Latest Contributions by DanielGreene

I too am very concerned that ESRI has not yet decided to include Python ADD-INs for PRO.  I recently read the long list of user comments as to whether PRO was ready for the mainstream yet and did not see any concerning python ADD-INs.  If they are not included it will be a big step backwards for ESRI so it is difficult to comprehend.  Perhaps the brains behind the ingenious python ADD-IN tool are no longer available.  I'm not looking forward to dealing with visual studio for the sole purpose of creating a user friendly ADD-IN for my python programs.  I see that python ADD-INs are voted up 1480 points and are still under consideration.  I wonder how many points it would take for this to happen. ... View more

Thanks Dan P.,   I don't know if I will have time down the road to get back to this.  My thoughts are that my python routine using the existing ArcGIS kernel to identify a home range polygon works well and is close to the one generated via the desired kernel.  In reality it is only the scientists who object.  But in reality, there is no absolute correct home range polygon and it could just as well be delineated by a wildlife biologist.  Who is really to say what is the best polygon but I am not a kernel density expert. Dan ... View more

Sorry Darryl, I did misunderstand.  I too will be extremely disappointed if ESRI does not bring python ADD-INs forward to PRO.  It is difficult to understand why they would not.  Your edits do clear up the intent of your comment. Thanks, Dan ... View more

Hi Darryl, I certainly did not mean to sound condescending by agreeing with the previous post and I have great respect for the ESRI staff and their abilities.  I just think that the Python Add-in capability is a great tool and corresponds to ESRI's choice of python as the language for most users.  It is good that the ADD-IN capability is still there in PRO with VS.NET but it seems silly for me to have to deal with Visual Studio only for the capability to generate an ADD-IN based on my python programs.  I guess I can do that if I have to.  I'm sure that ESRI has their reasons for not carrying the ADD-IN capability forward with PRO but at this point it baffles me.  Anyway, very sorry that you may have taken my comment as criticism of ESRI.  ESRI has made amazing progress since command line ArcInfo.  Python has filled the AML gap and beyond.  Python ADD-INs simply make it all better. Dan ... View more

Graphics: Bighorn Sheep Python Add-In HR = Home Range Analysis FA = Foray Analysis CA = Contact Analysis R2Tools Python Add-In SP - Create a database of selected polygons and points for historic CSE point data QO - Query CSE Oracle database for historic tabular point data HT - Calc tree cover percent for a polygon using historic CSE point data NT - Calc tree cover percent for a polygon using new CSE linked point data OG - Calc Oldgrowth Forest using CSE point data WT - Calc Oldgrowth Forest from entered old growth survey walk-through data VC - Copy Veg Cover Data (polygon attributes form) into the GDB loader format CP - Copy Veg Cover data from a checkout or extract database into a GDB loader template or to Veg Cover files RM - Run RMSTAND to generate reports based on a selection of polygons or points in a GeoDataBase R2 - Run Calcs on the detailed vegetation by species data to populate the vegetation summary table in the GDB RP - Generate a series of reports using an Oracle SDE database, or a checkout/extract to a File geodatabase ES - Edit the plant species in the vegetation survey against the legal species list stored in an Oracle database ... View more

"It baffles me that ESRI have to ask what functionality people would use Python Add-Ins for" - me too! ... View more

I sense that the organizations I work with are moving towards ArcGIS PRO.  It will be a shame if there is not a smooth transition for their applications if Python Add-Ins are not available.  I fail to understand why ESRI would not continue to support such a great and user friendly tool.  There may be another application path to take for the software migration other than python add-ons but I fear that it won't be pretty.  The lack of support for an Access DB will also be a problem since that is one way to communicate with other software.  I much prefer a file GDB but there are cases where an MDB is useful.  Some Oracle applications use MDBs as a repository for loading data. I strongly feel that having Python ADD-IN capability will make ArcGIS PRO much more viable and greatly ease the transition for large organizations.  The ease and cost of transition for organizations dependent on ArcGIS will be a key decision point in making the move to PRO. Today I have been testing a Visual Studio add-in created by another developer.  It was developed using ArcGIS 10.6.1.  However, the application has to run under ArcGIS 10.5.1.  I tested using 10.5.1 and it bombed ArcMap.  The only way I could get into ArcMap again was to manually delete the ADD-IN externally to ArcMap.  Now, for this developer to fix it I think it will require uninstalling 10.6.1, installing 10.5.1 and then also getting the 10.5.1 ArcMap external libraries needed for Visual Studio.  Whereas with python, my toolbox that the python scripts are in would likely be backwards compatible (no code changes for python) or I may have to use the existing ArcMap tool to make the toolbox compatible.  I'm guessing that the python Add-In that calls the tools in the toolbox would be just fine also.  If not, the redo would still be easier than with VS.  Yes, the python code will have to be cleaned up some when going to 3.x but as long as Desktop uses 2.x the code should be good.  It seems that with Visual Studio that the code needs to be changed with each new version of Visual Studio.  My reason for sharing this is simply to point out another reason why we need to be able to create python add-ins with ArcGIS PRO. Dan ... View more

