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Preface
Change is never easy, especially when an accustomed way of doing things is challenged by new methods. This book was written to help ArcMap™ users adjust to the new ArcGIS® Pro software. Ten of its 11 chapters cover the most fundamental and commonly used aspects of geographic information systems (GIS). Each chapter includes an introductory discussion of the salient changes, followed by a set of practical hands-on exercises to lead the reader through the process of learning ArcGIS Pro.
ArcGIS®, ArcMap™, ArcCatalog™, ArcInfo®, ArcGIS® Online, and ArcGIS® Pro are trademarks of Esri®. The trademark symbols have been omitted hereafter for ease of reading, but no infringement of rights is hereby intended or condoned.
As the title indicates, this book is written for GIS professionals who already know ArcMap and have significant experience using it. It is not designed to teach beginning users of GIS as it assumes prior knowledge of the terminology, data structures, and procedures encountered by users of ArcGIS software. Rather than teaching each topic from the basics, it focuses on how ArcGIS Pro is different from ArcMap. It aims to quickly enable someone to make the transition, and it can be completed in a few days of serious effort, although additional practice will be needed for the new program to become second nature.
Even experienced users may find their knowledge of certain topics on the weak side. Consulting either ArcGIS Desktop Help for ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro Help for ArcGIS Pro will, in most cases, provide enough background to continue with the exercises.
This book assumes that the user has a license for ArcGIS Pro. An organizational account for ArcGIS Online is recommended, and usually an account will be integrated with the user’s license for ArcGIS Pro. If not, an ArcGISSM Online Public Account may be used for the few exercises that require an account. It does not require access to any additional extensions such as ArcGIS 3D Analyst™ or ArcGIS Spatial Analyst.
The data used in the lessons is freely available and downloadable online and requires approximately 65 MB of space. All the data has been compiled from public sources and is redistributable with attribution to its creators. For information on how to download the data, go to objective 1.1 in chapter 1.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks Esri for permission to use the screen shotsof the ArcGIS Pro GUI, ArcGIS Pro Help and ArcGIS Desktop Help, and basemaps reproduced in the text. Used with permission. Copyright © 2018 Esri, Crater Lake National Park, National Park Service, ArcGIS, ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, Geologic Map of the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, US Geological Survey (USGS), INCREMENT P, © OpenStreetMap, US Geological Survey Scientific Investigations, EarthExplorer, contributors, and the GIS user community. All rights reserved.
Early users of this book and workshop attendees have contributed to the book’s improvement.
The author also thanks the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for a career in teaching GIS, and the many students who challenged me to continually find better ways to explain GIS concepts. Their dedication and enthusiasm have been a lifelong inspiration.
Chapter 1
Contemplating the switch to ArcGIS Pro
Background
ArcGIS Pro will seem both familiar and completely new to users of ArcMap and ArcCatalog. The GUI arrangement echoes the design of ArcMap: the map in the middle, map layers on one side, the data catalog on the other, with menus above (figure 1.1). Much of the architecture and terminology will persist in the new paradigm: geographic data, maps, layouts, geoprocessing tools, tables, joins, and so on. However, the implementation and details of how these functions are accessed and manipulated takes a completely different approach in some cases. For users who know ArcMap well, the experience will be initially frustrating as one searches for familiar tools and tasks that no longer appear in the same spot, or as one gets used to a totally new mindset for some tasks. Too, ArcGIS Pro has only gradually developed the capabilities already available in ArcMap, so it is possible that the feature sought has not yet been implemented.
Figure 1.1. ArcGIS Pro showing a map of Oregon.
However, tapping down the chagrin and opening up to a new way of doing certain things will have its rewards. New users unfamiliar with ArcMap seem to learn ArcGIS Pro more quickly as it follows modern software GUI conventions (a ribbon with tabs and context-sensitive menus). In many aspects, it is more intuitive and more efficient. After some months of using ArcGIS Pro exclusively, I had to return to ArcMap for a month, and my immediate reaction was “Oh my, how clunky.” Hopefully after some practice, you too will grow to like the new software.
System requirements
ArcGIS Pro requires a 64-bit multiprocessor machine with at least a dual core, and a quad-core processor or higher is recommended. Unlike ArcMap, ArcGIS Pro operates in a multithreaded manner, enabling it to take full advantage of multicore computers, which ArcMap could not. Significant performance improvements should be expected in most cases. ArcGIS Pro operates better when more cores are available to it.
ArcGIS Pro requires a minimum of 8 GB of RAM and a good graphics card with at least 2 GB of RAM and 24-bit display color depth. For a complete description of system requirements, consult the Esri product website, http://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/get-started/arcgis-pro-system-requirements.htm.
ArcGIS Pro is tightly joined with ArcGIS Online, a cloud-based system built to encourage sharing of GIS data, workflows, and other resources between organizations and users. It is strongly recommended that the user have an ArcGIS Online organizational account, which provides access to significantly more data and tools. ArcGIS Pro is also designed to run with a fast internet connection. Although the software can be run offline, provided the data sources are stored on the local computer, it will temporarily lose access to basemaps and internet-provided map services. If you’re planning to use ArcGIS Pro offline regularly, such as on a field laptop, it makes sense to limit maps and tools to use only local data on the computer’s hard drive.
Licensing
Because ArcGIS Pro is designed to interact with ArcGIS Online, its preferred method of licensing is an ArcGIS Online organizational account. In this method, the administrator of an ArcGIS Online organization creates a user account and assigns to it an ArcGIS Pro license from among the total number allotted to the organization. Extensions may also be assigned if available. Figure 1.2 shows the screen the ArcGIS Online administrator uses to assign licenses and extensions to a user account. When starting ArcGIS Pro, users are asked to sign into ArcGIS Online using their account, which simultaneously licenses the software and provides users access to any content they have created within ArcGIS Online.
Figure 1.2. Configuring an ArcGIS Pro license for a user’s ArcGIS Online account.
For continuity with previous licensing methods, Esri also offers a concurrent licensing
