idea Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

ChristinaLindsay — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 23:49:19 GMT

In ArcGIS Pro it would be nice to only have attribute tables open for a Map that is currently being viewed. I'm trying to take advantage of using multiple maps in one ArcGIS Pro project. In ArcGIS Desktop I created several mxds, but in Pro i combined all these mxds into one .aprx. These mxds had a layer that was the same name in each one, but each contained different data. For example, there was a layer called "MasterFeatureClass" in each mxd, but the data itself was different.

When I imported these mxds into ArcGIS Pro it made it simpler in the fact that I didn't have to open each mxd. The problem is that when I open up "MasterFeatureClass" for a particular map that is on display it still stays up when I click onto another map. It confuses me and I think this is the table for the map that I switched over to.

I tried renaming "MasterFeatureClass" in the Table of Contents to make them unique so I would know which table belongs to which maps. However, I have a python set up and it didn't like when I renamed the labels. I also tried grouping the attribute table to the same tab as the map. This works, but not if I'm viewing more than two maps since it will get cluttered.

To avoid confusion it seems the only way is to close each map and only have one open at a time. This works, but it would be nice to have more than one map if they are both needed.

So having the attribute tables open for only the active map would be helpful.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

BrianBulla — Tue, 23 Apr 2019 18:23:51 GMT

A great idea. I also have had many issues when having many tables/maps in the same .aprx file. It often gets very confusing.

Even a toggle button within the Options to enable/disable only viewing the tables for selected maps would be great.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

ThomasColson — Thu, 09 May 2019 16:22:14 GMT

I would caution...to make this an option. There are many use cases that support having the atty table from multiple maps open at once.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

alex_friant — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 15:09:01 GMT

One UX idea is to use color coding to create a visual relationship between a table and the map it is associated with. You could have 16 basic colors (nothing crazy). Once you assign a map a color (i.e. purple), the tab which contains the map's name would turn purple, and all tables associated with that map get purple tabs.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

DanielleKulas — Mon, 13 Jan 2020 18:46:05 GMT

I like the color coding option. It can get confusing when you have multiple maps in a project, especially if they contain the same datasets... if I have an attribute table of a layer in one map open with various selections made, then go to another map containing that same layer and the attribute table is still open, it's easy to think there should be some selections in the second map, for example.

In addition to being able to better differentiate between open attribute tables and which map(s) they belong to, it would be nice to have the option to enable selections carrying through to different maps of the same project, if the data is coming from the same data source.

Make tables and charts context-specific

d484648 — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 23:45:58 GMT

It would be great if, when opening a table or creating a chart from a feature in a map, the table or chart only stays up on the workspace as long as that particular map is at the forefront. And then, if you switch to a different map within the project, those tables, charts, etc. disappear until the map that they're connected to receives focus again. So when you're looking at a map or layout, you're only seeing the tables, charts, etc that pull from the features of that particular map or layout.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

KoryKramer — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 23:59:02 GMT

@d484648 we recognize that there is an opportunity to improve how to tell which views are related to other views! I just wanted to note, however, as ThomasColson noted above, that there are valid use cases for keeping something like an attribute table open even if it's related map is closed. So that won't be the solution to this, but we will look at design improvements to make this a better experience.

Thank you!

Changing Attribute Tables should activate the associated map

ThomasHoman — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 19:03:20 GMT

The UI should be modified to change the focus to match on all 3 major UI Panes (Map, Table of Contents, Attribute Table.) Consider the case of an open Pro Project with multiple maps and associated feature classes. It is reasonable to expect each of the maps might have one or more attribute tables open.

The TOC Pane does change the focus of either the Map or the Attribute Table Section but activating a tab in either the Map Pane or the Attributes Pane will update the TOC Pane but, unfortunately, neither the Map nor the Attribute Panes update the focus for each other.

This presents a real problem if there is a common dataset between two maps. In my case, where I have an address point feature class attached to multiple maps I may select features on the map and then edit a different attribute table thus editing incorrectly.

My Idea: Have the tabs in the Map and Attribute table panes be visually coupled. Activating a Map tab should visually identify relevant attribute tables and vice versa.

