Allow more customisability in creating/setting up new pro documents and related folders

[christinebrooks]

This may have already been suggested, but it would be a game changer if we had more customisability in setting up/creating new pro documents. Instead of the 2 options we get now (which folder to save new pro document in and what to call it) it would be helpful to be able to customise:

- What to call the pro document (.aprx)
- Where to save the document OR whether you want a new folder created
- What geodatabase you would like to default OR if you would like a default geodatabase created
- What toolbox you would like to default OR if you would like a default geodatabase created

Ive worked at a few places now and the layout structure preferred is 1 single GIS folder per project. It is also preferred to have 1 map/plan per pro document, as saving multiple maps/plans to the same pro document can be hard to keep track of and can result in a very slow experience on the pro document. Its getting very messy having a new folder, gdb & toolkit created for each map/plan, and then it messes with the links when you then try to cut and paste pro documents to different folders. Therefore having more customisability to allow multiple pro documents to be saved under the one folder, like how it can be done with mxd's would be super helpful!

Thanks!

[KoryKramer]

Thank you for submitting this idea @christinebrooks I believe that most if not everything you're looking for is available through the General options > Create projects

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/get-started/general-options.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_D6B5AD4C705B4...

Please try customizing those settings and let us know if that works for you. Thanks

[RickHollatz]

Hi Kory. I'm in agreement with the original post by @christinebrooks that additional options at the time of  new project creation would be a game changer.  I don't find that to be Already Offered.  What is offered at the time of creation is the choice of creating a new folder or not, and what you want the name to be of ALL home items.  What would be nice in the 'Create a New Project' popup is if you could specify individually:

• Name of folder (if option to create new folder is checked)
• Name of .aprx file that will be created
• Name of the .gdb that will be created
• Name of the .atbx that will be created

I can understand the rationale of using a matching name for all items as it may help a user see that they are related (Home items), however, that logic quickly falls apart if you use Save As on the .aprx to create an additional APRX in the same location.  The second aprx file will have the original Home items and will not match in name anyway.

My preference at the time of new project creation would be to always name the created home .gdb and .atbx files something like "Default.gdb", "Scratch.gdb", "Scratch.atbx", "Data.gdb", etc.

The workaround is to 1. Create the new project with the default names, 2. Create new GDB and Toolboxes in the Home folder using the names you want, 3. Set those as the new Default geodatabase and Toolboxes, 4. Delete the ones that were autogenerated.

This is a hassle every time you want to start a new project.

I want to provide one other reason the default behavior is problematic.  That is that exceeding 256 characters for total path length can be problematic in a variety of ways.  When the GDB assumes the same name as the project it is by default way too long.

I may not want a GDB named: CityOfWhatever_RoadIntersectionAnalysis_Phase3.gdb (Matching the APRX name), when I really just want it to be Data.gdb.  

I think the original post was suggesting more options at the time of creation, not workarounds.  And I second that! Thanks!

[christinebrooks]

yes I agree with @RickHollatz, this has also been my workaround method that is quite tedious to do everytime