Latest Contributions by MattBull

‎07-17-2013

I'm in a situation where I need to create an annotation with a two part leader line. Basically what I have is a corridor with several different pipeline right-of-ways that need to be labeled and it's very difficult to distinguish which one is which using regular leader lines simply pointing to the center of each. Instead I what I need is a leader line going from the label to one side of the right-of-way then another smaller leader line on the other side of the right-of-way with arrows pointing to it. I've attached a jpg to show what I mean. Right now I'm drawing the single leader from the annotation and then adding a graphic arrow on the other side, but this is obviously clumsy and a bit time comsuming getting them to line up the way I want them. [ATTACH=CONFIG]26008[/ATTACH] Any ideas how this might be done quicker and a bit cleaner?

‎07-12-2013

I have created a series of ArcMap documents with templates for various title blocks that I add to different types of maps. I also developed a Python script/tool that allows me to input all the text that will appear and then format and place all the graphic and text elements on the page. I know that it isn't currently possible to create new graphic elements using the arcpy.mapping module, but what I am wondering is if there is a way to bring in graphic and text element from another ArcMap document. The way I have it setup now I can either start with the map template, build my map, Save As, then run the tool when it's done to place the elements or use the Change Layout function then run the tool. It would be much easier if I could simply pull the elements from the template ArcMap document.

‎06-11-2013

Thank you both, that is valuable information. Using the CURRENT keyword did exactly what I wanted the script to do, but it's also good to know that I need to be running the script outside of ArcGIS if I'm going to use the file path.

‎06-10-2013

I'm having some severe difficulties trying to move graphics and text elements in layout using Python. I figured it would be pretty simple, just access the layout elements and change the anchor point. I copied this code from the help and changed it to reflect the filepath and element name in my map document: import arcpy mxd = arcpy.mapping.MapDocument(r"C:\Project\Project.mxd") for elm in arcpy.mapping.ListLayoutElements(mxd, "GRAPHIC_ELEMENT"): if elm.name == "Title Block": elm.elementPositionX = 4.75 elm.elementPositionY = 10.5 mxd.save() del mxd When I run it through a Python script tool or the Python window, I get this error message: IOError: MapDocObject: Unable to save. Check to make sure you have write access to the specified file and that there is enough space on the storage device to hold your document. I have read/write privileges and there is certainly enough disk space, so I don't know what the problem is. I tried commenting out the last two lines of code and it ran without errors, but the element I was trying to use didn't move. I suspect there is something very simple and silly happening here that I am missing.

‎05-01-2013

This was a very interesting solution that I probably wouldn't have come up with on my own. I did get this into a script that sorted the line segments properly. Basically created one route for the entire line, split the line, calculated the M value (I used the !Shape.LastPoint.M! function) and then Sorted according to the M values. Voila, the resulting feature class had the lines sorted correctly. Thank you very much, this will allow me to automate my entire workflow for this particular project and save me some time in the future!

‎04-30-2013

"Then I would locate the point on the line to get M values for the points " I'm a bit confused by this part. What do you mean and how exactly do I locate the point on the line to get M values for the points?

‎04-30-2013

The data can sort either alpabetically or numerically. If you have numbers in your sort and letters it will sort alphabetically so your numbers will not sort properly. If you want to keep them in order when you split your best practice may be to start at the digitized beginning and split it while going down the line. The Sort tool also sorts the lines spatially, but as I mentioned, sometimes these lines wind and turn and that seems to mess up the Sort tool, so that is not an option. I've been re-ordering them manually, but that can take a colossal amount of time to figure out which one goes where, hence why I'm loooking for a way to automate the process. This is part of a much larger workflow, and this is the last step in order to completely automate the whole process, which is ultimately the goal here. I've resorted to Python scripting and have met with moderate success so far.

