idea Export Layout to Project Folder in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

Export Layout to Project Folder

LeoLadefian3 — Tue, 09 Nov 2021 00:31:34 GMT

Currently ArcGIS Pro default export location is the last place something was exported to globally. This should be set to the last place something was exported to for each project, similar to ArcMap. The default should be the project folder.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder - Status changed to: Open

JeffBarrette — Tue, 02 Feb 2021 18:58:47 GMT

Thank you for your idea. This has come up before and it is something we are investigating. An interim solution was we changed the export dialog so you have easy, single-click access to the project folder in the browse dialog.

Would you be satisfied with project level path or would you want each layout to remember its saves output path? Other settings? For example, one layout your always save to PDF, another layout TIF, etc.

Jeff - Layout and arcpy.mp teams

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

tbfp — Tue, 09 Feb 2021 19:46:41 GMT

Strongly agree that this functionality should be a priority. Having to reset this every time we change projects is aggravating and leads to exported files ending up in the wrong locations. To @JeffBarrette question above, project-level file paths make more sense to me than layout-level file paths, as in our workflows a given deliverable often includes several layouts that need to be compiled in a folder.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

JeffBarrette — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 18:42:53 GMT

@tbpf thanks for your comments. I do want to follow up though. Obviously people have different needs and that is what makes this more complicated. Defaulting to the Project root doesn't necessarily prevent you from having to browse every time. For example, if you have an OUTPUT folder under your project folder, perhaps that is what you would like to have remembered specific to all layouts in the project. And if a project is large enough, it is possible some layouts might want to get exported to different locations. Do you see any harm in persisting at the layout level? If all layouts are going to the same place anyway, I don't see the harm.

Jeff

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

wayfaringrob — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 21:44:50 GMT

@tbfp totally agree, this little detail is catastrophic in practice and we also are constantly exporting our maps to the wrong projects and having to hunt them down. Many GIS professionals are juggling several unrelated projects at a time, which makes this setting (and the persistence of panes) really frustrating.

I would suggest defaulting to the project folder on the first export. That way, if that's someone's preference - great. Click export and be done. If they want to change that, they can, and the layout should remember that location for next time - not the application. I could also see a case being made for using that user-defined location as the default for any subsequent layout exports within the project, and then each of those layouts retaining their own location once set - but that could get thorny quickly. There could also just be a part of settings where the user can set their preference - remember export location at the layout, project, or application level.

As far as having different layouts export in different formats - perhaps some sort of 'preset' or 'favorites' functionality could help for those that would like that.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

LeoLadefian3 — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 00:29:31 GMT

the original intention of the idea was to mimic arcmap export rules, which for each mxd would bring you to the last place you exported from that mxd.

Unfortunately the idea implemented in pro uses a global setting. So the most recent export location from any project you last worked on is being used, very confusing.

Export Layout should not default to last export folder for different projects

SWM_Halphen — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 15:43:49 GMT

ArcGIS Pro options are very helpful most of the time when working in a project. You may define project home folders, default geodatabases, default toolboxes, and save locations, but none of them affect where your layout is saved by default. Many of us work on multiple projects at a time and we share frustration when exporting a map and it defaults to the last exported location, no matter if it is related to the current project. I suggest that ESRI makes better use of the Home folder system and default all exports to the default Home folder for a given project. It is annoying to export a map to the wrong folder because it is pointing to the location of a different project.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

MichelleWilliamsERM — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 16:50:02 GMT

Would Esri add a folder inside the Default folder of the project like this;

PDF
Tiff
Excel
Mobile Maps
etc.

And when these files are exported, they always go here?

Two other options could be to save to the Document folder and the Desktop.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

tbfp — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:20:43 GMT

@JeffBarrette I have no objection to layout-level persistence, so long as layouts default to the project folder or a logical subfolder thereof the first time they are exported. What needs to be eliminated is defaulting to the last folder used globally, which may have a non-descriptive name like "Export", "PDFs" or similar and which a user can easily export to without realizing they're exporting to a completely wrong project file. In a consulting context with many simultaneous projects this is a not-uncommon error for junior (and occasionally experienced!) staff to make, resulting in other team members being unable to find project outputs and/or using old and incorrect versions.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder - Status changed to: Under Consideration

AubriOtis — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 17:19:37 GMT

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

wayfaringrob — Fri, 11 Mar 2022 21:20:31 GMT

@SWM_Halphen I agree - if we're going to have these folder structures that are supposed to hold all our project materials at least by default, it would make sense if they, well, held all our project materials at least by default.

