Latest Contributions by RobertStevens

I have been using this service for a while now to geocode addresses. It is described somewhat in this URL (and other pages navigable from it) https://developers.arcgis.com/rest/geocode/api-reference/overview-world-geocoding-service.htm The service creates many output fields, many of which seem to be completely useless as they are always blank. Others seem redundant. My questions to the group are two: 1. Is there a better geocoder to use (that doesn't cost extra money!)      One would think that an online service should be the most up-to-date. 2. More importantly, is there, in the configuration of this geocoding service, a place      where one can specify that one doesn't want certain fields? Some other geocoders      do seem to have that configurability. At the moment, I subsequently run the Delete Field tool to remove many of these fields (those in red below). Sure, I could just leave them; but they occupy space and when one looks at the data one has constantly to scroll umpteen times to the right to see the actual non-geographic data that was in the original dataset. I suppose I could just hide them. I list the fields here (not in order). Those in blue seem useful (even if not to me). Those in red seem useless (I find many of them are blank) Status Score Match_type Match_addr Addr_type AddNumFrom AddNumTo Side X Y DisplayX DisplayY Xmin Xmax Ymin Ymax Type PlaceName Place_addr Phone URL Rank AddBldg AddNum StPreDir StPreType StName StType StDir StAddr Nbrhd City Subregion Region Postal PostalExt Country LangCode Distance ARC_Address ARC_Neighborhood ARC_City ARC_Subregion ARC_Region ARC_Postal ARC_PostalExt ARC_CountryCode (As you can see, there are a hell of a lot of these fields, and there seems to be redundancy in meaning). It would also seem that if one deletes these fields one might not easily be able re-geocode the addresses. I have not tested that, though. ... View more

Preamble. Running Arcgis and Business Analyst 10.4 on a MacBook Pro with parallels, Windows10 VM with 8G dedicated, having just upgraded windows from windows7 and at the same time 10.3.1 to 10.4 I first try to use Business Analyst tools for a new study. Strange, all the menu options are greyed out, and when I try to run a tool BA reports that I have no license available. Well, I had one in 10.3.1. ArcGIS Administrator reports that I have a single use permanent license for BA desktop. I open a chat session describing the problem. After 15mins it becomes clear that nobody from ESRI is going to be at the other end of the chat. Perhaps there was a glitch. I try again, and wait 22 minutes. Still nobody. I have now expended 90+mins with nothing done. I file a written bug report and try to do other work, without using BA. Next I try to make a union of layer of polygons with one of ESRI BA .bds layers. The software reports that it is trying to find setup.msi in order to perform 64bit background processing. I had already installed this option when I upgraded to 10.4, and the directory used to unpack the software (which presumably contained setup.msi) no longer exists. I try to cancel the operation, but it won't allow me to. I click cancel, and it goes right back to asking me where setup.msi is located. I am stuck in an infinite loop. The only solution is to kill ArcGIS. I lose all the prep work I had done prior to attempting the union. That is another 90+ minutes down the drain. I try to move on to something else. I draw a map of Portland using the basemap layers from BA but at a smaller scale than I usually employ. I find that the Columbia/Willamette rivers do not display. Portland looks as though it is just dry land. After some digging around I find that at a scale of 100-150K the layer which is responsible for drawing rivers is actually pointing at the oceans dataset. Another 90+ mins gone.  The basemap has already been incorporated into dozens of frames in several different maps, and so will take me a few more hours to correct, even were I certain about what the correct dataset should be. I try to use GeoNet to report the problem and get a web page which doesn't display correctly (the box where I enter tags is scrolled of the screen, and there is no SUBMIT button visible). After quitting and reentering GeoNet, I am finally able to post a message (See elsewhere). Eventually, after normal East Coast hours, I get an acknowledgment from ESRI about the BA license bug. Maybe tomorrow it can be fixed. The whole day is done, and I have accomplished nothing. I feel as though I am doing the job that ESRI QA should be doing, and not being paid. Let me ask fellow users, and ESRI. Is this acceptable?  I say no. Without doubt, this company has the worst QA department that I have ever encountered. Bugs which I reported years ago remain unfixed. Every single time I upgrade ArcGIS I run into a a new slew of problems and most of the old ones. The software performs like a dog; every time I save a map I am greeted with a spinning blue circle to upwards of 3 minutes. maps redraw for no reason, while at other times when they should redraw one sees the mysterious "cancelled" announcement. Many tools seem to take an eternity even to present a dialogue window to get the parameters. This is just not good enough. Rob Stevens NSW Corp. ... View more

Has anyone else noticed that the hydrology layers in Business Analyst 2015 do not display at certain map scales? Specifically the water areas in the  hydrology for the scale range 150-100K do not display. And, indeed, when I look to see what data set is referenced I find the feature class "MapOceanArea" instead of "MapWaterArea". I think there are other mistakes also. I was using BA 10.3.1 with the 2015 data when I discovered this. Since there are multiple feature classes that might be the correct one (named MapWaterArea_[123]) I am not sure how to fix the problem. And I now, of course, have to fix it in multiple maps and multiple frames. ... View more

