Tag Archives: Python

Are you sure Intersect is the right tool for the job?

Are you sure Intersect is the right tool for the job?

I often talk with people using ArcGIS Geoprocessing who find themselves surprised about the amount of time the Intersect tool takes to run, or confused about the output results.  Much of the time this confusion comes from a misperception about what tool to use for the analysis, or from a lack of understanding of what the Intersect tool does.

Here’s an example… A user contacted me about the Intersect tool because the tool would run for hours and then fail. They perceived their data as small and really thought Intersect would only take a few minutes.

My first question, and one you should ask too is, “What do you really want for a result?”

The answer in this, and many cases was “I want to know how much of each feature in input 1 is in each feature in input 2.”

Cool!  That means Intersect is not the right tool to use! Continue reading

Posted in Analysis & Geoprocessing, Python | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Updating ArcGIS.com Hosted Feature Services with Python

More organizations are moving towards using ArcGIS.com hosted feature services to serve data. One common task that has become a popular question of late is, “How do I automatically update the data within this hosted service?” For example, your organization may want to push nightly updates to keep synchronized with the daily changes made by your Desktop users. One of the easiest ways this can be done as this blog describes, is by overwriting the feature service completely with an updated one.

The following Python script demonstrates how to:

Continue reading

Posted in Analysis & Geoprocessing, ArcGIS Online, Python, Services, Web | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Python scripting with 64-bit processing

Last week 64-bit Background Geoprocessing was made available for download. We’ve had a few questions from keen Python scripters who want to “get out of the application” and use their big data crunching scripts in 64-bit. If you’re one of those keen scripters, all you need to do is make sure you’re executing against 64-bit Python; no other special commands or tricks needed. Continue reading

Posted in Analysis & Geoprocessing, Python | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

The new ScratchGDB and ScratchFolder environments

scratchFeatureImage

One of the enhancements to the 10.1 release was the addition of two new environment variables (scratchFolder and scratchGDB) as mentioned in the What’s New for Geoprocessing in 10.1. (If you haven’t read it, check out all enhancements!). While new … Continue reading

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Hydrologic Modeling Application

Thumb

by David Northup, GIS Analyst, Integrated Spatial Solutions Inc. (ISSI) The modeling application was designed for a hydroelectric power production system in CA.  The system is located in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains, and is comprised of 6 major reservoirs, … Continue reading

Posted in Electric & Gas, Hydro, Water Utilities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Multiprocessing with ArcGIS – Approaches and Considerations (Part 1)

OneMillionPoints

The multiprocessing Python module provides functionality for distributing work between multiple processes on a given machine, taking advantage of multiple CPU cores and larger amounts of available system memory. When analyzing or working with large amounts of data in ArcGIS, … Continue reading

Posted in Analysis & Geoprocessing, Python | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Clip, Zip and Ship your image service, using Python

IS_ClipShip

Here is a Python sample that can be used to clip items from your image service, package them into a mosaic dataset with all the metadata field values, and then ship them to a client or colleague. As with all … Continue reading

Posted in Imagery | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Field mapping and Python scripting

Field Map in the Append (Managemnet) tool dialog

A number of geoprocessing tools including Spatial Join (Analysis), Append (Management), Merge (Management), Feature Class To Feature Class (Conversion), and Table To Table (Conversion), have a parameter for controlling how fields from the input dataset(s) are processed and written, or … Continue reading

Posted in Analysis & Geoprocessing, Python | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Drop All Representations Tool

Drop All Reps

Representations allow you to build complex symbols and add dynamic effects to meet your organization’s cartographic specifications. During the process of building these you may end up creating multiple representations. By using the recently released Drop All Representations tool you … Continue reading

Posted in Mapping | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

First Python Add-in for ArcGIS for Maritime: Charting

Introduced with ArcGIS 10.1, Python Add-ins provide the newest mechanism for customizing an ArcGIS Desktop application (e.g., ArcMap). These add-ins take scripting to the next level by providing the ability to incorporate user interface elements (e.g., buttons, tools and toolbars) into the customization.  Continue reading

Posted in Oceans & Maritime | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment