Book Image

Python for ArcGIS Pro

By : Silas Toms, Bill Parker
Book Image

Python for ArcGIS Pro

By: Silas Toms, Bill Parker

Overview of this book

Integrating Python into your day-to-day ArcGIS work is highly recommended when dealing with large amounts of geospatial data. Python for ArcGIS Pro aims to help you get your work done faster, with greater repeatability and higher confidence in your results. Starting from programming basics and building in complexity, two experienced ArcGIS professionals-turned-Python programmers teach you how to incorporate scripting at each step: automating the production of maps for print, managing data between ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, creating custom script tools for sharing, and then running data analysis and visualization on top of the ArcGIS geospatial library, all using Python. You’ll use ArcGIS Pro Notebooks to explore and analyze geospatial data, and write data engineering scripts to manage ongoing data processing and data transfers. This exercise-based book also includes three rich real-world case studies, giving you an opportunity to apply and extend the concepts you studied earlier. Irrespective of your expertise level with Esri software or the Python language, you’ll benefit from this book’s hands-on approach, which takes you through the major uses of Python for ArcGIS Pro to boost your ArcGIS productivity.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
1
Part I: Introduction to Python Modules for ArcGIS Pro
5
Part II: Applying Python Modules to Common GIS Tasks
10
Part III: Geospatial Data Analysis
14
Part IV: Case Studies
18
Other Books You May Enjoy
19
Index

ArcToolbox Script Tools

This chapter will show you the process of turning a Python script into a script tool. You can take standalone scripts or Notebooks that you have written and turn them into script tools. Script tools can be run as standalone tools or integrated into models. They have a dialog box that looks like ArcGIS tools and contains the parameters for the tool. The parameters in the dialog box can be set to accept only certain data types, with a dropdown list of acceptable parameters to choose from and other ways to assist the user with the tool. This control over how the user interacts with the tool can reduce errors. Creating script tools is a great way to share your scripts, as it allows non-Python users in your organization to run tools you developed for specific tasks.

This chapter will cover:

  • What script tools are and why they are used
  • How to create a script tool
  • Exercise: Turning scripts into tools

To complete the exercises...