Hi Pete, I think there are limits as to what you can use the free version for.  Will someone please clarify. I have a version of VS for my learning curve.  What I have discovered is that VS is more difficult to fully understand than the languages it supports such as VB.NET or C#.NET.  I can easily get into and hack one of those programs once set up in VS but I think I would need a course to understand fully how VS is to work and the variety of different options. Dan ... View more

Kory - I'm glad it is still under consideration.  I have been playing a bit with visual studio but it seems like overkill. Thanks, Dan ... View more

John, Impressive and powerful rationale.  This part is right on;  "This isn't particularly hard but it does add more friction to the Addin building process. You now have to install a whole lot of junk that you'll never use, mess around with XAML and Visual Studio, compilers and all sorts of nonsense that was never necessary with Python Addins."   And this part sticks well with my memory;  "Everybody learn Python!" they said.  "Python is the future of GIS" they told us.  And, this is so true;  "Ultimately, I really think this has been one of the biggest oversights on Esri's part for ArcGIS Professional."  I would add that in my opinion their 2nd biggest oversite was dropping support for a Microsoft MDB.  I much prefer file GDBs but MDB support is sometimes necessary for sharing information. Lastly I truly hope that this will not happen;  "That was when we knew that our Python Addins were gone and weren't coming back." All I can think of for a reason to not support python add-ins is that perhaps that capability is a threat to Visual Studio developers as it does take away some work opportunities.  I don't like to see anyone lose work but ESRI's priority should be what is the best solution for the long term.  I don't think the answer is Visual Studio for python developers.  Who ever created the python add-in capability for desktop did an excellent job.  Perhaps if ESRI won't build it for PRO someone else may have to but I much prefer it to be part of the ESRI software package. Dan  ... View more

Drew, Excellent! Thank you, Dan ... View more

Hi Drew, That is excellent.  It sounds like my buttons could look just like they do in my add-in toolbar.  It would not replace the full functionality of an add-in but it seems like the capability could replicate an add-in toolbar.  I wonder if by default it could pick up the thumbnail used in the metadata description - currently it does pick up the description which is great.  I put the same thumbnail with the description that I use for buttons on the Add-In. Thanks for the information, Dan ... View more

One slick thing about ArcGIS pro is that if you right click on a tool in the toolbox you can add it to the analysis ribbon (gallery).  This works pretty well in that when you hover over it the description that you have in the meta data for the tool will show up just.  Now, if only the image that you have in the description for the tool would show up this would not be a bad alternative to an Add-In.  However, the downside is that a user would still have to set it up for every new project  (It is saved with the project) but once set up it is very visible and works like an add-in toolbar.   The ESRI tools on the analysis ribbon all have nice images but I have even tried using those 32x32 png files in the ESRI directory and the image when adding a tool to the ribbon does not change from the default.  The hover over description is a very nice feature though so perhaps the image capability is on the way.  Regardless - we still need the Add-In but if we don't get it I will probably push for the ribbon route rather then messing with Visual Studio and will try to convince users to forget add-in and move in this other direction (maybe a project template?).   Pull down hover over description works but not the image as is the description - Summary (Abstract) The image I'm talking about is in the tool metadata ... View more

Good Morning, This is how I see the problem. Evaluation of Government Agency Migration from Desktop to ArcGIS PRO Positive:  64 bit processing, benefits of 64 bit processors and memory use, improved tools, python 3.x, easy migration of custom toolboxes, etc., interaction with arc Negative:  Agency GIS Coordinators will no longer be able to build "in-house" Add-Ins and will have to spend money on contracts to create Add-Ins using Visual Studio.  This will be a considerable cost to the agencies compounded over several years and is a step backwards in functionality. The comment in an earlier post is right on: "providing you with an easy solution to extend desktop functionality. " referring to the python Add-In capability.  ESRI - Please don't remove a positive step in the right direction. Dan ... View more

Hi, If we don't get python add-in capability we at least need a replacement for this command that works for desktop: pythonaddins.GPToolDialog(toolPath,'EditSpecies') so that we can bring up the actual toolbox form just as we had navigated through the toolbox and selected the tool.  If we have this capability in PRO then there could be just a small C# ADD-IN button that would call the python program and the python program could call the tools.  You can import a toolbox and call a python script but that assumes that you pass parameters and does not invoke the form. Dan ... View more