As you edit, your changes are immediately visible on the screen, but your data is not updated until you save your edits. You can save your edits at any time during an edit session, and ArcMap will prompt you to save your edits when you stop an edit session. Remember Murphy's Law*—it's always a good idea to save often. Saving the map document does not save your edits to the data.

*Murphy's Law: "If anything can go wrong, it will."