Add ArcMap parity to composite locators with multiple primary fields
Seeing if there's any larger demand for this capability. Originally this got logged as a bug but was resolved as As Designed. Recently confirmed with Esri support that they are not planning to reach parity with this ArcMap capability.
In ArcGIS Pro, it does not appear possible to create multirole or composite locators that allow you to use different primary fields. The specific use case we had in the ArcMap days was using a composite locator to first attempt to geocode a table using an address field and then falling back on the parcel number if that failed. This was really helpful when geocoding data from non-spatial systems because while the parcel numbers were usually right there could be typos or errors in the address since they were hand typed. Here's an example of a dummy table we might get.
In ArcMap composite locators, you can specify multiple primary fields and determine which locators use which of those fields. So using the data sample above, we'd have the address point locator use the ServiceAddress field to geocode and the parcel locator use the ParcelNumber field.
In ArcGIS Pro, whether creating a multirole or composite locator, it does appear this is possible. I'm wondering if this is a problem for other people and if you have any use cases or other scenarios where you need to geocode using multiple address, parcel number, POI, common name, or other such fields?
I should note that I was able to find a workaround by creating a feature locator for the parcel instead and using that in the composite locator. This ends up being clunky though because the locator still defaults to single field, and then when switching to multiple fields it lists all of the address inputs and a generic Name field at the end that is not intuitive to know that's where you should add the parcel ID field.
@JohnNergeBrooklynPark It is possible in Pro to do what you are looking for, it just requires a different workflow in formatting your data. The service address and parcel number should be in the same field in the table and this field should be mapped to the Address field when you geocode the table with your multirole locator that contains PointAddress or StreetAddress role for the street addresses and Parcel role for the parcel numbers.
@JohnNergeBrooklynPark @shildebrand , I was able to figure out a different workflow using the Rematch Addresses pane to address geocoding a table formatted like below using either a multirole locator or a composite locator of locators created with the Create Locator tool. In this case the multirole locator would use the PointAddress and Parcel roles.
1. Geocode the table with the multirole locator using SingleField, mapping the ServiceAddress field.
2. Open the Rematch Addresses pane and Select Add or Modify Locator from the Locators drop-down menu.
3. Map the Single Line Input field to the ParcelNumber field. This maybe the IN_ParcelNumber field depending on what Output Field option was chosen when geocoding the table originally.
4. Click the back button to go to the main pane
5. Click the Menu burger button > Predefined Queries > Unmatched Addresses or create a custom query.
6. Click the Auto Rematch button to rematch the selected records.