Using the interface

Now that you understand the key terminology associated with the new interface, it is time to start using it. You will start with using some of the tools in the core tabs on the ribbon. Then, you work with different views and the contextual tabs associated with them. Finally, you will investigate some of the panes.

Navigating the ribbon

You will now begin to investigate the ribbon. It is the rectangular area located at the top of ArcGIS Pro. It includes a series of tabs, group tabs, and tools as shown in the following screenshot:

When you first open a new project, you will typically see the PROJECT, MAP, INSERT, ANALYSIS, VIEW, EDIT, and SHARE tabs on the ribbon. Each tab contains tools associated with the name of the tab. For example, the MAP tab includes tools for navigating within the map, adding layers, selecting features, and accessing information about the features in the map.

Let's now begin taking a closer look at a couple of the most used tabs and some of the key tools located within that tab. You will look at others as you move through this book. You will start with the PROJECT tab.

The PROJECT tab

The PROJECT tab provides tools needed to manage the project and configure options. This tab allows you to create new projects, open existing projects, save your current project, and make a copy of your current project. You can also connect to different ArcGIS Online accounts or Portals for ArcGIS from this tab.

New

The New tool will open a brand new project using the template you select. The template controls what is included within the project just as a map document template did within ArcMap. The default project templates included with ArcGIS Pro are Blank, Global Scene.aptx, Local Scene.aptx, and Map.aptx.

The following table gives their description:

Once you create and open a project, you can add whatever maps, scenes, or layouts you wish regardless of which template you start with. These templates just provide you with a helping hand. You can create your own custom templates as well. You will learn how to do that in a later chapter.

Save

The Save tool saves your project including any changes you have made to maps, layer properties, and layouts. This does not save edits you have made to features in your map. Edits you make to create new features or update existing features must be saved using a Save Edits tool located on the EDIT tab.

Save As

The Save As tool creates a copy of your project file with a new name. It does not create a copy of the data referenced by the original project. The new project will continue to point back to the same data sources used by the original project it was created from.

Portal

The Portal tool allows you to manage which portals you are connected to. This can include connection to ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS. The primary portal is used by ArcGIS Pro to determine if you have a valid license and what level and extensions you have the ability to use. Other portals can be used to access data, services, and basemaps, which can be used to create maps and perform analysis within ArcGIS Pro supplementing your own standard datasets.

Licensing

The Licensing tool allows you to see what ArcGIS Pro license level and extensions you have been granted. Once you know what license level and extensions are available, you can then determine what functions you will be able to perform in ArcGIS Pro. Remember that the ArcGIS Pro license level and extensions assigned to you do not have to be the same as the ArcGIS for Desktop licenses you use.

After your initial login to use ArcGIS Pro, you do have the option to use your license offline. This checks out the license to the computer you are currently using and no longer requires you to be logged in to ArcGIS Online or Portal for ArcGIS to use ArcGIS Pro. Do be careful when using this option. If the computer is lost or fails while the license is checked out for offline use, there is no easy way to get it back. You will need to contact Esri Support and have them resolve the issue.

Options

The Options tool allows you to set various ArcGIS Pro user options giving you the ability to customize it. You can set different options for the specific project you are working in, such as the units or for the application in general such as a default basemap for all new maps or scenes added to a project. As you explore each option, you can click on the Learn more about link located at the bottom of the window for more information about the settings associated with that option.

The MAP tab

The MAP tab on the ribbon provides access to tools used to work with both 2D and 3D maps. From this tab, you can add new layers to your map, select features, change your basemap, and so on. This tab combines functionality that was found on the Standard and Tools toolbars in ArcGIS for Desktop.

The MAP tab contains six groups: Clipboard, Navigate, Layer, Selection, Inquiry, and Labeling. Each group then contains tools associated with the name of the group. For example, the Selection group tab includes several tools that allow you to select features in the map using various methods. You can select features directly from the map or based on specific attribute values or based on the spatial relationships between features in one or more layers. You will now take a closer look at a few of the most commonly used tools.