Respectfully,

Tom

Re: Changing Attribute Tables should activate the associated map

Marie_Ducharme — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 19:19:27 GMT

I totally agree...I have been thinking about this "issue" but was not able to formulate a quesion/suggestion. Thanks Thomas for posting

it can get really messy if two different maps have a same layer, with different definitions queries...

Re: Changing Attribute Tables should activate the associated map

CMV_Erik — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 15:19:44 GMT

Associating the tables with their maps somehow is a great idea. On complex projects I can have different versions of the same map, so there's no way to be sure which I'm looking at. Best solution I have right now is to close all the attribute tables, but that precludes switching back and forth or comparing.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

alex_friant — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 20:44:24 GMT

that there are valid use cases for keeping something like an attribute table open even if it's related map is closed. So that won't be the solution to this, but we will look at design improvements to make this a better experience.

@KoryKramer, I have noticed that when you close a map now, in Pro 3.0.2, all associated tables close with it. I'm not sure if that's a new behavior, but it's definitely happening now.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

janrykr1 — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 23:49:22 GMT

Yes please. We need this function. Can it be option of the attribute table pane to sync the tables shown with the active map?

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

StaciDratler — Sat, 10 Dec 2022 03:07:39 GMT

This would be very useful! Or at least be able to dock the attribute table in the map view like another frame or view with in the map frame.

ArcGIS Pro, Attribute table - Coloured separator, which map/scene is table belonging to

DavidVelhartický — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:39:00 GMT

By more Maps opend in one ArcGIS Pro, I´m usually lost, which Attribute table belongs to which map / scene / ...

Please, set a possibility to be able to identify, which Attribute table is connected to which map/scene - for example by a colored table/map/scene name section, which you click when you want to see/activate this o that window.

Thank you.

Toggle table display with map

DavidGifford — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 03:15:56 GMT

When an attribute table from a layer in say Map 1 is opened, the table remains visible even after switching to another map (say Map 2). If both Map 1 and Map 2 have the same layer name it can become quite confusing as to which table is linked to which layer in which map.

In certain circumstances it would be useful to link the table display to the active map, so that switching between maps also changes the table display (or no table if an attribute table hasn't been opened in a map). This would certainly remove the ambiguity of always displaying the attribute table/s regardless of the active map.

I can see the benefits of allowing attribute tables from various maps to always remain visible, so there should be the flexibility to define this.

Perhaps the ability to dock an attribute table within the map frame itself, while keeping the existing table functionality, is all that is required?

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

RandyCasey — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 23:28:09 GMT

I would rather have the option to control which tables can or cannot stay visible with an associated or unassociated active map. This could be as simple as "pinning" a map (i.e., a pin icon on the table's tab) so that it stays visible regardless of which map is active. I would even settle for right clicking the table's tab and selecting a command like "Pin table", or "Remain visible while switching maps". Similar functionality to this has been done before. The colored tabs idea is good but would be a vision accessibility barrier for those who have difficulty discerning colors.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

JaredMitchell_RIDOT — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 19:49:47 GMT

Something to identify which tables belong to layers in the currently active map would be very welcome.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

Samuel_McAuley — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 00:08:53 GMT

I like the colour idea, however for me this functionality is as much about identifying which table is associated with which map as it is about just reducing screen clutter when working on multiple tasks across different maps. Sometimes I am jumping between tasks and would really like to have a separate map to separate the tasks at hand and it is really annoying having the attribute table from another map on the screen when it is not relevant to what I am doing in that moment.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

JeffMoen — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 23:15:02 GMT

I'm looking for a solution to this as well. Hoping they come up with something.

Re: Only show attribute tables of active Map in ArcGIS Pro

alex_friant — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 23:58:37 GMT

I kind of feel like making multiple Pro projects might be the solution listening to the workflows described in this thread. That way you can keep things organized how you want them and you know what map tables belong to because they are right there in the same Project app. Pro makes it tempting to load it with 8 maps and 32 layers and open them all, because you can. But that might not be the best approach if you need to look at all that at the same time.