A fresh calendar year is upon us, and one of my goals this round is to give ArcGIS Pro a legitimate shot at being the go-to desktop GIS application. (TBD...)
As increasingly more development goes into ArcGIS Pro, we as GIS professionals are beginning to actually consider the gradual shift away from ArcMap. Many of us have dabbled with Pro by now, and many of us have been more or less disappointed by either our machines’ lack of drawing performance or the program's lack of familiar places or functions.
In an effort to help ease the transition, or maybe increase your interest in doing so, I wanted to share a few of the bright spots I've found within Pro.
Schema management
We all know that no schema is a catch-all, and often we’re going to make modifications depending on our workflows, systems or vernacular. Typically, this has been done from ArcCatalog or the ArcCatalog window - both which work fine but are limited as far as real-estate goes.
In Pro you can work directly within the map (project) to update or modify schema. Simply right-click the layer or table you wish to work with and choose the schema type under Design. New pane(s) open, and you can select an item from you wish to modify and work while your project is open in front of you. And you can resize the panes you are working within – you’re not limited to viewing only a small handful of rows:
Editing schema in ArcGIS Pro
Editing Feature Services
In ArcMap, you could accomplish this through creating a “disconnected copy for editing” and then synchronizing upon completion, or through python scripting workflows. An advantage in Pro is that you can edit services directly in desktop without just adding the data from your location of choice, Portal or ArcGIS Online, and get started. And one of the most useful things I’ve found is that you can copy and paste data from an outside source into your live service - a very nice tool, especially if you are working with ArcGIS Online-hosted data.
Copy & Paste into feature service using ArcGIS Pro
Working in 3D
Many of us are still searching for that perfect (and feasible) workflow or use for 3D. While I may not have that answer for you, I will say you can convert 2D to 3D very easily in Pro. Here is one way to quickly test the water; maybe it will spark some ideas for further exploration:
1. From Map Properties add an elevation surface (DEM for example)
2. From the View tab choose Convert. A new 3D map will be added to your project.
3. Choose Link Views and adjust your panes as desired to keep both maps in the same space:
Linked views in ArcGIS Pro
While your PC (or habits) may not be completely there yet, there are perks to using ArcGIS Pro. I hope these examples will give you some ideas for your own use!