The Navigate group

The Navigate group contains tools that allow you to navigate to locations within the map. This includes tools that allow you to zoom in to areas so that you can see more detail or to zoom out to see a greater area. It also has tools that allow you to return to specific areas within the map.

The Explore tool

The Explore tool is a multifunction tool that allows you to zoom and pan within the map. It also allows you to click on features within the map and retrieve attributes linked to the feature. This tool combines the functions of the zoom in, zoom out, pan, and identify tools found in ArcMap into a single tool.

You use this tool to navigate within your map using your mouse as follows:

• Left click on a feature: This opens the Identify pop-up window showing attributes linked to the feature.
• Left or right drag: Clicking and holding your left mouse button down and then dragging your pointer to the left and right pans your map view in that direction.
• Moving scroll wheel: This zooms map in and out. Scrolling the wheel away from you causes the map to zoom in. Scrolling the wheel toward you causes the map to zoom out.
• Right click and drag: This continuously zooms the map in or out depending on the movement of your mouse.
• Single right click: This opens a menu. The menu that appears will vary depending on where you right-click.
• Hold down scroll wheel and drag (3D map/scene only): This rotates and tilts the map view along 3D axis.

As you can see, this tool works best with a mouse that has a scroll wheel in between the right and left button. Other types of pointing devices can be used, but the functionality may be different depending on your hardware. Some of the buttons associated with this tool can be altered under the Options tool located on the PROJECT tab. For example, you can change the zoom direction of the scroll wheel.

The Bookmarks tool

The Bookmarks tool allows you to zoom to save spatial locations within your active map. This allows you to quickly return to important locations, such as project areas, special event locations, key parcels, and so on. Each map or scene within your project will have its own set of unique bookmarks.

The drop-down arrow below the primary tool will allow you to access the bookmarks that have been saved with the active map or scene. This also provides access to tools in order to create new bookmarks and managing existing ones. There is no limit to the number of bookmarks each map or scene can have.

The Layer group

The Layer group contains tools in order to add new layers or data to your map. Some tools work with both 2D and 3D data. Others work best with one or the other. There are also tools in order to add nonspatial data to your map. These tools use either coordinate values or addresses to show the location of points.

The Add Data tool

This tool allows you to add new 2D or 3D layers to your maps. Added layers can reference various types of data and can come from different locations. It also allows you to add tabular data.

This tool is basically the same as the Add Data button in ArcMap. However, Esri has incorporated some additional options that the old button in ArcMap did not have. The options included with this tool in ArcGIS Pro are:

The Add Preset tool

This tool is used to add new 3D layers to a scene with a predefined set of symbology settings.

Predefined properties are determined from a gallery of defined symbology. ArcGIS Pro comes with galleries for realistic trees, thematic trees, realistic buildings, ground (terrain), icon points, and thematic shapes. Using this tool to add layers makes visualizing data in a 3D environment easier, especially for those that may be new to working with 3D data.

The Selection group

The Selection group contains various tools used to select data including Select, Select By Attributes, Select By Location, and Clear. These tools all work very much like their cousins found in ArcMap though with some subtle differences.

The Select tool

The Select tool allows you to select features from within a map or scene by clicking on a feature or drawing an area.

The drop-down arrow located at the bottom of the tool lets you select what type of area you want to draw. You have options to draw a rectangle, polygon, freehand lasso, circle, and line. This is similar to the Select Features tool in ArcMap.

The Select By Attributes tool

The Select By Attributes tool allows you to select features based on their attribute values. For example, you might want to select all parcels owned by Tripp Corbin or all sewer pipes made of ductile iron. This tool will allow you to do that.

Like the tool by the same name in Esri's older ArcMap application, it creates a SQL where clause. You create the clause in a tool pane normally located on the right-hand side of the interface.

The Select By Location tool

This tool allows you to select features in one or more layers based on spatial relationships.

For example, you might select all parcels located within 100 feet of a road which you know is going to have work done on it, so you can get a list of all those that live along the road. You might select all the roads that intersect or cross a floodplain so you know not to include those in an emergency evacuation plan.

The Inquiry group

The Inquiry group contains tools that allow you to retrieve some basic information about your map. You can measure lengths and areas in different units or retrieve some basic demographic data or even find a point of interest using the tools in this group.

