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  • Book Overview & Buying Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook
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Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook

Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook

By : Donald Eric Pimpler, Eric Pimpler
4.2 (13)
Buy this Book
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Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook

Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook

4.2 (13)
By: Donald Eric Pimpler, Eric Pimpler
Buy this Book

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)
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Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook
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Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook
Credits
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Credits
About the Author
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About the Author
About the Reviewers
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About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
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www.PacktPub.com
Preface
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Preface
Lock Free Chapter
1
Fundamentals of the Python Language for ArcGIS
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Fundamentals of the Python Language for ArcGIS
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Using IDLE for Python script development
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Python language fundamentals
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Summary
2
Writing Basic Geoprocessing Scripts with ArcPy
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Writing Basic Geoprocessing Scripts with ArcPy
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Introduction
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Using the ArcGIS Python window
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Accessing ArcPy with Python
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Executing tools from a script
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Using ArcGIS Desktop help
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Using variables to store data
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Accessing ArcPy modules with Python
3
Managing Map Documents and Layers
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Managing Map Documents and Layers
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Introduction
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Referencing the current map document
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Referencing map documents on a disk
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Accessing a data frame
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Getting a list of layers in a map document
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Restricting the list of layers
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Changing the map extent
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Getting a list of tables
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Adding layers to a map document
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Inserting layers into a map document
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Updating layer symbology
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Updating layer properties
4
Finding and Fixing Broken Data Links
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Finding and Fixing Broken Data Links
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Introduction
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Finding broken data sources in your map document and layer files
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Fixing broken data sources with MapDocument.findAndReplaceWorkspacePaths()
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Fixing broken data sources with MapDocument.replaceWorkspaces()
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Fixing individual Layer and Table objects with replaceDataSource()
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Finding all broken data sources in all map documents in a folder
5
Automating Map Production and Printing
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Automating Map Production and Printing
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Introduction
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Creating a list of layout elements
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Assigning a unique name to layout elements
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Restricting the layout elements returned by ListLayoutElements()
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Updating layout element properties
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Getting a list of available printers
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Printing maps with PrintMap()
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Exporting a map to a PDF file
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Exporting a map to an image file
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Creating a map book with PDFDocumentCreate() and PDFDocumentOpen()
6
Executing Geoprocessing Tools from Scripts
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Executing Geoprocessing Tools from Scripts
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Introduction
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Finding geoprocessing tools
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Retrieving a toolbox alias
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Executing geoprocessing tools from a script
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Using the output of a tool as an input to another tool
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Setting environment variables and examining tool messages
7
Creating Custom Geoprocessing Tools
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Creating Custom Geoprocessing Tools
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Introduction
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Creating a custom geoprocessing tool
8
Querying and Selecting Data
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Querying and Selecting Data
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Introduction
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Constructing proper attribute query syntax
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Creating feature layers and table views
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Selecting features and rows with the Select Layer by Attribute tool
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Selecting features with the Select by Location tool
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Combining a spatial and attribute query with the Select by Location tool
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Using the ArcPy Data Access Module to Select, Insert, and Update Geographic Data and Tables
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Using the ArcPy Data Access Module to Select, Insert, and Update Geographic Data and Tables
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Introduction
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Retrieving features from a feature class with a SearchCursor
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Filtering records with a where clause
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Improving cursor performance with geometry tokens
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Inserting rows with InsertCursor
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Updating rows with an UpdateCursor
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Deleting rows with an UpdateCursor
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Inserting and updating rows inside an edit session
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Reading geometry from a feature class
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Listing and Describing GIS Data
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Listing and Describing GIS Data
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Introduction
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Getting a list of feature classes in a workspace
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Restricting the list of feature classes returned with a wildcard
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Restricting the list of feature classes returned with a feature type.
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Getting a list of fields in a feature class or table
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Using the Describe() function to return descriptive information about a feature class
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Using the Describe() function to return descriptive information about an image
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Returning workspace information with the Describe() function
11
Customizing the ArcGIS Interface with Add-Ins
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Customizing the ArcGIS Interface with Add-Ins
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Introduction
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Downloading and installing the Python Add-In wizard
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Creating a button add-in
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Installing and testing an add-in
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Creating a tool add-in
12
Error Handling and Troubleshooting
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Error Handling and Troubleshooting
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Introduction
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Exploring the default Python error message
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Adding Python exception handling structures (try/except/finally)
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Retrieving tool messages with GetMessages()
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Filtering tool messages by severity level
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Testing for and responding to specific error messages
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Returning individual messages with GetMessage()
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Automating Python Scripts
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Automating Python Scripts
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Introduction
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Running Python scripts from the command line
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Using sys.argv[ ] to capture command-line input
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Adding Python scripts to batch files
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Scheduling batch files to run at prescribed times
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Five Things Every GIS Programmer Should Know How to Do with Python
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Five Things Every GIS Programmer Should Know How to Do with Python
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Introduction
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Reading data from a delimited text file
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Sending e-mails
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Retrieving files from an FTP server
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Creating ZIP files
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Reading XML files
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Index
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Index

Scheduling batch files to run at prescribed times

Once created, your batch files can then be scheduled to run at prescribed times using the Windows Scheduler.

Getting ready

Many geoprocessing scripts are time-intensive and best run after hours when they can take full advantage of system resources and free up your time to concentrate on other tasks. In this recipe, you will learn how to use the Windows Scheduler to schedule the execution of your batch files.

How to do it...

Follow these steps to schedule a batch file with the Windows Scheduler:

  1. Open the Windows Scheduler by going to Start | Programs | Accessories | System Tools | Control Panel | Administrative Tools. Select Task Scheduler. The scheduler should appear, as shown in the following screenshot:

  2. Select the Action menu item and then Create Basic Task to display the Create Basic Task Wizard dialog box, as shown in the next screenshot.

  3. Give your task a name. In this case, we will call it List Fields from a Feature Class. Click on Next:

  4. Select a trigger for when the task should be executed. This can, and often will be, a time-based trigger, but there can also be other types of triggers such as a user login or computer start. In this case, let's just select Daily. Click on Next:

  5. Select a start date/time as well as a recurrence interval. In the following screenshot, I have selected the date as 12/3/2012, with time as 1:00:00 AM, and a recurrence interval of 1 day. So, every day at 1:00 AM, this task will be executed. Click on Next:

  6. Select Start a program as the action:

  7. Browse to your script and add the parameters. Click on Next:

  8. Click on Finish to add a task to the scheduler:

  9. The tasks should now be displayed in the list of active tasks:

How it works...

The Windows Task Scheduler keeps track of all the active tasks and handles the execution of these tasks when the prescribed trigger is fired. In this recipe, we have scheduled our task to execute each day at 1:00 AM. At that time, the batch file we created will be triggered and the arguments we specified when creating the task will be passed into the script. Using the scheduler to automatically execute geoprocessing tasks after hours without the need for GIS staff to interact with the scripts gives you more flexibility and increases your efficiency. You might also want to consider logging the errors in your Python scripts to a log file, for more information about specific problems.

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