ESI Toolbar

You can use the suite of Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) tools to assist you in viewing and querying regional collections of ESI maps (ESI atlases) that have been published in geodatabase format. We recommend downloading the ESI Toolbar, which includes the entire suite of tools. Version 2.0 of the tools works with ArcMap 10, Service Pack 2.

Note: All atlases published since January 2006 are available in geodatabase format. Many of the earlier atlases have also been updated to include this format. On our page, Download ESI Maps and Data, you can see if your area of interest has geodatabase files available.

This page covers the following topics:

  • Overview of the ESI tools
  • Downloading the ESI tools
  • Creating an ESI Toolbar
Overview of the ESI Tools

There are five ESI tools:

  • Query by Location Tool: This tool provides a drop-down menu of the available biology and human-use layers on the ESI map. After you select a layer, you can view the species or the types and names of the socioeconomic and management features present in a particular area. You may also set the fields in the biology and socioeconomic tables that you would like to view.
  • Query Biology by Attribute Tool: This tool allows you to query a biology layer by attribute (such as species, state and federal status, monthly presence, and/or breeding status). With this tool, you can locate species of special interest in a particular area, such as where a spill trajectory indicates that there may be heavy oiling.
  • Seasonal Summary Tool: This tool allows you to summarize a region of interest and generate (1) a text report, (2) an 8.5 x 11 inch map layout, and (3) a new geodatabase that contains the requested subset of feature layers and tables. Aside from a region of interest, you can specify a particular seasonality to be used in summarizing the biological resources.
  • Report Generator Tool: This tool allows you to generate (1) a Resource at Risk report, by exporting records you have selected in your biology table to a tab-delimited text file, or (2) a summary report of ESI shoreline segments you have selected, also to a tab-delimited text file.
  • Metadata Viewer Tool: This tool launches your PDF viewer software and opens the metadata file associated with your ESI map. The metadata file is provided in the atlas directory transferred from the ESI CD/DVD or downloaded.
Downloading the ESI Tools

Each tool can be downloaded independently; however, because they complement each other, we recommend that you download them all and create an ESI Toolbar, as described below. This option will download a single zip file that has the DLL files for each of the tools.

Each tool is in compressed format as a self-extracting zip file: LayerSelect.dll; BiologyQuery.dll; SeasonalSummary.dll; RARReport.dll; and MetadataView.dll. [Need help with compressed files?]

Once the files are unzipped, place the DLL files on your hard drive. For consistency, you may want to place them in the directory where most of the ArcGIS DLL files reside: ProgramFiles/ArcGIS/Bin.

Creating an ESI Toolbar

Note: If you are running the Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating system and are unable to load the ESI Toolbar using the following steps (i.e., you get a message that "no tools were added"), see the additional notes below. After you have saved the uncompressed DLL files to your hard drive, launch ArcMap. To install the ESI Toolbar on the ArcMap toolbar:

  1. Right-click on the ArcMap toolbar and scroll down to Customize (or choose the Customize option under the Tools menu).
  2. Select the Toolbars tab on the Customize window.
  3. On the right side, click the "New button" option.
  4. In the New Toolbar dialog box, name the toolbar "ESI Tools". Choose Normal.mxt in the "Save in" option, and you will be able to turn the ESI Toolbar on and off from any ArcMap document.

Once the toolbar is created, you need to add the ESI tools:

  1. Select the Commands tab on the Customize window.
  2. Click the "Add from file" button. Navigate to the ESI DLL files on your hard drive. Select one of the files and click Open to add it to your available commands. Click OK.
  3. Click the icon next to the ESI tool and drag it onto the ESI Toolbar. Release the mouse button when your cursor becomes a vertical bar. (You need to release the mouse button at or before the last icon on your toolbar.)
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for all of the ESI DLL files.
  5. Exit the Customize window.

Additional Notes for Windows Vista and Windows 7 users: To install any ArcMap DLL, you must have administrative privileges. The following approaches may be needed to successfully load the ESI Toolbar if you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7.

  1. Launch a new ArcMap session by right-clicking on the ArcMap icon and choosing "Run as administrator." Follow the steps provided above to load the tool. Once it is loaded, you can launch ArcMap as a user and the ESI Toolbar will be available.
  2. If the method described in the previous step did not work, try the following: As an administrator, go to Control Panel > User Accounts. If the User Account Control (UAC) box is checked, uncheck it and restart your computer. (Once you've installed the DLL file according to the rest of the instructions above, you can recheck the UAC checkbox and restart your computer to turn the UAC security back on.)
More Information about ESI Maps

ESI Maps: More information about ESI Maps, which serve as quick references for oil spill responders and coastal zone managers.

Download ESI Maps and Data: Find out what ESI products can be downloaded for free.

ESI Toolkit: Tools and resources for ESI maps.

Esri: Visit the Esri homepage to learn more about their GIS products.

Last updated Friday, March 17, 2023 1:33am PDT