The Infographics tool

This is a completely new tool that allows you to retrieve basic demographic data for the area you select in the map. It will retrieve information and graphs showing average household income or population ethnic makeup.

This tool accesses Esri's GeoEnrichment service, which is connected through your ArcGIS Online login. So, this tool will require you to have an internet connection, be connected to ArcGIS Online, and have available ArcGIS Online credits to work. Using this tool will also cost you ArcGIS Online credits. You should always keep that in mind when using this tool. This tool can also be customized to show specific geographic locations, data collections, and how the data is aggregated.

The Measure tool

This tool allows users to measure length and area by simply clicking on locations within a map. If you are working within a 3D scene, you also have the option to measure vertical distances.

You can change the units used by this tool, so they are different from the units assigned to your map. Even if your map is in meters, you can have the Measure tool provide distances in feet or miles or kilometers. Area units can also be set. Unlike ArcMap, you can still measure areas when your map is in a geographic coordinate system.

The Locate tool

This tool allows you to locate a place using an address or common name. By default, this tool uses the Esri World Geocoder service from ArcGIS Online. This service requires you to have an active connection to ArcGIS Online to work. However, unlike the Infographics tool, it does not use credits. You can add and use your own address locators to your project, and they will then be available for use with this tool.

While the Locate tool uses an icon that is very similar to the Find tool in ArcMap, it is limited to just locating an address or common name. It does not have all the other functionality of the old Find tool. The Locate tool is tied directly to the address locators connected to the project. It is those locators that control what the Locate tool can locate or not.

Exercise 2A – working with the MAP tab

You will now get to take some of the tools we discussed for a test drive. You will see how they work within the new ribbon interface and some of the options associated with those tools first hand. You will start by opening an existing project and using the navigation tools.

Step 1 – opening a project

In this step, you will open a project that has already been created. This project includes a single 2D map with several layers for the imaginary City of Trippville:

1. Start ArcGIS Pro. Remember that you will need to make sure that you are connected to the Internet, so your license can be validated. ArcGIS Pro should remember your user login from Chapter 1, Introducing ArcGIS Pro. If not, log in to ArcGIS Online when asked to.
2. Once ArcGIS Pro starts, click on Open another project.
   
3. Click on Computer under the Open pane. Then, select Browse.
4. Navigate to the C:\Student\IntroArcPro\Chapter2 folder or the location you installed your exercise data.
5. Select the Ex 2A.aprx file and click on Select.

If you have successfully opened the project, ArcGIS Pro should look as follows:

As you can see in the preceding image, this project contains a single 2D map with layers showing city limits, creeks, lakes, and parcels. Above the map is the ribbon that contains the tabs, group tabs, and tools. To the right of the map view is the Project pane. This pane allows you to access various items associated with the project including maps, databases, folders, and address locators. You will work with the Project pane throughout this book.

Step 2 – navigating in the map

Now that you have the project open, you will begin to explore the navigation tools on the MAP tab:

1. Click on the Bookmarks tool and select the Washington Park bookmark. This will zoom you to the location of Washington Park automatically.
2. Click on the Explore tool to make it the active tool.
3. Click on the parcel for Washington Park with your mouse's left button. Continue to hold the mouse button down and drag your mouse toward the lower left-hand corner of the map view until Washington Park is located in the lower left-hand corner. Then, release the mouse button.

   You have just used the Explore tool to pan the map view. As you learned earlier in this chapter, the Explore tool has many uses. Now you will explore some of the other functions of this tool:

4. With the Explore tool still active, click on any parcel within the map view.

   Note

   Question: What happens when you click on a parcel using the Explore tool?

   ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Close the pop-up window that appears.
6. Click on the small drop-down arrow located under the Explore tool and select Visible Layers.
   
7. Click on the same parcel you did in task 4 earlier.
8. Look at the bottom of the information pop-up window. You should see 1 of 2 located in the lower left-hand corner.
9. Click on the small drop-down arrow located to the right of 1 of 2. You should see a list of all visible features that overlap the location you clicked on.
   

