Improve Arc Catalog Functionality

[SteveH]

The more I work with ArcCatalog to build a Spatial Data Catalogue the more I find out what a difficult and limited tool it is to work with.
Here are some ideas to improve it's functionality and ease of use.

• Auto refresh - having to manually refresh EACH individual folder in each view when ever changes are made is absurd.
• Schema Locks - if the file has been removed from Arcmap, ArcCatalog needs to know this. Having to shut down Arcmap every time you need to use the files in Catalog is a serious concern.
• Geoprocessing tools do not recognise the .vbs or .apl files associated with ArcPad Studio files. Create a new file through a geo-processing tool or try to import/export to a geodatabase and loose all associated ArcPad functionality.
• A "back" button would be nice.
• Delete files to recycle bin!!
• Toggle automatically between Contents and Preview tabs depending on whether you select a folder or a file in the tree-view.
• Improved drag and drop functionality - so often it just doesn't work.
• Keyboard shortcuts like "ctrl c" don't work

[Celeste_SuliinBurris]

The fact I have to quit and restart ArcCatalog just to release a lock is absurd!! Please fix this.

[KenStuder]

Add the ability to zip data from the context menu automatically.  Where shape files have a one to many relationship and perhaps on other related objects, it would be good to be able to select an object (or multiple objects) and have the option to generate a compressed package.

[toddsams]

Delete files to the recycle bin!!

[DavidWheelock]

This will probably not happen.  I am not an ESRI employee.  However, this is my assessment of the current situation.

At this point ESRI has basically put ArcMap and ArcCatalog out to pasture.  They will still be supported and bugs fixed for some years to come, but, most likely, no new features will be added. 

In fact, in the current ESRI road-show/seminar, only ArcGIS Pro, Server and Online are on the agenda.  ArcMap and ArcCatalog are not even mentioned.

If you want a new feature, see if it's in Pro.  If it's not there, create an idea for it to be added to Pro here in ArcGIS Ideas.

[JoshuaSchwartz]

Upvoted for the Recycle bin idea.

[AndrewQuee]

Also see https://community.esri.com/ideas/1293 

[HilaryCampbell]

Hi, David.  At the #esriuc2017‌, attendees were reassured repeatedly that ArcGIS Desktop will be supported for the next few years.  And yes, there will be improvements in the 10.6 release.  Keep in mind, too, that Pro can't do everything that Desktop can, at least not yet.  Esri recognizes that until all the functionality of Desktop is replicated in Pro, they have to keep up with Desktop too.  My suggestion would be to submit ideas in both categories - Desktop and Pro.  If the issue is something that Esri can address fairly easily in Desktop, and if enough users ask for it, they'll probably end up doing it, despite the marketing emphasis on Pro. 

Having said that, at least four of the issues Steve raises in his idea are bugs that need to be fixed.  As you said yourself, Esri will continue to fix these things well into the future.

[AletaVienneau]

ArcGIS Desktop retired on March 1, 2026 so we won’t be considering this idea. We recommend that you migrate to ArcGIS Pro, our fully supported desktop GIS application.

Most of the improvements that were suggested for ArcCatalog are already addressed in ArcGIS Pro, and most of the outstanding suggestions are captured in other existing ideas submitted for ArcGIS Pro, particularly:

• Auto-refresh of a folder’s contents: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/auto-refresh-folders-db-connections-in-pro/idi-p/9341...
• Send deleted files to the Windows recycle bin: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/recover-deleted-files/idi-p/959200

Thank you for taking the time to share your ideas. We truly appreciate your contributions to continuously improving the software to help you do your work and look forward to what ideas you have for ArcGIS Pro.

Aleta