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Visual Data Analytics VDA Desktop GIS
.. being ready for 2025, 2030 and beyond
.. managing sustainability
.. enabling research and innovation
.. implementing innovative learning experiences

Get started today
Install or update VDA Desktop GIS on your Windows computer:
.. run installer .. userid required to run installer. Register for userid here.
.. enter required info, check Requesting VDA Desktop GIS Installer ID, click Submit
.. there is no fee; you will receive return email with userid

E-mail us or call (888-364-7656) with questions/help.

Main Menu/Topics
What you can go with VDA Desktop GIS -- Gallery
Introduction
Support
Start-up & Levels
News & Updates
User Interface & Operation
Data Resources
Illustrative Applications
US1 GIS Project .. the start-up project
Terms of Use
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

A tool for journalists, policy-makers, researchers, learners, analysts .. intuitive with nominal learning time.
.. yet powerful enough to meet demanding needs of GIS professionals.

Patterns of How & Why County Population is Changing .. VDAD Start-up View

Gallery .. Make Maps Like These ... selected examples .. goto top

Use the Base Server project to create views and perform operations like these.

Congressional Communities in context of Congressional District CA 47

Congressional District Percent Population Change 2020-2022
.. select 2020 items and ACS2022 items in this layer/shapefile
.. see related views

Patterns of %Group Quarters Population by County Markers (US1 Project)
4 Texas counties have more than 25% population in group quarters.
These data matter in development of population projections, among other applications.
The graphic below shows how to find/view/analyze relevant geographies using the VDA GIS tools.
.. larger triangles show these counties, the table shows data in tabular form.

Census Tract %Population Age 65+ in Houston, TX city

Patterns of Economic Prosperity by Census Tract; Phoenix Area
.. with census tract codes

Attributes of a Congressional Community (CC); Phoenix Area
.. click CC then click HTML button lower left to view profile CC profile (xls)

Using Table/Grid Feature; 2020 Urban Areas in Texas Ranked on 2020 Population
.. Urban Areas the active layer; click Table view; use query"select NAME20, ST, POP where st='TX'"; sort descending order on POP

State Quarterly GDP
.. States the active layer; click Table view;

Introduction to VDA Desktop GIS .. companion to Visual Data Analytics (VDA) Web GIS .. goto top
.. develop your GIS projects with VDA Desktop; use locally
and/or post to VDA Web GIS for use by your organization/stakeholders

VDA Desktop and VDA Web GIS have been developed, and are maintained/supported, by ProximityOne/Alexandria, VA USA and Tsukasa Consulting/Osaka, Japan.

Support
Support is offered via Web pages, telephone, e-mail and web sessions. Learn more about demographic economic data and related analytical tools. One hour Web Sessions are offered on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. There is no fee for the Web sessions. Each informal session is focused on a specific topic. The open structure also provides for Q&A and discussion of application issues of interest to participants.

Start-up & Levels .. goto top
When VDA Desktop GIS (VDAD) is installed and then started, VDAD will be operating as Level 1.
These features, as with all items in this document, are subject to change without notice.

There are 3 VDAD levels of operation.
Level 1 - install VDAD
Level 1 is a no fee resource.
Enables:
• File>Login (sets features available; selection of other Level)
• Open GIS project.
• Search for location/address
• Find shape
• Selected object profile
• Use of legend and layer editor.
• Map navigation features
• Table/Grid
• Settings

Level 2 - VDAW signup with Level 2 then with • Level 2 with File>Login
Level 2 is a fee-based resource .. E-mail us or call (888-364-7656) to inquire for details.
Includes Level 1 features plus:
• adding layers to Base Server Project
• opening Base Server Project
• access to Database features
• open many server projects
• adding layers to Base Server Project
• saving project

Level 3 - VDAW signup with Level 3 then with • Level 3 with File>Login
Level 3 is a fee-based resource .. E-mail us or call (888-364-7656) to inquire for details.
Includes Level 2 features plus:
Enables Level 2 plus:
• Analytics>GeoSelect/SiteAnalysis
• Batch geocoding
• Tools features

User Interface & Operation .. goto top

This subsection summarizes the basics of the User Interface.
Main Menu
File
Login
Open ...
Open Server Project
View
Database
Analytics
Tools
Settings
Help