   Tip

   The list of features you see and the values shown will depend on where you clicked in the map. So, do not be surprised or worried if what you see in your ArcGIS Pro is different than the screenshot.

10. Click on one of the other values in the list and see what happens in the information pop-up window. You will need to click on one of the unique values listed and not just the layer name. For example, using the screenshot as a guide, you would need to click where it says PERK, not on Parcels.

    Note

    Question: What happens when you click on one of the other values in the drop-down list?

    _________________________________________________________

    _________________________________________________________

    The information window can also be resized and moved if needed. You can even move to another monitor or display. One of the interesting features of the information pop-up window is the ability to pin to the screen. This locks in the current values for that window and opens a new information pop-up when you click on other features with the Explore tool. Let's see how that works:

11. Close the information pop-up window.
12. Turn off the City Limits layer in the Contents pane by clicking on the checkmark next to the layer name. This ensures features from this layer will not show up in the information pop-up when you use the Explore tool.
13. With the Explore tool active, click on a parcel to open the information pop-up window.
14. Click on the pin to screen button located in the upper right-hand corner of the information pop-up window, as indicated in the following screenshot:
    
15. With the Explore tool still active, click on another nearby parcel.
16. Click on the blue title bar of the information pop-up and drag it to another location in the ArcGIS Pro interface.

    You should now see two information windows, as illustrated in the following screenshot. Again, your actual values will most likely differ based on the parcels you selected in the map.

    

    Pinning an information window to the screen allows you to open multiple information windows at one time, so you can easily see the attributes of multiple features at the same time. Feel free to continue to experiment with this functionality. Also, examine the buttons located in the lower right-hand corner of the information pop-up windows. Close all information popups once you are done experimenting.

    You will continue to explore some of the other functions associated with the Explore tool:

17. Click on the Full Extent tool located in the Navigate group on the MAP tab. It has an icon that resembles a small globe. This will zoom to the full extents of the map.
18. With the Explore tool active, place your mouse pointer in the middle of the map view and roll your scroll wheel away from you.

    Note

    Question: What happens when you roll the scroll wheel away from you?

    _______________________________________________________

    _______________________________________________________

19. Now roll the wheel back toward you to zoom back out to see a larger area.
20. Click on the PROJECT tab located within the ribbon and select Options.
21. In the Project pane in the Options window, select Navigation located under Application.
22. Under the Navigation option, you will see different settings for navigation tools. Set the mouse wheel to roll forward to zoom out and click OK.
23. Click on the return arrow located in the upper left-hand corner of the PROJECT tab.
    

Move your mouse pointer to the center of the map view and roll your scroll wheel away from you and then back toward you again. The zoom has now been reversed because you changed the option. Feel free to change the zoom back to the original settings by repeating the process you used to change it. If you preferred this setting then you can keep it.

Step 3 – using the Infographics tool (optional)

Now, let's take a quick look at the Infographics tool. As mentioned earlier, this tool allows you to retrieve demographic information using Esri's GeoEnrichment Service from ArcGIS Online. This does use ArcGIS Online credits. However, the amount used for this step will be minimal. You should use less than one credit by the time you complete this step:

1. Zoom back to the full extent of the map using the Full Extent tool.
2. Click on the Infographics tool in the Inquiry group tab.
3. Click near the middle of the map.

   The Infographics window will open displaying demographic information for the area.

   

   The first thing you will see is the Age Pyramid, which shows different age groups compared with the information for the geographic area indicated in the lower right-hand drop-down cell:

4. Move your mouse pointer over some of the blue or pink bars to see what happens. Then, move your mouse pointer over one of the dots located along the curved line located toward the end of the colored bars.
5. Now click on one of the arrows located on the right- and left-hand sides of the window. This will page you through different demographic data associated with the area shown in the map.
6. Once you are done examining the Infographics tool, click on the PROJECT tab and select Save As.
7. In the Save As window, navigate to C:\Student\IntroArcPro\My Projects. Name your project your name_Ex2A and click on Save.
8. Exit ArcGIS Pro.

So, you have now successfully opened an ArcGIS Pro project, retrieved data, and navigated within the map using the ribbon interface. Now you will move on to contextual tabs.