Book Image

Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook

By : Donald Eric Pimpler, Eric Pimpler
Book Image

Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook

By: Donald Eric Pimpler, Eric Pimpler

Overview of this book

ArcGIS is an industry standard geographic information system from ESRI.This book will show you how to use the Python programming language to create geoprocessing scripts, tools, and shortcuts for the ArcGIS Desktop environment.This book will make you a more effective and efficient GIS professional by showing you how to use the Python programming language with ArcGIS Desktop to automate geoprocessing tasks, manage map documents and layers, find and fix broken data links, edit data in feature classes and tables, and much more."Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook" starts by covering fundamental Python programming concepts in an ArcGIS Desktop context. Using a how-to instruction style you'll then learn how to use Python to automate common important ArcGIS geoprocessing tasks.In this book you will also cover specific ArcGIS scripting topics which will help save you time and effort when working with ArcGIS. Topics include managing map document files, automating map production and printing, finding and fixing broken data sources, creating custom geoprocessing tools, and working with feature classes and tables, among others.In "Python ArcGIS 10.1 Programming Cookbook" you'll learn how to write geoprocessing scripts using a pragmatic approach designed around an approach of accomplishing specific tasks in a Cookbook style format.
Table of Contents (21 chapters)
Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Getting a list of available printers


Yet another list function provided by arcpy is ListPrinterNames(), which generates a list of the available printers. As is the case with the other list functions that we've examined, ListPrinterNames() is often called as a preliminary step in a multi-step script.

Getting ready

Before printing maps with the PrintMap() function, it is a common practice to call the ListPrinterNames() function, which returns a list of the available printers for the local computer. A particular printer can then be found by iterating through the list of printers and using it as an input to the PrintMap() function.

How to do it…

Follow these steps to learn how to use the ListPrinterNames() function to return a list of the available printers for your script:

  1. Open C:\ArcpyBook\Ch5\Crime_Ch5.mxd in ArcMap.

  2. Open the Python window.

  3. Import the arcpy.mapping module:

    import arcpy.mapping as mapping
  4. Reference the currently active document (Crime_Ch5.mxd) and assign the reference to a variable...