Toolbar
Open Folder
Add Layer
Remove Layer
Close all layers
Zoom to US 48 Extent
Enable mouse as Zoom tool
Enable mouse as Select tool
Enable mouse as Pan/Drag tool
Find Shape
Coordinate System
Toggle Table/Grid

Legend Panel - shows layers in active project

Search Bar - key in address/location and press enter to find

Map Window - shows map based on layers in legend panel checked on

Status Bar -- shows status of selected attributes

News & Updates .. goto top

10.24.23 .. Version 10.24.23 released

• new installer released.
• two U.S. by county layers added.
- point layer -- patterns of percent group quarters population
- polygon layer -- initial use as boundary

10.17.23 .. Version 10.17.23 released

• new software version released.
• Select Fields feature added to Table/Grid operation.

Data Resources .. goto top

Import/integrate these data resources into your VDAD GIS projects.

• TIGER Shapefiles (pdf)
.. see more about TIGER digital map database

• Census 2020 Demographics
• ACS Richer Demographic Economic Data

Applications .. goto top

App 01 -- Mapping Tracts & ZIP Codes .. goto top

Consider an application where you want to view a few census tracts in context of ZIP Code areas.
Steps below illustrate use of the VDA Desktop (VDAD)
Start VDAD .. then click File>Open Server Project and open the Base Project

After the map view shows, enter a ZIP code, location or address in the Search bar and press enter.
.. to illustrate, enter 85258 (a ZIP code in Scottsdale, AZ) and press enter

A zoom-in then shows a blue triangle marker at the location.
.. in the legend panel at left, click checkbox on for each of these layers:
- ZIP Codes Label (displays ZIP Code area labels/codes in map)
- ZIP Codes (displays ZIP Code area red boundaries in map)
- Tracts Label (displays Tract code and black tract boundaries in map)
.. navigate to preferred view (e.g., pan or zoom in/out)
.. use a screen capture tool to capture view meeting application objective

Pointer in graphic shows ZIP code 85258 with several tracts intersecting the 85258 ZIP code red boundary.

End of App 01.

App 02 -- Patterns of Percent Group Quarters by Congressional Community .. goto top

Consider an application where you want to view/analyze population in households and group quarters population by Congressional Community (CCs). A more focused objective is to locate and view those CCs in California that have a group quarters percent of 30% or more.

Steps below illustrate use of the VDA Desktop (VDAD)
Start VDAD .. then click File>Open Server Project and open the Base Project

After the map view shows, click the name of the "Cong Communities Diversity" layer in the legend panel.
.. name highlights blue
.. while the name of this layer says "Diversity" that is because the layer is set to display diversity patterns.
.. the underlying shapefile contains all Census 2020 DP1 items.

Next, click the SQL/Table/Grid button .. rightmost button on the top menubar
The view refreshes with a view similar to the graphic shown below. Click graphic for larger view
The table/grid below the map shows a row for each shape/object in the active layer shapefile.
.. the columns show the field names for each field in the active layer shapefile.

In this application, the focus is on selected fields:
CCN20 -- Congressional Communities (CCs) Geocode
D112TPOP -- total population
D113RPINHH -- persons living in households
D125GQQTR -- persons living in group quarters
D126GQI -- persons living in institutional group quarters
D129GQNI -- persons living in non-institutional group quarters

Next, set an SQL filter to find those CCs in California that have a group quarters percent of 30% or more:
select ccn20,100*D125GQQTR/D112TPOP where ccn20 like '06%' and 100*D125GQQTR/D112TPOP>30
.. copy & paste the above query into the SQL Filter edit box.
.. click the Query button to locate/show the CCs and relevant items.

This query "says" to select/show the two items:
ccn20 -- the CC name/geoid
100*D125GQQTR/D112TPOP -- the realtime computed group quarters population as a percent of total population
where the CC:
is in California (ccn20 like '06%') and
the %GC is greater than 30 (100*D125GQQTR/D112TPOP>30)

Results of query (click graphic for larger view):

Results of query shown in mapview (click graphic for larger view):

End of App 02.

US1 GIS Project .. goto top
The US1 GIS Project is installed when the VDA Desktop installer is run. The start-up view is shown below.
The start-up view shows patterns of percent population change by county from 2010 to 2020.
The 5th layer (County Pop10-Pop20 %Change) is checked on in the Legend Panel.
.. this results in that layer being shown in the Map Window.
Color patterns and associated percent change ranges are show in the intervals.

