topic Re: How do I get statistics for a field? in ArcGIS Pro Questions

How do I get statistics for a field?

wilwaters — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 13:47:10 GMT

In ArcMap I just right click a field and I can get the statistics for it... this is not available in Pro, or is it? I can't find it...

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

JoshuaBixby — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 15:33:58 GMT

As you already found out, the statistics you are looking for are not available in the way you are looking for them, i.e., there isn't a "statistics" context menu option with tables. That said, the Summary Statistics tool can generate the statistics you are looking for. You can launch the Summary Statistics tool via the 'Summarize' option in the context menu.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

wilwaters — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 06:11:49 GMT

Seriously? Esri are making work for themselves. Everyone knows this is useful functionality. Just put it all in there already rolls eyes

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

DanPatterson_Retired — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 06:16:39 GMT

Timothy Hales another one for the request pile

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

TimothyHales — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:13:53 GMT

Thanks Dan! Sending this one along as well.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

wilwaters — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 12:21:19 GMT

Not that I want to come across as cranky, but it surprises me that you guys are going about developing this program like this. Wouldn't you want to just take what works in ArcScene, ArcGlobe and ArcMap, put them all in Pro and add the extra web publishing functionality that Pro seems aimed at? Why take away functionality from these separate programs... then inevitably come across complaints from people like me?

I'm confused and disappointed. I really like the concept of Pro and want to start using it but problems like this make it honestly more practical to persist with ArcMap and ArcScene.

Here's an idea, instead of taking away basic functionality which you will inevitably have to add back in again to avoid the risk of people turning to other software (Quantum GIS anyone?) - how about you keep it all in there and make it even easier to use. For example, add a keyboard shortcut for retrieving statistics for a field. That would be the right direction to take.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

JoshuaBixby — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 13:28:04 GMT

wil waters, don't misconstrue what I am about to say as defending Esri, I have ground many axes into sledgehammers fighting their business processes and development practices over the years, but developing a new application like ArcGIS Pro isn't quite as simple as you suggest.

To answer your first question, i.e., why not put everything that works in existing software into Pro and add onto that, users like you and I wouldn't see ArcGIS Pro for another couple years. ArcGIS Pro was mostly a ground-up rewrite, which is a good thing in many ways because it allows some development baggage from over the years to be left behind. Taking functionality from ArcMap, ArcScene, etc... and putting it into ArcGIS Pro isn't just porting code over, it is redesigning or reengineering it in most cases. It took more than a decade to get ArcGIS Desktop to where it is today, I don't think most customers want to wait even half that long before seeing ArcGIS Pro for the first time.

Given Esri is a private company with a billionaire at the top, one could counter my previous statement by saying this is more about money than effort since money can pay for more developers. There may be some truth in that suggestion, but the reality is business people don't become billionaires by spreading copious amounts of money around, which brings us back to prioritization of limited resources. Everyone thinks the functionality he/she uses is the most important in the software. I have never understood the organizational politics or decision making processes of how Esri determines what features get implemented when, so I can't offer a guess as to why this statistics functionality is still absent.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

wilwaters — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 13:46:26 GMT

Glad to hear it's a ground up rewrite, ArcMap feels like the 90s anyway. I really like Pro, it feels so much more intuitive and I work across 3D and 2D all the time so having both viewers right there just makes it feel like the program talks my language. It's just frustrating when little things like this don't get done. I appreciate your perspective on how they're having to spend their resources.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

TylerSchwartz2 — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 14:54:43 GMT

Hard to believe this isnt in ArcGIS pro...

I cant tell you the number of times I do a select by location/attribute and then right click my selected records - statistics, to quickly determine sum, mean, std deviation.

This really really needs to be implemented in AGIS Pro, youve done such a great job with all the other tools and functionality, but this.. is really unbelievable something so useful and so simple hasnt been brought over from ArcMap.

This should be at the top of the priority list for AGIS Pro.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

TylerSchwartz2 — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 14:57:59 GMT

Running summary statistics is very cumbersome (I have to export a new table just to see the sum of my selected records? Really?). Not only that, I cant look at multiple statistics (if I wanted to look at mean and std deviation for the same field for instance).

Before I could easily scroll through multiple different fields for my selected features, with a convenient drop down menu, and see the mean, sum etc. Now I have to export a table, and manually create a SUM, STD DEV field for each field.... what if I have 50 fields I am trying to look through? Now i have to manually setup 50 fields for sum, 50 fields for std dev, 50 fields for std dev, and then export a table and go through it?

