Latest Contributions by JeffThomasILM

‎11-15-2019

Thanks for the link, Xander. Let me see if I understand. If Arc is populating a date field itself (e.g., editor tracking), it fills in the time it happened in UTC along with the offset of the time zone (it thinks) I'm located in. When that date/time is retrieved (e.g., labeling), it shows me the correct local date/time. But if I'm filling in dates manually without specifying time, Pro automatically assumes the time is 00:00:00 UTC, then subtracts (since I'm west of PM) my local time. This will always result in the prior date being retrieved/displayed. Is there a way to prevent that from happening? Basically, tell Arc to disregard time and/or time zone, and simply show the date as is?

‎11-15-2019

I've found anno to be particularly problematic moving from ArcMap to Pro, so this isn't too surprising. I'm sorry it's a show-stopper for you! Maybe next year...

‎11-14-2019

Are they unplaced? Make sure "View Unplaced" anno is on.

‎11-14-2019

Ha, just keeps getting better. Another solution is: ToUTC($feature.Date)‍‍‍‍‍ That's a universal solution. Still wish Arcade didn't default to crazy formatting. And doesn't really answer the question: How do I stop Arcade (and other ArcGIS functions?) from time shifting my dates? Apparently it knows (or thinks it knows) what timezone I'm in? Why would I ever want my labels to be unexpectedly different from the actual data?! I understand it's great that ArcGIS can calculate things for labels or field calculations, but I don't understand why anything but a straight transfer of field values would be the default. Other side of the coin, perhaps this is an issue with the way date/time is stored and displayed in the attribute table.

‎11-14-2019

I figured out how to use Arcade to add time to mitigate the labeling rollback: DateAdd($feature.Date,6,'hours')‍ Not all of my dates had the same time offset; some are 19:00:00-05:00 while some are 20:00:00-04:00. Adding 6 hours overcompensates for either. But who knows; I could encounter a 7 hour offset some day and then my DateAdd of 6 hours wouldn't be enough. Adding too many hours could push the date too far forward... it's not a universal solution. And I'm still left shaking my head that I have to worry about this at all! Still trying to understand Arcade's behavior, if anyone has any insight. Thanks!

‎11-14-2019

I keep losing a day when labeling with Arcade. I have a date field (not text) with manually entered dates, e.g., "5/1/2003". I did not enter any times. If I label it with Python by simply calling the date field, [Date], it returns exactly that date and formatting. If I call the field with Arcade, $feature.Date, it labels as: "2003-04-30T20:00:00-04:00". I figured out how to format the date: Text($feature.Date,'M/D/Y')‍, and though it's kind of annoying that that's necessary when using Arcade, I at least get it. But the head-scratcher is why I've lost a day. Note that the labeled date is 2003-04-30 (or 4/30/2003), not 5/1/2003 as it should be. I'm sure it has something to do with the time shift. But the question is, how do I prevent this from happening? Do I have to reformat my data? Seems silly that I should have to do that, but at least I'd know what to do. Or is there a way to leave the data as it is and use Arcade to re-format properly? Thanks!

‎10-17-2019

Thanks, Xander. I figured it might be order of operations, but was wondering why Esri would design label expressions to ignore or precede layer and label class queries. In what situation would that be desirable? Or what technical issue requires label expressions to go first? And thank you for the Arcade example!

‎10-17-2019

I'm trying to split a string and label only a particular part of it. (I'm using Python because Arcade doesn't seem to have sufficient capability to specify which part of the string I want to label, but that's a separate gripe.) This expression cannot be verified if any nulls are present in the field: def FindLabel ( [ValMap] ): return [ValMap].split("_")[1]‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍ You'll get this error: But you can get around that by putting an if statement in the expression: def FindLabel ( [ValMap] ): if [ValMap] != None: return [ValMap].split("_")[1]‍‍‍‍‍‍ But then I thought, "Wait, I shouldn't have to filter nulls in the expression; that's what the SQL query on the label class is for!" I had already applied this filter to the label class: SELECT * FROM FeatureClass WHERE ValMap IS NOT NULL‍‍ For testing, I applied the same SQL query to the definition query of the layer. Either way, it doesn't prevent the error on the expression. I thought maybe this is a bug in Pro but the same thing happens in ArcMap, which makes it less likely to be a bug(?). So now I just want to understand the mechanics of SQL queries on label classes and layer definitions, and their apparent (non-)effect on label expressions.

‎09-16-2019

When the web map is updated to JS 4.x, will that only apply to newly-created web maps or will it automatically apply to existing web maps (originally created with JS 3.x), too?

‎09-16-2019

I've observed that new lines are honored in the Arcade expression editing environment, as you show in your screenshot, but it does not work in the map itself. Can you confirm the new lines show up on your map?

‎08-01-2019

Thank you, Duncan! This works exactly as expected.