The Base Project includes these layers, as shown in the legend panel in the above graphic.

Things you should know about the Base Project.
.. the legend panel shows layers by name.
.. all layers, except the Base Layer, are
- in shapefile structure and stored locally on the installed computer.
- U.S. national scope layers.
- comprised of fields listed in the scroll section below.

.. thematic pattern layers are set with a transarency of 70% which can be adjusted.
-- enables "seeing through" color patterns to view roads/topology/names ahown in the base layer.

Layer 1 -- LayerName: States -- States
.. examine characteristics of states

1-1	AREANAME	C, 100, 0	Area Name
1-2	STAB	C, 2, 0	USPS State abbreviation
1-3	GEOID	C, 2, 0	State FIPS code
1-4	POP10	N, 9, 0	Total population, Census 2010
1-5	HSGUNIT10	N, 9, 0	Housing units, Census 2010
1-6	POP20	N, 9, 0	Total population, Census 2020
1-7	HSGUNIT20	N, 9, 0	Housing units, Census 2020

Layer 2 -- LayerName: Metros/CBSAs -- Metros/Core-Based Statistical Areas
.. examine characteristics metropolitan areas

2-1	CSAFP	C, 3, 0	Combined Statistical Area Code
2-2	CBSAFP	C, 5, 0	Core-Based Statistical Area Code
2-3	GEOID	C, 5, 0	Same as CBSA codeode
2-4	NAME	C, 50, 0	Full Area Name
2-5	NAMELSAD	C, 50, 0	LSAD Name
2-6	SHORTNAME	C, 50, 0	Short version of Area Name
2-7	LSAD	C, 2, 0	Legal/Statistical Area Description Code: 'M1' Metropolitan Statistical Area .. 'M2' Micropolitan Statistical Area
2-8	ALANDSQMI	N, 12, 3	Land Area, SqMi
2-9	AWATERSQMI	N, 12, 3	Water Area, SqMi
2-10	POP20	N, 9, 0	Total population, Census 2020
2-11	POP120	N, 9, 0	Population, one race, Census 2020
2-12	WH20	N, 9, 0	White, one race, Census 2020
2-13	BL20	N, 9, 0	Black, one race, Census 2020
2-14	AI20	N, 9, 0	American Indian/Alaska Native, one race, Census 2020
2-15	AS20	N, 9, 0	Asian, one race, Census 2020
2-16	NH20	N, 9, 0	Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, one race, Census 2020
2-17	OR20	N, 9, 0	Other, one race, Census 2020
2-18	MR20	N, 9, 0	Multirace, Census 2020
2-19	HS20	N, 9, 0	Hispanic, Census 2020
2-20	WHNH20	N, 9, 0	Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, one race, Census 2020
2-21	BLNH20	N, 9, 0	Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, one race, Census 2020
2-22	GQ20	N, 9, 0	Group Quarters, Census 2020
2-23	GQI20	N, 9, 0	Group Quarters, Institutional, Census 2020
2-24	GQN20	N, 9, 0	Group Quarters, Non-Institutional, Census 2020
2-25	HSGUNIT20	N, 9, 0	Housing units, Census 2020
2-26	OCCUNIT20	N, 9, 0	Households, Census 2020
2-27	VACUNIT20	N, 9, 0	Vacant Units, Census 2020
2-28	MHIA20	N, 9, 0	Median Household Income, ACS 2020
2-29	MFIA20	N, 9, 0	Median Family Income, ACS 2020
2-30	MHVA20	N, 9, 0	Median Housing Value, ACS 2020
2-31	MDRENTA20	N, 9, 0	Median Rent, ACS 2020

Layer 3 -- Congressional Districts -- Congressional Districts
.. examine characteristics congressional districts

