Using the NRCS Soil Data Viewer V3.0

Instructions for setting up and using the NRCS Soil Data Viewer, in conjunction with SSURGO (soils) data.
 

Pre-requisites:

1. Microsoft Access software, either Access 97 or newer and Microsoft Word 97 or newer)

2. Current soils data from NRCS download site.
NOTE: If you have an older version of soils data (pre-November 2001), Soil Data Viewer will not work!

3. Soil Data Viewer may be run with or without ArcView.  For use with ArcView, the 3.x platform is required!!

Before starting, download the required files from applicable website:

1. Soil Data Viewer software: Two versions are available. One version is part of Customer Service Toolkit/Soil Data Viewer designed for NRCS field offices running CCE computers. The second version Soil Data Viewer 3.0 Stand-alone (32 MB) is designed for installation on non-CCE computers of other agencies, partners, or public: http://www.itc.nrcs.usda.gov/soildataviewer/updates.htm

2. SDV Stand-alone version 3.0 Installation Guide and User Guide (same webpage): http://www.itc.nrcs.usda.gov/soildataviewer/updates.htm

3. SSURGO County Soils Data: http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/
NOTE:   Download tabular and spatial data for desired county or survey area, along with the soil template database “soildb_US_2002” (or 2000 or 97 depending on the version of Access you are using)

4. If you had previously downloaded soils data, the template database may be downloaded separately from: http://soildatamart.nrcs.usda.gov/Templates.aspx
Select template database “soildb_US_2002” (or 2000 or 97 depending on the version of Access you are using)

IMPORTANT TIP:  Since a new, empty template database must be used for each soil survey area, before proceeding, make a “master” backup of the template(s) for later use with soil data from an additional county.

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS

1. Install Soil Data Viewer by extracting "SoilDataViewer3_0.zip" and running "setup.exe"

IMPORTANT: Soil Data Viewer must be installed on the C:\ drive of computer, and must be installed under an “Administrator” login! For Windows XP Users: The standalone version of the Soil Data Viewer does not run under Windows XP!   XP users must first adjust the properties for the “setup.exe” installation file (Properties-Compatibility) by designating “Run this program in compatibility mode for Windows 2000”. Refer to the Installation Guide if necessary.

2. Extract the downloaded SSURGO data (.zip file), which will create a folder for the data (ex. “soil_ky049”)
     a. The soils tables are stored in the “tabular” sub-directory
     b. The soils polygon shapefiles for use in ArcView are stored in the “spatial” sub-directory, and are named (Ex.)“soilmu_a_ky049”

3. Open a new, empty MS Access soil template database for either Access 2002, 2000, or 97. (“soildb_US_2002.mdb”, “soildb_US_2000.mdb” or “soildb_US_97.mdb.mdb”)

IMPORTANT TIP: Since a new template database must be used for each soil survey area, before proceeding, make a "master" backup of the template(s) for later use with soil data from an additional county. 

4. At prompt, type in path to the directory containing soil tables (from step 2 above)(Ex: C:\SSURGO\soil_ky049\tabular.  This process will “populate” the template database with the county soil data!

5. Rename the updated .mdb file to desired name.  It is now ready for use. (Ex. “SDV_county_name_2002.mdb")

6. To use with ArcView, both the database file and the soil shapefiles are required:
     a. Access database (Ex. SDV_clark_co.mdb)
     b. ArcView shapefiles (Ex. soilmu_a_ky049.shp)

7. Unzip sdv3sug.zip for Soil Data Viewer User Guide, which provides detailed use instructions (“SDV3standaloneUsersGuide.doc", MS Word format)

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Opening Soil Data Viewer:

Without ArcView:

To run from Desktop:    Start - Programs - USDA Soil Data Viewer

With ArcView:

To run "map version" within ArcView: Add the soils polygon theme (Ex. “soilmu_a_ky049.shp) into an ArcView session and activate the Soil Data Viewer extension (“File – Extensions” from the menu). The Soil Data Viewer icon will be available once the user makes the desired soil theme “active” in ArcView.

Note: The first time Soil Data Viewer is started, user will be prompted to browse to the location of the desired county Access database file (Ex. SDV_clark_co.mdb)

IMPORTANT NOTICE for ArcView Users: Stand-alone version of Soil Data Viewer may not load properly if ArcView software is not installed on C: drive!!   Refer to the Soil Data Viewer “Issues & Solutions” section on the web for more detailed instructions: http://www.itc.nrcs.usda.gov/soildataviewer/issues_solutions.htm
  

For additional information, please refer to the User Guide or the Soil Data Viewer webpage: http://www.itc.nrcs.usda.gov/soildataviewer

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