Georeferencing bugs in ArcGIS Pro

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02-07-2019 10:45 AM
Katie_Clark
MVP Regular Contributor

Hello Geonet!

Has anyone else had issues with georeferencing images in ArcGIS Pro? It's something I do on an almost daily basis in ArcMap, and I keep attempting to switch my workflow to ArcGIS Pro to practice using the software since I know Esri is planning on transitioning completely to Pro. 

However, I find the experience to be so buggy that I can't even complete this simple task. After fitting an image to display, I try to pan around and my cursor is stuck on the rotate function, no matter which button on my mouse I click. If I change the transparency of the layer with the ribbon and then use the L keyboard shortcut to turn the layer off/on, the transparency doesn't save and it always goes back to 0%. However, if I turn the layer off/on in the TOC it seems to stick. 

The biggest offender is that when I try to set a control point, once again my cursor is stuck on the rotate function. This has happened so often that I frequently can't georeference the image at all. On my most recent attempt, after several minutes somehow it seemed to change (though I have no idea what caused that to happen) and I was able to set a few control points, but then I opened the control point table and once again the pan function didn't seem to work using either my mouse or the C keyboard shortcut. 

After enough frustration I went back to ArcMap for a completely smooth process and had several images georeferenced in less than five minutes. 

Just want to know if I'm alone in this experience or if there are others who share my frustration? I am eager to embrace ArcGIS Pro and the changes that Esri is promoting, but I can't do this if I can't even complete simple workflows such as this.

Thanks for any thoughts or input!

Best,

Katherine

Best,
Katie


“The goal is not simply to ‘work hard, play hard.’ The goal is to make our work and our play indistinguishable.”
- Simon Sinek
26 Replies
KassandraRodriguez
Occasional Contributor

Hi thanks for replying Simon it's single tiff files but they are saving the reference in Arcmap so I'll just stick to that for now Thank you

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KassandraRodriguez
Occasional Contributor

I logged a case with ESRI #02377502, we tried using 'saving as' but it heavily pixelated my tiffs and so I just walked the process with them on just saving and I was doing exactly what I was already doing but it worked when I opened it back up! However, it went back to not being georeferenced again..kept trying with other tiffs and it only sometimes saves the georeference. I'm using ArcGIS Pro 2.4. I want to use pro cz I like its georeferncing better than arcmaps but it's being super buggy

Can anyone else confirm that it's being buggy for them too or is it just me and my desktop?

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KassandraRodriguez
Occasional Contributor

So there is a bug! When you are working on an image if you keep saving it as your adjusting the image and then close it, it will lose it's georeferencing. You can only save it ONCE then close it and it should work. Simon Woo

•    Bug Number: BUG-000125205

ScottFraser_Key-West
New Contributor II

Thanks for this bug post. Couldn't figure out what was going wrong, but your fix was the solution. Thanks for sharing it. 

Scott Fraser, Key West, FL

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AdamInglis1
Occasional Contributor

I'm having trouble with georeferencing as well.  I'm georeferencing several dozen PDF pages saved to Tiff from Acrobat.  Here is my procedure:

  1. Open a map in Pro with the reference data in the same projection as the PDF files that were saved to Tiff.
  2. Add in a Tiff in the approx location/scale.
  3. Open Georeference tool bar and hit Fit to Display button, rotate if necessary.
  4. Save.

Once I hit save the image disappears.  I can close georeference, hit zoom to image and the image has shifted a full screen to the right.

I was collecting GCPs before saving and having the same issue.

My current work around is:

 

  1. Open a map in Pro with the reference data in the same projection as the PDF files that were saved to Tiff.
  2. Add in a Tiff in the approx location/scale.
  3. Open Georeference tool bar and hit Fit to Display button, rotate if necessary.
  4. Save.
  5. Remove being georeferenced from map.
  6. Go into Windows Explorer and delete the tfwx, tiff.aux.xml, and tiff.ovr just created by the georeferencing session.
  7. Re-add the Tiff to the Pro map.
  8. Open Georeference tool bar and hit Fit to Display button, rotate if necessary.
  9. Add 2-3 GCPs.
  10. Save
  11. Close georeference session.

The bug seems to only happen once to each Tiff and only after saving.

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SimonWoo
Esri Contributor

Adam, Thanks for the information.

Can you upload a sample Tiff, or provide a link to such data?

Thanks!

Simon W.

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MichaelHewitt
Occasional Contributor

I am having similar issues. It just started. I am running ArcGIS Pro 2.5. This started happening to one computer in our office months ago, then another earlier this week and now mine...

Heres the sequence I always follow: Georeferenced a MrSID map, saved and then closed georeferencing in the toolbar.

Outcome: My map immediately disappeared. It's there in the contents pane and it zooms to the right place when I zoom to layer. If I start georeferencing from the toolbar again the map comes back with the control points.


If I clear my map-cache in ArcGIS Pro (which reloads the map file), the map is still in the contents pane, but when I zoom to layer now it goes back to Central America coordinates (as if I never georeferenced it).

I think it has something to do with the aux.xml file... The sequence above made a 6KB AUX.xml file. All the rest of my good attempts at georeferencing make a 9KB file. Upon opening the aux.xml files with a text editor missing <SRS> and <GeodataXform information which includes the projection and control points.

At first, I thought it might be a network permissions issue because with a colleague's computer in our office it wouldn't even create the aux.xml file upon bringing the map image into ArcGIS pro content panel. Then there were times when it would create the aux.xml. Then I felt like it would not update the information after georeferencing maybe because of permission issues? But now we are working from home and all the files are on external drives and it is still happening and now to more of us. So... HELP...

I submitted case #02524546 to ESRI support. Waiting to hear back.

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SimonWoo
Esri Contributor

Was your file read-only (while you were georeferencing)?  So far that is the only case we have identified with this exhibited behavior. 

I will look for your submitted case.  Thank you!

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MichaelHewitt
Occasional Contributor

Sorry, my internet has been out of commission for a few days.  My georeferencing issue went away.  But my coworker used this old thread to fix hers.  Georeferencing Problem - Image disappears when using Update Georeferencing .  She said she thinks it had to do with the World File option.  And, yes, she realizes it was for version 10.2 of desktop not pro 2.5.  

She was methodically going through their suggestions.  Applying a setting, rebooting ArcGIS and then testing georeferencing.  If it didn't work she would back out of the setting and reboot ArcGIS.  She got to the post where bmeyer3 suggests this:

"Customize > ArcMap Options > Raster > Raster Dataset >

and Un-check "Use world file to define the coordinates of the raster"

It didn't work initially after reboot (well it creates a .wld file) and then she unchecked the world file option, rebooted and tried again and noticed the .aux file was updated properly! 

I still can't explain why 2 of our computers temporarily had the issue and it magically disappeared.  It was not creating .wld files for us.  

P.s.  I don't think my files were read-only.  When you check the properties of .sid, .sdwx or the .sid.aux.xml files individually they are not read-only.  But when checking properties of the containing folder has that weird black square inside the checkbox which means some files in the folder may be read-only?  That is why I said something about that in the previous post.  

Thanks

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SimonWoo
Esri Contributor

Hello Michael,

First off, I am glad that your colleague has solved their worldfile issue. And yes, a reboot of Pro is usually needed after you change the Options settings.  

In regards to your issue, please keep us updated if you see the problem again and if you figure out what is causing it. 

Thank you for the update,

Simon W.

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