Pro: Add the Profile Graph Tool as it works in ArcMap

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31
04-02-2018 07:01 AM
Status: Implemented
Labels (1)
ThomasColson
MVP Frequent Contributor

In Arc, it is very quick and easy for me to draw (not create a 3d line feature), emphasis on click one button and start drawing, a line, hit another button, and have a graph, or 3. Where this comes in handy, in an urgent, time-sensitive situation, is when deciding how to route rescue teams in steep, densely vegetated mountainous terrain in off trail searches. In about 10 seconds I'm able to produce the "yeah, we're not gonna do that" graph, the "well it will be easy coming down" graph, and the "is the helicopter flying today?" graph. I can even (very quickly) do mean things like set the horizontal axis to Logarithmic to create the "doesn't look too steep we can do this" graph. Looks like this has been brought up in the past: Loss of line profile tool in ArcGIS Pro?  , 3D Profile in ArcGIS Pro with no answer, or "Interactive line profiling is not yet available in ArcGIS Pro, it will be added in a future release. Around the 1.2-1.3 time frame.", which doesn't appear to be the case. The existing Profile tools in Pro either take way to many steps, do not produce manipulatable output like you can in Arc unless you choose the Stack Profile tool, and export to Excel, or the Create Chart tool, which does not allow exporting to Excel. Looks like Profile Tools in general need a lot more development before Pro can be considered an "Arc Map Replacement": Elevation Profile ImprovementBatch export profile charts from ArcGIS Pro? , modify defaults for Point Profile Graph , profile graph in ArcGIS pro 2.0 

 

Yes, I can hit the pencil button and "interactively" draw my lines, then I have to wrestle with chart options (make your own), or export the table: neither of which I have to do with the interactive profile tool in Arc. 

Moderator Note

Implemented in ArcGIS Pro 2.7 with the interactive elevation profile tool. See https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/pro-add-the-profile-graph-tool-as-it-works-in-arcmap/idc-p/1010420/highlight/true#M14600

31 Comments
ThomasColson

Where this came from....I have Lidar that covers  my entire jurisdiction, we very often have a requirement to do highly accurate 3D profiles, for example, to determine suitability for a rescue litter on a trail. The ESRI elevation "service" doesn't even compare to the resolution of our in-house DEM. It smooths things out too much whereas the 1 m I use can show exactly where a wheeled litter is not going to work. Just had a request last week for a profile where folks were going to be hiking up and down the same trail multiple times, and we needed to look at the safety aspect of repeat up/down hill hikes. In ArcMap, while complicated, we can produce some pretty detailed results. Not so in Pro. Hoping this existing capability gets migrated!

KoryKramer

Specific piece of ArcMap functionality needed for an ArcGIS Pro tool: https://community.esri.com/ideas/16636-improve-profile-graph-in-arcpro-flash-point-on-line

DrewFlater

The ArcGIS Pro Profile Graph works with any 3D Line data - you do not need to run or use the Esri-hosted elevation data or Profile ready-to-use geoprocessing tool. 

If you already have 3d lines, you just need to right-click the layer and select Create Chart>Profile Graph.

If you have 2d lines and an elevation surface, you first need to run the Interpolate Shape (3d Analyst) tool to burn the z-values into the 2d lines - either at the existing vertices, or at a regular sampling distance. Now that you have 3d lines, you can use them with the Profile Graph chart.

EDIT: Also wanted to point out that since March 2019, the Elevation and Hydrology ready to use services have been FREE- no credit charges to run the Profile, Summarize Elevation, Viewshed, Trace Downsteam, or Watershed ready to use services in ArcGIS Pro or any other client. https://developers.arcgis.com/rest/elevation/api-reference/get-started-with-elevation-services.htm#E...

DrewFlater

As of March 2019, the Elevation and Hydrology ready to use services have been FREE- no credit charges to run the Profile, Summarize Elevation, Viewshed, Trace Downsteam, or Watershed ready to use services in ArcGIS Pro or any other client. https://developers.arcgis.com/rest/elevation/api-reference/get-started-with-elevation-services.htm#E...

ChristophKönig1

it's absoluty not an comfortable way to do this. it's a workaround that produces data, because you have to produce no feature classes and it's slow!

notice: a modern software should be comfortable, fast and intuitive!

RobbynAbbitt

Thank you, Drew.  I am just now circling back to this - it's that time of the semester!  I'll be sure to share this with our students.

JonathanHarvey

This is the problem that finally drove me to make a GeoNet account. I use the ArcMap profile tool frequently while inspecting custom terrain models. The workflow to do so in ArcGIS Pro is just so much more clunkier, slower, and poorly-documented. The ready-to-use Profile tool is neat, but it is also quite limited and murky in terms of how exactly the points are getting extracted from the 'elevation service'...and as others have noted, it is useless for those of us who use our own hi-res elevation surfaces.Plus, when I DO make a profile chart from a 3D line, it doesn't seem that I am able to export the X-Y data table that the chart is made from. This is a huge omission.

Can someone from ESRI give us an update on this? As it is, I am going to have to push my geomorphology class and research group to a different platform for our terrain analysis work.

SeanPearce
ThomasColson

No, since it has a cost associated with it. 

KoryKramer
Status changed to: Implemented

Implemented in ArcGIS Pro 2.7 with the interactive elevation profile tool.

See Ideas in ArcGIS Pro 2.7: Something to Celebrate 

Also check out what's new in ArcGIS Pro 2.7!