Even with a 'ground-up rewrite', you need to examine and incorporate the functionality of the previous software. I love Pro, and have been using it with great delight, but I cant use it in my workflow if it doesn't have this feature. This tool isn't some obscure specialized tool, its something that every GIS user uses on a frequent basis.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

JoshuaBixby — Wed, 25 May 2016 14:15:26 GMT

Using an empty Case field, a user can specify as many fields and statistics on those fields as he/she likes, and the resulting table provides those statistics over the entire dataset. Using the example of SUM and STD DEV for 50 fields, it can be accomplished by running the Summary Statistics tool once. To ensure an empty Case field, make sure either no columns are selected/highlighted before launching the Summary Statistics tool or the ObjectID column is selected/highlighted. This is even easier to achieve calling the tool through Python because you can just omit any Case field arguments.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

TylerSchwartz2 — Wed, 25 May 2016 14:44:14 GMT

Hi Joshua thanks for the reply.

Although I understand that I can export statistics into another table, this is much less convenient than simply right clicking a field name and pulling up all the statistics for the selected (or all) features.

I routinely do things such as select by location, then right click field names and pull the std dev, mean, then select by location again (for a different geography), and do the same thing. Maybe I want to see the sum. mean, std dev of features within a 3 mile ring, then again for the features in a 6 mile, 10 mile and so on. Having to export to a table for every time I make a new selection, then open that table (in excel or whatever) is simply less efficient than it is in ArcMap. It takes much more time and many more steps to do the same thing, and I think the essence of Pro should always be to make things more efficient, less cumbersome, not the other way around.

I just dont understand why this same process cannot be duplicated in Pro, just let us right click a field name and pull the statistics for whatever selection we have. Easy, simple, efficient.

Perhaps I am misunderstanding something, but having to export a separate table (and then open it) is simply more work than how it was. If you can explain to me how the method you outlined is more efficient than it was in ArcMap I would be delighted.

Simply put, this (see attachment) needs to be incorporated into Pro in some fashion. I know you arent an ESRI employee so this criticism isnt really directed at you! I appreciate your contributions!

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

JoshuaBixby — Wed, 25 May 2016 15:04:07 GMT

I understand what you are after, and it will likely get added sooner than later, I think. I occasionally use the quick statistics in ArcMap as well.

As convenient as having statistics readily available in a dialog box can be, it is also very much "ad-hoc" because the parameters to get the statistics aren't recorded anywhere, and the user either has to remember the values or write them down somewhere else. One of the emphasis areas for ArcGIS Pro is the use of tasks "to implement best-practice workflow" and dialog boxes with information don't lend themselves to workflow automation. I know that plenty of people use ArcMap for ad-hoc data exploration or editing, but that hasn't been Esri's focus of ArcGIS Pro to date.

You are obviously passionate about this topic and wanting this functionality. I realize how inconsistent and frustrating Esri's customer engagement can be, but all we can do is continue to stay engaged and use the channels available to us. If you haven't done so already, I encourage you to submit an Enhancement Request through Esri Support and see if ArcGIS Ideas has this suggested already.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

TylerSchwartz2 — Wed, 25 May 2016 15:10:20 GMT

Thanks Joshua, I will. And thank you again for your help on this topic, youve offered a workable solution to getting those statistics, and I thank you for that. Yes the statistics dialog is 'ad-hoc' like you mentioned, but I would like to have that 'ad-hoc' option available. If I want it recorded somewhere then great, I can export it to a table as well. The option is there for the user.

My passion comes from wanting software that 'just works' and wanting to see functionality improved. There may be development reasons for limitations, but for the average user like me, we dont care about those issues. We want efficiency and stability in the software we use. How ESRI accomplishes that is not my care, only that it is accomplished

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

TomMcClintock — Fri, 10 Mar 2017 22:07:27 GMT

OMG. Here it is March 2017, version 1.4.1, and still no "ad hoc" statistics by right clicking on a field. BTW, you don't have to remember or write down statistics in ArcMap from the pop up window, you can copy and paste into other programs.

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

KoryKramer — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:17:29 GMT

Tyler. If you haven't already done so, please up vote this Idea https://community.esri.com/ideas/11923‌

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

KoryKramer — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 19:47:07 GMT

If you haven't already done so, please up vote this Idea Summary Statistics Workflow in ArcGIS Pro‌

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

AZendel — Wed, 03 May 2017 17:25:47 GMT

Please implement this, ESRI!

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

LisaSmith — Wed, 10 May 2017 18:19:37 GMT

Hi Timothy,

This issue hasn't been fixed since this thread started. Any idea of when we might expect one? At the UC maybe? Calculating a stat in Pro is quite frustrating. Like the others have commented, we like and want a quick right-click stats function like the one in ArcMap. I get that the method in Pro allows more flexibility, and I'm a huge fan of what Pro can do, but going through a multi-step process to find the simple sum, etc. of a field is really annoying and time consuming.

Thanks,

Lisa

Re: How do I get statistics for a field?

KoryKramer — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:17:32 GMT

Lisa, we've updated the status of https://community.esri.com/ideas/11923‌ to In Product Plan. I personally can't guarantee a delivery date but the hope would be that this will be included with Pro 2.1 later this year.

Hope this info helps.