Project Templates (APTX): Have option to store only references to File GDBs

[AlfredBaldenweck]

See here for reference

An APTX file is just a fancy project package.

As a result, by default, it wraps up and copies anything used in the project UNLESS it is in an enterprise GDB (and possibly a service?). What then happens is that you end up with a million copies of big things like DEMs.

I recently asked about this at the UC and was told that this was intentional; the logic being that data stored in file geodatabases is not meant to be multiuser. 

That's fair. However, that completely ignores the use case of a single user making project templates for their own personal use. I certainly don't need a new copy of my DEMs every time I open a new project.

Currently, the workaround is to save map files and layout files and then just pull them in to the project.

What I'd prefer is a toggle during the APTX creation to just preserve references to the data.

[TaylorGreenup]

I completely agree with you Alfred! Something has happened with the upgrade to Pro 3.2 that now entails identifying an unpacking location for using an .aptx file. This was not the case when I created the .aptx file in 2.9 that I've been using. As far as I can tell, the files that get unpacked are not needed for the operation of the resulting .aprx. So it's basically creating 'unpacked' files that I end up needing to delete.

Please, please ESRI  include Alfred's toggle suggestion and also eliminate the unpacking. If unpacking is needed, make creating a folder for the resulting .aprx a requirement and unpack items in subfolders here. But again, I don't quite understand what the purpose of the unpacking folder is if deleting it has no effect on the resulting .aprx.  Thanks!

[AlfredBaldenweck]

I asked about this again the Dev Summit. It looks like at the very least, APTXs store references to services, enterprise GDBs, and files on network drives now (including file geodatabases). That's good news.

That being said, I want to be using these templates for my own personal use, which includes data on my own hard drive, which I don't want duplicated. So, halfway to the desired result, but I do want to reiterate that we need the option of storing references to personal physical drives, rather than just services, enterprise GDBs, and network drives.