In ArcMap, when I calculate geometry on a feature class, it auto-fills a default value for the property I'm calculating (area, length, etc.), the coordinate system for the calculation, and the units of the calculation, all based on the dataset. If I have a pond polygon in a UTM coordinate system, it guesses that I want to calculate the area of the polygon, in that UTM coordinate system, and that I want that area calculated in square meters. Sometimes the default values are wrong and need to be changed, but usually at least two of the three are correct as-is.
In ArcGIS Pro, when I use the Calculate Geometry Attributes tool, all of these parameters are blank. I have to tell it which field I want calculated, the property I want calculated, wait for the UI to load the unit options based on the property I selected, fill out the units I need, and then the coordinate system it should use.
Literally as I was writing this and playing around with the settings, I see that the tool already does 2/3 of the things I want, but I didn't know that until now because it doesn't display the values it's using. Argh!
So in light of that, I have three wishes:
For the property: the vast majority of the time, if I have a polygon, I want to calculate the area, and if I have a line, I want to calculate the length. These are the first properties that show up in the property drop-down list. I wish the first-listed (or otherwise most common) use case would auto populate in the box by default based on the geometry type of the input features. Maybe sometimes the default value will be wrong, but I save time if it's right, and if I have to change it, I lose no more time than I'm already losing.
For the units: auto-fill or display the default units that the program already uses if this parameter is left blank. If the tool defaults to length/area, perhaps this parameter could be programmed to show up automatically (eliminating the lag I experience while it loads), and if the user chooses a different property that doesn't need a unit, it would go away.
For the coordinate system: auto-fill or display the default coordinate system that the program already uses if this parameter is left blank.
Even now, knowing what the tool is doing when left to its own devices, I would still like to have the units and coordinate system displayed. I get a lot of files in awkward coordinate systems and don't always remember to re-project them. Having that awkward coordinate system or its awkward units staring me in the face when I open this tool would help prevent the calculation disasters that will occur if I get sloppy and start assuming that leaving these parameters blank means it's calculating what I think it's calculating.
If anyone thinks that the field name parameter should also have some kind of default value when left blank, I think that's generally what Calculate Geometry Attributes — Automatically generate field name if left blank is asking.
