I have 6 zones in the United States that I defined by clustering all US zip codes. I now need a shapefile that depicts each of these zones in a different color. Here is an illustration of what I would like the map to look like:
What I am working with: A dataset containing every US zip code, their approx Long and Lat, and their zone designation. I have access to ArcGis 10. My knowledge of the software is limited, but I am a quick learner!
Ideally, what I would end up with is a single shapefile with each of the zones in a different color. The point of this is to use that shapefile in an app, which will project points onto a map of the US. That part I can do, I just need to user to be able to see which zone the point is in.
Best Answer
You need to use the Dissolve tool on your ZIP shapes, with the zone designation as the field to dissolve on. This assumes all your ZIP shapes are in a single shapefile/feature class.
If the ZIPs for each zone are in their own file/feature class, you can Dissolve without any attribute to create a single shape out of the entire zone (or start an edit session, select all polys from one zone, and use Edit > Merge which is different than the Merge GP tool), and then use the Merge GP tool as Farid Cher suggests to combine all the zones into a single file.
The Merge GP tool combines records from separate files into a single file. It does not alter geometries in any way (combine shapes). The Edit > Merge tool will combine selected geometries/records in single file into a single collective geometry/record (which may be multipart).