Can someone answer this question for me.   Preamble: running ArcGIS desktop 10.3.1  with Business Analyst 10.3.1 2014 and 2015 data.   In ArcGIS, in one of my maps, on the Geocoding toolbar dropdown list I see a number of geocoding services listed. Thus on one of my maps I see these:      World Geocode Service (ArcGIS Online)      MGRS (Military Grid Reference System)      USA Geocoding Service      BA Online Locator      USA_LocalComposite   World Geocode Services is an online service. How ArcGIS desktop knows about it is beyond me -- but it is the services I usually employ MGRS is another mystery that I cannot find anywhere on my local machine. We have never used the any military specialty extensions BA Online Locator seems to also be an online service: I don't think we have a license for it, and I don't know why it shows up USA_LocalComposite is a local locator and comes with the BA2015 data USA Geocoding Service is also a local locator and comes with the BA2014 data   On a different map, the dropdown list shows items 1,2,3 and 4 from my list above, but not item 5.   In ArcCatalog, when run the Geocode Addresses tool (ArcToolbox=>Geocoding Tools=>Geocode Addresses) I see only the MGRS locator in the dropdown list. I understand how I could access the two locators that come with Business Analyst but I have no idea how I can tell it to use the online World Geocode Service nor do I don't understand why I get two different lists of possibilities.   So can someone answer these questions: 1. Why do I get different dropdown lists? 2. What is BA Online Locator and MGRS ? And why are they showing up? 3. How can I tell the tool in ArcCatalog to use World Geocode Service ? 4. How do these dropdown lists get populated in the first place ? 5. Why do different maps show different dropdown lists? 6. Is there some special config file that I need to edit by hand?   Thanks Rob Stevens ... View more

This comment applies specifically to the tools "Spatial Join" and "Dissolve" in the toolbox of ArcGIS desktop. (I am running 10.3.1) The interface to these tools allows one to aggregate fields (eg. take sum or mean or median or...) when multiple feature classes are dissolved or when multiple target feature classes match the criteria for a spatial join to a target class. Sound good? Well, no, not really; not as implemented. For each field that you wish to aggregate you have to specify how you wish to aggregate it, or whether to ignore it in the dissolve/join. I have some Business Analyst (BA) datasets. I want to dissolve the data by combining multiple census tracts into a larger geographic area of my own definition. The BA dataset has about 3000 fields. Many of these are things like population counts in various age ranges (hundreds of fields, if not thousands) That means that I have to point and click myself through 3000 fields specifying for each whether I wish to ignore it or how to aggregate it. Are you going to pay my carpal tunnel treatment bills? Either my understanding of the python interface is at fault, or that interface is totally unusable. (Aside: And BTW why isn't there a tool to join a target dataset to various source datasets on a common field, but to aggregate the data when there are many source records matching the target record). Would anyone from ESRI like to comment? ... View more

I swear that every day I use ArcGIS I seem to find a new problem. Here is the latest. Preamble Running ArcGIS basic 10.3.1 on WIndows7 VM under parallels on MAcbookPro. I have a feature class  that was created from Business Analyst BDS Demographic Layer of Census Block Groups (CBG) by removing many of the fields which were not of interest and by limiting the CBGs to only those in 3 states (spatial join). As a result of this data reduction two new fields are added: Shape_length and Shape_Area. I was puzzled that the values in Shape_Area did not remotely agree with a BA field named Land Area, not did the ratio between them seem to be any sensible conversion ratio like SqMiles/SqMeters. So I used a tool in ArcCatalog, Tools=>Data Management Tools=> Features=>Add Geometry Attributes which enables me to calculate something called the Area Geodesic. I choose as units square meters, it calculates the result, which indeed did not agree with the existing Shape_Area field. OK. So just to check I thought I would just run the tool once more. I delete the field just calculated and invoke the tool again. Now the tool dies. Questions 1. Whenever one selects a subset of features  from a data source and exports those features     to a new feature class (mine are all in a file geodatabase), new fields are added. In my case     the features are polygons, and the new fields added are Shape_Area and Shape_Length.     Why? If I wanted those fields I could use tools to calculate them. 2. What is Area Geodesic anyway? Is it more or less the same as the area assuming flat earth?     (for a small region, say the size of a census tract or block group) 3. The values in these fields did not appear to be correct. Because quite a bit of time has elapsed     since this feature class was created I cannot remember details such as whether the layer     was re-projected to a different PCS or GCS. But how could the values be incorrect?     Do they change if the PCS changes? 4. It is impossible to remove these fields. The "delete" button is greyed out. Why?     I don't want them, and aren't they available as the "hidden" geospatial parameters     in a feature class anyhow? 5. If one takes the newly created feature class and make a further selection,     select by location, and export that new subset of feature, those special fields     Shape_Area seem to be created a second time. So now I have two of them! 6. The Add Geometry Tool is now failing after working the first time     I have screen captures of the results from this tool on the first (successful) invocation    and the second (and all subsequent) failing invocations. They are attached. PS In the last 3 weeks or so I think I have posted to GeoNet every two days. People must be fed up reading my stuff. (Thank you all for nonetheless helpful suggestions) Is it just me? I can't believe I am really doing things which put me at the bleeding edge of GIS. ... View more