Map export automation

CoyPotts1

Is it possible to create a script that would zoom to pre-designated bookmarks in the layout view and export a PDF of each bookmark?  I work on projects that have many different areas of data.  Once I'm done editing, I go to layout view, zoom to bookmarks, and print a PDF of each one.  It would be really nice if I could set up a script that would allow me to just click a button on a toolbar and it exports a PDF for me.

I am guessing that I would need to have a prompt for save folder location and PDF save name, but other than that the rest could be automatically set up.

Initially I just want to know if this is possible.  I know the code could be quite extensive, so I'm not asking anyone to write it for me.  I've done some research on it and I can't find a lot about it.  If it's possible, could someone guide me to a good resource for research on the topic, please? 

Thanks,

Coy Potts

Christian_Wells

Dina - I'm glad this script is still helpful for someone a couple of years later. In my script I didn't originally consider seeing the Layout view, however, this should be a simple item to address. What we'll need to do is set the mxd.activeView to "PAGE_LAYOUT" so the MXD shifts to the layout tab instead. Can you try this code instead?

<SPAN class="keyword token">import</SPAN> arcpy  
  
mxd <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>mapping<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>MapDocument<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN><SPAN class="string token">"CURRENT"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>
mxd<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>activeView <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> <SPAN class="string token">'PAGE_LAYOUT'</SPAN>  
<SPAN class="keyword token">for</SPAN> bkmk <SPAN class="keyword token">in</SPAN> arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>mapping<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>ListBookmarks<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>mxd<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">:</SPAN>  
     ext <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> bkmk<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>extent  
     df <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>mapping<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>ListDataFrames<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>mxd<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">[</SPAN><SPAN class="number token">0</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">]</SPAN>  
     df<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>extent <SPAN class="operator token">=</SPAN> ext  
     arcpy<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>mapping<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>ExportToPDF<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>mxd<SPAN class="punctuation token">,</SPAN> r<SPAN class="string token">"C:\Temp\{0}"</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>format<SPAN class="punctuation token">(</SPAN>bkmk<SPAN class="punctuation token">.</SPAN>name<SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN><SPAN class="punctuation token">)</SPAN>  ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍<SPAN class="line-numbers-rows"><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN><SPAN>‍</SPAN></SPAN>

Edit: Here is the documentation I am referencing for the MapDocument Properties in ArcPy Mapping module.

MapDocument—Help | ArcGIS Desktop