Quick Import To Memory
Sometimes you want to get complex data into an ArcGIS Pro session, but on a trial basis - say into the built-in memory workspace, for inspection and investigation in maps and/or table views.
Pro's Analysis ribbon Data Interoperability controls include the Data Inspector and Quick Translator apps, which support viewing and translation, but these run outside the Pro process, and while informative, require extra steps to make use of the data in Pro.
ArcMap had a concept of an "interoperability connection", which could cache data locally, but wasn't as performant as you might like. However, it inspired this post, so hats off to ArcMap once again!
See below a simple model (in the Pro 3.4 toolbox in the blog download) that leverages the Quick Import system tool, delivered with ArcGIS Data Interoperability, which will read any of hundreds of formats of data supported by the extension, and any you have configured as custom formats, and write the data into the memory workspace for instant access in your Pro session.
The processing is simple. A Quick Import tool supports the data source input parameter, which lets you pick a format and source location. What is saved in the tool is an example of GeoJSON at an API URL with filter parameters - building permits issued in Vancouver, BC to date in 2025:
Quick Import creates an intermediate file geodatabase which submodels inspect for feature class and table outputs:
The found data object paths are returned to the parent model and exported to memory, then collected to be model output parameters. The Collect Values model tool has the handy property that it suppresses visibility of output parameters so they don't clutter the model dialog when run as a tool.
The intermediate file geodatabase is cleaned up when the data is in memory.
See in the Contents pane a feature class and table (a few GeoJSON features without geometry) were output by Quick Import and exported to memory.
So that's it - an easy button to get complex external data into Pro! There are a few limitations, principally that selecting multiple input datasets will result in the processing of only the first. Datasets like the GeoJSON example saved in the tool which result in multiple outputs should work.
To support complex logic in this workflow, you can use custom formats. See also here. Custom formats let Quick Import work with raw data using any logic built into the format by an external ETL workspace.
Please comment in the blog with your observations!
