When looking at the GIS map, you notice four different areas on the screen: left, middle, right, and bottom (Fig. 1).

Left Hand Area:
The left hand side contains the tools. By clicking on different tools, you can manipulate the map in different ways. For instance, you select the zoom-in tool by clicking on it. Then, move your mouse over the area on the map you want to zoom in on, and click and drag a box around it. The map will change to show the area you clicked on in more detail.

Middle Area:
The middle area is the map. This area is where the map picture is displayed, and where you click using the different tools to change the picture.

Right Hand Area:
The right hand area lists the layers that are available for that particular map. Layers are types of information. For instance, the layer "Interstates" contains major roads that go through the map area.
Notice the two buttons next to each layer: visible and active. Only layers that have their "visible" button checked will be seen on the map. To make a layer disappear or become visible, check the "visible" box and then click "refresh map".
The other button, "active", allows you to use certain tools on that layer. Only one layer at a time can be active. For instance, if you want to see all the streams in the area, click the "active" button next to the layer "Streams". Then, select the "zoom to active layer" tool on the left hand side. The map will refresh and show you the full extent of all the streams in the area.
To see what the map legend (shows what all the symbols on the map mean), click on the legend/layer list tool in left hand tool section. The layer list on the right hand side will change to show you the map legend.

Bottom Area:
The fourth section, the bottom, is where information about the layers is shown. This area is usually blank until you run a "query" or "identify" on a layer. For instance, if you want to get more information on a particular stream, make the "Streams" layer active by clicking on its "active" button. Then, select the "identify" tool from the left hand side. Next, move your mouse to the map and click on the stream that you want more information on. The information for that particular stream will appear on the bottom.