‎07-30-2019

I have created a model that is intended to run on features I've selected interactively (manually) from the map. That is, feature selection is not part of the model - it is the expected input. The problem is, if there is no selection on a particular layer the model runs on every feature in that layer. I want to prevent this inevitable accident by putting a check into the model that stops it from running unless at least one feature in the layer is selected. (It's not obvious if features from the correct layer are selected due to multiple similar layers in the map. I am often toggling selectability and visibility of the layers.) The Get Count documentation has an example diagram using it as a precondition, which seems to be exactly what I need. But it doesn't work in my model, I assume due to my manual selection workflow. If I test my model with no selection, Get Count simply returns the number of (unselected) features in my layer. Thus, the count is always more than zero and fails to guard against proceeding without features having been selected. Here's a screenshot of the first part of my model with the attempted precondition: Is there a way to do what I'm envisioning? Perhaps this must be done with Python? I'm open to that, but I usually try ModelBuilder first since I'm more familiar with it. Thanks!

‎06-12-2019

jeff.thomasilm wrote: I'm envisioning a system-generated splash widget that informs the user of the item's deprecated status and offers a link to the superseding item. It would be the item creator's option to force the user to redirect to the new item or allow them to proceed to the deprecated item. A splash widget is only applicable when directly viewing an item on ArcGIS Online. What about individual services being used via REST in other web or desktop maps, which likely constitutes the majority of use cases? Perhaps maps/apps on ArcGIS Online could be notified via some internal method, but what about external use? I'm guessing REST has no mechanism for passing the deprecated status. Even if REST was able to pass a service's deprecated status, then what? I guess the service's layer in the table of contents (ArcMap or Pro) could have some sort of symbol warning the user (however, Esri seems resistant to suggestions of status markings on layers in the ToC). Or in the case of a web map, if a legend is present a deprecated symbol could be placed on the respective layer(s). Perhaps even a pop-up could appear letting you know layer X is deprecated. But I fear this message would mostly be seen by users unable to do anything about it, creating annoyance or confusion. As to my second suggestion above, forcing a redirect, I have no idea how or if that could work via REST. The bottom line is, there really needs to be a way to push deprecation status to anywhere an item is being used. I don't have a good solution to this, but hopefully Esri is thinking about it.

‎05-10-2019

I've noticed that it's quite difficult to access the properties of existing AGS connections in Pro. I'm wondering if anyone else is seeing this same behavior and if it's on Esri's to-do list. I am using the latest and greatest version, 2.3.2. If I have an AGS connection file in my favorites, I cannot access its properties at all. Right-clicking looks like this: If I add that connection to a project, I see this when right-clicking: Is this by design? I don't understand why I should have to add it to a project in order to see its connection properties. You can access properties for SDE connections from favorites. Also, notice that Properties is grayed out. Only the first time I right-click can I actually access the properties window. After that, it's grayed out until I close and reopen the project. Is it just me seeing this? Surely this is a bug that Esri is working on! Thanks.

‎03-08-2019

It would be nice if file geodatabases in Windows/File Explorer could be treated like "bundles" in macOS Finder: it is technically a folder but it's treated like a single file unless you invoke a special command to enter it like a folder. There are a few reasons this would be nice: There is nothing that should normally be edited or is even directly usable within a .gdb in File Explorer. It would keep FGDBs sorted with files rather than folders, where they tend to hide. It would mimic the presentation of FGDBs found in ArcCatalog. Perhaps double-clicking a FGDB would launch ArcCatalog Some other TBD action would open the FGDB like a folder, if you insist There is probably more than one way this could be accomplished - some in Esri's control, some in Microsoft's. Neither company might be interested in fundamentally changing the functionality (if that's what it would require) of FGDBs or Explorer, respectively, to accomplish this. Nonetheless, it's something to consider.

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Date Last Visited	‎01-27-2026 11:38 AM

My Ideas

Latest Contributions by JeffThomasILM

Re: Date labeled wrong with Arcade

Re: Upgrading to Pro Annotation causes many Annos to disappear

Re: Upgrading to Pro Annotation causes many Annos to disappear

Re: Date labeled wrong with Arcade

Re: Date labeled wrong with Arcade

Date labeled wrong with Arcade

Re: SQL query doesn't filter nulls for label expressions?

SQL query doesn't filter nulls for label expressions?

Re: Arcade Text Constant for TextFormatting.NewLine is adding space instead of new line

Re: Arcade Text Constant for TextFormatting.NewLine is adding space instead of new line

Re: Ensure selection before proceeding in model

Ensure selection before proceeding in model

Re: Option to Redirect Applications that have been 'Retired'

Difficulty accessing AGS connection properties

Treat file geodatabases as files not folders in Win/File Explorer

Dynamic text for symbology labels

Re: Proper case for ordinals using Arcade

Editor tracking not preserved when using Paste Spe...

Re: Could not analyze datasets DatabaseName.DataOw...

Re: Interwoven layer drawing