nearc2012

AUTOMATING ARCGIS TO EMPOWER NOVICE USERS AND INCREASE

PARTICIPATION

Melissa Albino Hegeman

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

What can you automate?

Exporting maps Adding and removing layers Changing data sources Change symbology Create map books

Why automate?

Keeps you from doing repetitive work Saves time, and focus for more novel

tasks Reduces error Allows more people to participate Allows you to control more elements of

your maps

What’s the problem?

There is no consistency in our maps

What’s the problem?

There is no consistency in our maps Colleagues are reluctant to use ArcGIS,

so most mapping tasks fall on me

Why aren’t people using ArcGIS? They don’t know where to start It is intimidating There is a sharp learning curve No training is being offered

How do I encourage my colleagues to use ArcGIS?

Remove the barriers to participation Positive reinforcement Regular communication and training

Map Automation!

ArcGIS and map automation Create custom tools using arcpy and

arcpy.mapping Limit choices and narrow their focus Help them get the desired result on the

first try Explain what you are offering and get

feed back to improve it

Custom Python Script Tools

Organize things in a way that make sense to your end users.

Biotoxin Map Project

Limit user choices Auto-populate fields Very specific help text

Biotoxin Map Project

Returns Python list

Biotoxin Map Project

Biotoxin Map Project

What if a new area needs to be closed (that doesn't have a pre-authored map)?

Create a new map file from a pre-authored one. This ensures that data frames, text elements, etc. are named properly and will work with the pre-existing tool.

Other ways we are using map automation We have similar tools in the works to

create other standard maps (conditional shellfishing program, sampling station and regulatory maps).

We are also looking into automating some analysis and QC

But, are people using it?

I've gotten a lot of positive feedback so far.

Shellfisheries staff seems to be embracing it.

But I don’t know how to code

For basic Python: http://www.codecademy.com

ESRI makes it easy to get started with samples: http://goo.gl/9nTfF

All of my code is available at: https://gist.github.com/mhegeman

Contact Info

Email:melissa.hegeman@gmail.commaalbino@gw.dec.state.ny.us

Web:www.melissahegeman.com/nearc2012

LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/melissaalbinohegeman