topic Re: How to identify Basemap layers in the ToC in Python Questions

How to identify Basemap layers in the ToC

AlbertoLaurenti — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 15:02:08 GMT

Is there any way to identify a basemap layer in the ToC using python?

ArcGIS 10.1 - Python 2.7

Thanks in advance

Re: How to identify Basemap layers in the ToC

JakeSkinner — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 18:11:25 GMT

Hi Alberto,

Are you try to identify if an ESRI basemap is a layer within the TOC? One way to do this is to query the layer description. All of ESRI's basemap will have 'arcgisonline' at some point in the description. Ex:

if "arcgisonline" in layer.description:

print 'true'

Re: How to identify Basemap layers in the ToC

AlbertoLaurenti — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 08:20:55 GMT

Thank you Jake.

Yes, I'm looking a way to check if a basemap layer exists in the TOC. Unfortunately what you have suggested does not work: in my MXD I loaded an OpenStreetMap basemap layer and there is no "arcgisonline" word in its description.

Any other idea?

Re: How to identify Basemap layers in the ToC

JakeSkinner — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 12:42:27 GMT

It looks like this is the only basemap that does not contain 'arcgisonline'. You could update the code to include 'openstreetmap'. Ex:

if "openstreetmap" or "arcgisonline" in layer.description:

print 'true'

Re: How to identify Basemap layers in the ToC

AlbertoLaurenti — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 14:25:57 GMT

Yes Jake,

in that way I can identify basemap layer... but only if default description is not modified! Furthermore I still can't identify custom basemaps.

Anyway, thanks again to have (partially) solved the problem.