idea Arcade: Add $datastore and $map to the Layout profile in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

Arcade: Add $datastore and $map to the Layout profile

AlfredBaldenweck — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 15:46:45 GMT

Please add $datastore (and $map) into the Layout Profile in Arcade. This allows the cartographer to create dynamic expressions drawing on multiple tables in things like dynamic text.

As the linked post notes, this functionality, although not officially supported, was present and functional up until version 3.5. Until that time, people built templates and workflows around the use of $datastore.

Please add $datastore and $map to the Layout Profile.

Re: Arcade: Add $datastore and $map to the Layout profile

DougBrowning — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:19:34 GMT

Big upvote here as we use this a ton. Been working great for years now. It is really the only way to compare across our 15 123 forms for QA reports.

Really need this. Thanks

Re: Arcade: Add $datastore and $map to the Layout profile

LoganShank — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 16:38:31 GMT

Removing the $datastore Arcade profile from ArcGIS Pro Layouts is a significant regression for users who rely on dynamic text expressions to drive quality control and consolidated reporting from multiple related tables. Our team has used $datastore successfully for years to generate one‑page Data Summary PDFs (via map series) that combine values across many layers and related tables and apply custom QA flags. When $datastore stopped resolving in 3.5.5 (“Object not found $datastore”), these summaries and the QC flow they enable were immediately impacted.

Why this matters

Dynamic text beyond Min/Max/Avg/Count: Layouts are most powerful when Arcade lets us query and compare values across related tables and parent layers. That’s how we surface missing, unusual, or inconsistent data in a way crews can act on without opening attribute tables or bouncing between maps.
Production automation: We run nightly jobs to generate page‑per‑site summaries from multiple services and repeat tables; $datastore is the only practical way to stitch those relationships directly inside the layout so analysts see the whole picture in one page.
Performance: Even with >40 expressions per page, layout performance has been acceptable and stable relative to other Pro tasks. Removing $datastore isn’t justified on performance grounds from our experience.

Request

If $datastore must be removed from the Layout profile, please add an equivalent—for example, make $map available in Layout Arcade so expressions can reference layers in the project’s map(s). Today, Layout dynamic text doesn’t recognize $map, and documentation indicates $map availability varies by profile (e.g., popups vs. field calculations). Bringing either $datastore back or enabling $map in the Layout profile would preserve long‑standing workflows without forcing users to re‑platform.

What we’ve tried

Reverting to a prior Pro build restores behavior, but that’s a temporary workaround and not feasible long‑term for enterprise environments.
Re‑implementing in Reports/Dashboards or pre‑aggregating outside the layout undermines the single‑page QC workflow and removes the ability to craft targeted flags from related tables at render‑time.
Attribute rules are not an acceptable solution and do not solve any of the problems listed above.

We’re happy to share sanitized .pagx and a list of expressions illustrating the QC logic. Thank you for considering a path that keeps Layouts a first‑class home for serious data QA.

Below is an example of a Data Summary PDF that is impacted by $datastore being removed, an example of a code snippet using $datastore that has worked for the last 5 years, and an example of how my aprx is set up showing how $map should be an acceptable profile type if $datastore must be removed.

Re: Arcade: Add $datastore and $map to the Layout profile

Thomas_Bennett — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 17:26:08 GMT

This has also broken some of our workflows (dynamic text referencing $datastore layers) so we're now having to keep some map template APRX's version locked until we can determine a workaround or wait for it to allowed/available in Pro again.

Re: Arcade: Add $datastore and $map to the Layout profile

BrianFahringer1 — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:43:29 GMT

I have a number of maps that rely on $datastore to summarize data within the current map extent and to calculate project totals. After the recent update, this functionality appears to no longer be working.

This is a significant issue for me, as I have spent many hours building maps that depend on this workflow. If $datastore is no longer supported or its behavior has changed, it breaks a large portion of my existing maps.

I’m really hoping this is an unintended change or bug that can be addressed. Having to maintain an older version of ArcGIS Pro on a separate workstation just to generate maps that rely on this functionality would not be a practical workaround.