3-1	GEOID	C, 4, 0	Congressional District Code
3-2	CD118	C, 2, 0	Congressional District Code
3-3	STAB	C, 2, 0	USPS State abbreviation
3-4	POP20118	N, 9, 0	Total population, Census 2020
3-5	POP120118	N, 9, 0	Population, one race, Census 2020
3-6	WH20118	N, 9, 0	White, one race, Census 2020
3-7	BL20118	N, 9, 0	Black, one race, Census 2020
3-8	AI20118	N, 9, 0	American Indian/Alaska Native, one race, Census 2020
3-9	AS20118	N, 9, 0	Asian, one race, Census 2020
3-10	NH20118	N, 9, 0	Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, one race, Census 2020
3-11	OR20118	N, 9, 0	Other, one race, Census 2020
3-12	MR20118	N, 9, 0	Multirace, Census 2020
3-13	WHNH20118	N, 9, 0	Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, one race, Census 2020
3-14	BLNH20118	N, 9, 0	Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, one race, Census 2020
3-15	HS20118	N, 9, 0	Hispanic, Census 2020
3-16	GQ20118	N, 9, 0	Group Quarters, Census 2020
3-17	GQI20118	N, 9, 0	Group Quarters, Institutional, Census 2020
3-18	GQN20118	N, 9, 0	Group Quarters, Non-Institutional, Census 2020
3-19	HU20118	N, 9, 0	Housing Units, Census 2020
3-20	OU20118	N, 9, 0	Occupied Housing Units, Census 2020
3-21	VU20118	N, 9, 0	Vacant Housing Units, Census 2020

Layer 4 -- Counties -- Counties

4-1	NAME	C, 50, 0	Short Area Name
4-2	NAME1	C, 50, 0	Area Name
4-3	STAB	C, 2, 0	USPS State abbreviation
4-4	GEOID	C, 5, 0	State+County FIPS Code
4-5	STATE	C, 2, 0	State FIPS Code
4-6	REGION	C, 1, 0	REGION
4-7	DIVISION	C, 1, 0	DIVISION
4-8	CBSA	C, 5, 0	Core-Based Statistical Area Code
4-9	CSA	C, 3, 0	Combined Statistical Area Code
4-10	ALANDSQMI	N, 12, 3	Land Area, SqMi
4-11	AWATRSQMI	N, 12, 3	Water Area, SqMi
4-12	POP10	N, 9, 0	Total population, Census 2010
4-13	POP20	N, 9, 0	Total population, Census 2020
4-14	HU2010	N, 9, 0	Housing Units, 2010
4-15	HU2020	N, 9, 0	Housing Units, 2020
4-16	HU1020	N, 9, 0	Housing Units change, 2010-2020

Layer 5 -- County Pop10-Pop20 %Change -- Counties
.. examine patterns of percent population change .. 2010 - 2020
.. same fields as in Layer 4

Layer 6 -- Tract Code -- Census Tracts

6-1	GEOID	C, 11, 0	Unique geocode (State FIPS code + County FIPS code + Tract code)
6-2	STAB	C, 2, 0	USPS State abbreviation
6-3	TRACT	C, 6, 0	2020 Census Tract Code
6-4	CBSA	C, 5, 0	Core-Based Statistical Area Code
6-5	CSA	C, 3, 0	Combined Statistical Area Code
6-6	ALANDSQMI	N, 9, 3	Land Area, SqMi
6-7	AWATRSQMI	N, 9, 3	Water Area, SqMi
6-8	POP20	N, 9, 0	Total population, Census 2020
6-9	HSGUNIT20	N, 9, 0	Housing units, Census 2020
6-10	MHIA20	N, 9, 0	Median Household Income, ACS 2020
6-11	MFIA20	N, 9, 0	Median Family Income, ACS 2020
6-12	MHVA20	N, 9, 0	Median Housing Value, ACS 2020
6-13	MDRENTA20	N, 9, 0	Median Rent, ACS 2020

Layer 7 -- Tract $MHI -- Census Tracts
.. examine patterns of $MHI .. median household income
.. same fields as in Layer 6

Layer 8 -- Base Layer -- States
.. a global Web-based topographic layer
Layer 9 -- States1 -- States
.. used a U.S. States base layer

Terms of Use .. goto top
There is no warranty, express or implied, for any aspect of use of the VDA Desktop GIS installer, software or data. The user is solely responsible for any use made of the VDA Desktop GIS installer, software or data or use of resulting output. The user agrees not to distribute the VDA Desktop GIS installer, software or data. The user agrees that data provided with VDA Desktop GIS installer is for exclusive use with VDA Desktop GIS software. All features and items in this document are subject to change without notice.