And @MichelleWilliamsERM - that's a great idea, or even just an "Exports" folder and we could customize the structure from there.

The next hurdle would be making sure that you can open these exports in the appropriate application (the Windows default) from Pro. I've proposed this for .txt files, but now that I think of it, you can manually add any type of file to ArcCatalog and I'm not aware of a way to do this in Pro.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

Anonymous User — Thu, 01 Sep 2022 20:51:18 GMT

While this likely wouldn't address every scenario other users have, it would be helpful if the path could be saved in the .xprt preset file introduced in 3.0.

My specific use case is a MapSeries. I need each exported PDF to follow this naming convention: {ACCOUNTNUMBER}_{CUSTOMERNAME}. To accomplish this I have an attribute field that supplies the file name, which the MapSeries then uses as the page number. When exporting I use the "Multiple PDF Files (Page number as suffix)" setting, and then delete the layout name from the export path ('.../.pdf'). Having to delete the layout name is tedious as the path resets if you navigate away from the export pane.

I appreciate being able to save the MapSeries export settings in a .xprt preset, but excluding the path from the .xprt seems like an oversight. A checkbox to have the path included in the .xprt would preserve the standard functionality. If there was a path parameter that could be manually entered in the .xprt file that could be an interim step while a GUI implementation is developed.

I realize this could likely be accomplished in Python, but the same argument could be made about the parameters currently included in the .xprt file.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

Marie_Ducharme — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 01:09:36 GMT

OMG....I'm so grateful to the ESRI user community. I was at my wit's end this afternoon, after once again, sending the pdf of my layout to the wrong folder.

I switch projects quite a bit, working on different aprx files every day, and the layout exports need to be saved in different folders

I finally made up my mind to suggest this...I was procrastinating, as it seemed a difficult thing to explain.

To my great pleasure, I realized that this has already been suggested. Thanks, @LeoLadefian3 for taking the time to suggest this and to all who contributed to this idea.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

tbfp — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 17:08:43 GMT

@JeffBarrette and @AubriOtis - what's the status of this request? Last discussion on this issue - which has continued to pose operational challenges and cause lost work product, wasted time, and unnecessary stress and confusion for our project teams as described above - was close to a year ago. I strongly urge you to include a fix for this in a patch/version update as soon as possible.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

AubriOtis — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 20:54:35 GMT

Thanks for all your concern and feedback. I know how frustrating it can be when you export something to the wrong location and can't find it. I don't have an update on if or when this idea will be implemented currently. I'll let you know when I learn more. Thank you for your patience!

Cheers,

Aubri

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

LeoLadefian3 — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 01:12:12 GMT

thanks for chiming in, it's been a while and I'm still struggling with this issue.

Exporting Layouts: Default location Home Folder

AlfredBaldenweck — Tue, 13 Jun 2023 19:46:27 GMT

As it currently stands, whenever you open the export Layout window, the default location will be wherever the last place you exported that file type to, rather than the project's home folder.

As a result, things get saved in entirely different project folders on accident.

I would like to have the default location location be the home folder when first opening the export pane, and then maintain any folder your change it to for the duration of your session, meaning that it will reset between each project's session.

Ideally:

Open Project 1
Open Export Pane
1. The default location is Project 1's home folder
Change export location to Documents\Send_to_Sally
Export
Open Project 2
1. The default location is Project 2's home folder
Close Pro entirely
Reopen Project 1.
Open Export Pane
1. The default location is Project 1's home folder

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

D_AnneHammond — Fri, 12 Jan 2024 22:47:40 GMT

Please just make ArcPro retain the last export folder path IN THAT SPECIFIC PROJECT. Much of Esri's construct is Microsoft-related so this doesn't seem like it would be a difficult thing to do. Either way, the Global default filepath change occurring upon every export from any project is clearly problematic for many users.

Re: Export Layout to Project Folder

StewartMPM — Thu, 23 May 2024 19:45:03 GMT

Even if there could be a default export folder the same what they there is a default home folder and default .gdb for each project. Then it would automatically populate in each project when exporting.

Add ability to set a Default Folder for Outputs in Catalog

RTPL_AU — Fri, 31 May 2024 23:22:57 GMT

Add the ability to add a folder and set as default for all map or layout exports e.g. to pdf or jpg.

Make this a one right click and one left click operation i.e. when you right click on a folder in Catalog have the option to select "Add to Project and Make Default for Map & Layout Exports".

This will be a separate folder to the other Pro Default Folders & things.

Having to reset the export for every project and every file type every time you change a project is not efficient.