Step time in layout

[Anonymous User]

It would be really nice to be able to step through time of a map in a layout instead of activating the map then closing it to export it. 

alternatively if it were possible to create a map series based on time data where I could select the start, end, and interval, that would also work

[KoryKramer]

Thank you for posting this idea, @Anonymous User .

If I understand the request correctly, this is already possible to do.  Before marking the idea as already offered, though, I wanted to get your confirmation.  Take a look at this quick video and let us know if that is what you're looking for.

Cheers,

Kory

[Anonymous User]

Hello Kory,

That is helpful but not quite what I'm after as it would require me to make a bookmark for each time rage before hand. that works well if you've only got a few like you show but I've got hundreds of time ranges I need to create maps for and there doesn't seem to be a quick way to do it. 

my use case: I've got AVL data and we have a map layout template and we need to create maps for each hour over a certain area. so I need to set up the time steps then export one, then advance the time step, close the map activation, export the layout, etc... 

if there is a better way to do this, I'm all ears.

Thank you

[JeffBarrette]

Hello Joel,

Another alternative is to use the Python arcpy.mp module.  If you already have a time enabled layer, you can control the time slices using Python CIM Access.

This (Temporal Map Series) snippet is from a set of samples provided at: https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=8772f61319584882bb697ba003030636

# Author: Esri
# Date: March 2020
# Version: ArcGISPro 2.5
# Purpose: This script updates the time window for a mapframe on a layout by
# iterating over 5 year time intervals.
# Notes: - The script is intended to work from a script tool provided with
# a sample project using "CURRENT". To see the changes happen be
# sure to active the appropriate map or layout.
# - Because each time window is a separate result, you must get and
# set the CIM for each iteration.
# - Optionally, each time window can be exported to PDF by
# uncommenting the the last line. You may need to change the
# output folder in the string.

from datetime import datetime

p = arcpy.mp.ArcGISProject("current")
lyt = p.listLayouts('Time')[0]

#Iterate from 1975 to 2010 using 5 year intervals
for x in range(1975, 2010, 5):

lyt_cim = lyt.getDefinition('V2') #Get the Layout's CIM definition

#Iterate though all layout elements to find the MapFrame element
for elm in lyt_cim.elements:
if elm.name == 'Map Frame':
#Set start/end time window
elm.view.timeDisplay.timeValue.start = datetime(x, 1, 1, 0, 0)
elm.view.timeDisplay.timeValue.end = datetime(x+5, 1, 1, 0, 0)

lyt.setDefinition(lyt_cim) #set start/end time

#Update the page name in the script tool and optionally export
arcpy.AddMessage(f'Range: {x}-{x+5}')
lyt.exportToPDF(f'C:\Temp\Time_{x}-{x+5}.pdf')