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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:[email protected]@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Web:www.melissahegeman.com/nearc2012
LinkedIn:www.linkedin.com/melissaalbinohegeman