‎04-29-2013

I'm having a bit of trouble sorting a polyline feature class in the correct order. Basically I have a polyline feature calss with multiple features in it that form a single line. This feature class was produced by taking a single polyline and splitting it at specified points (using the Split at Point tool). The resulting feature class has multiple polyline features in a somewhat random order. What I need to do is re-order these feature classes from a start point at one end of the line to the end of the line. I have tried the Sort tool and that works some of the time, but not all of the time as occasionally the original line winds and turns a lot and that seems to mess up the Sort tool. Does anyone know of a simple way or tool to do this without having to get into any crazy Python scripting that manipulates the geometry? This seems like a fairly logical need, so I'm hoping there is a simple way to do it. Thanks,

‎11-20-2012

I also found it in Service Pack 1! I thought I was crazy and only imagined that the Tile Cache tools existed.

‎11-05-2012

I am trying to create a set of png tiles for a map. I searched through some help and I believe the tools I need to do this are in the Tile Cache Toolset found in the DataManagement toolbox. This toolset is missing from my Data Management toolbox and I'm not sure why this is. I'm running v10.1 Advanced, and as far as I can tell it should be there (I believe I have proper licensing). Am I missing something or is it missing because of some kind of glitch, and if so, does anyone have any ideas how to fix it?

‎09-14-2012

The points being out of order might be the reason that the line segments end up out of order. I never really thought to check that and re-order the points. To answer your question about the segments, they are not going to be the same length or 1/5 of the length. The points along the line are, for all intents and purposes of this exercise, arbitrary. There is a reason they are placed where they are, but the bottom line is that the line segments won't be the same length. I'll try ensuring the points are in the right order next time and see if that makes a difference. I appreciate your thoughts and hopefully I'll be able to figure this out.

‎08-30-2012

I am using Split Line at Point as part of my workflow for a certain project and I'm trying to save myself some time. The problem I'm having using this tool is that it doesn't always split the line in the order I want it to. For eample, I'll have a polyline that I want split into five based on four points. It will split the line fine into the five segments, but when I open the attribute table and select them, they often out of order. I need to assign attributes to each segment after the fact, and it would be much easier if they were split in order (i.e from one end of the line to the other). Does anyone know if this is possible without doing an excessive amount of programming? To me this seems like the logical way for the tool to work, but it doesn't. It just adds an extra annoying step my workflow when I have to figure out what order the line segments are in, and currently keeping me from automating this entire process. Thanks in advance -matt

‎06-27-2012

I am having some issues with linear referencing. When I display the route events from my dbf table, the geometry seems to be missing as the points do not show up in ArcMap, but when I open the attribute table, all the data is there. Same thing when I export it to a permanent shapefile. What's even more strange is that when I select one of the points or a group of points in the attribute table, the selection is visible in ArcMap and they appear to be where they are supposed to be, but again, when I export to a permanent shapefile, the points disappear. Is there a bug or glitch known for linear referencing, or am I doing something wrong? I've used this procedure with similar data before without any issues, so maybe I missed something. I'm using ArcGIS 10.0. I'm also trying to script the whole procedure in Python since I will be doing this numerous times in the future, and if I script it, I'm having the same problem.

‎06-26-2012

I added the Get Field Value tool as you suggested and I have a model that looks like it should work. However, when I run it, it seems to iterate through the features and then stops. It doesn't perform any of the processes that are supposed to occur after it selects the features. After I run it the Iterate Feature Selection will have the shadow behind it but none of the other processes do. I'm quite puzzled by this. My understanding is that it selects the first feature, performs the remaining functions, then goes to the next feature and so on. I've attached an image of the model I have right now and the table. The field I want to take the value from is the file path to the air photo that will be clipped. The file path will be the input for the Clip function and the selected feature will be the clip features.

‎06-25-2012

I have a series of georeferenced air photos that have black borders around them that I need to clip out. I also have a shapefile that has the outlines for each photo in it. The attributes contain the file name and the file path for each corresponding photo. I'm trying to build a model that will automatically select each feature in the shapefile, and clip the corresponding air photo (based on the filepath in the attribute table). What I've got so far is a model that uses the Iterate Feature Selection to go through all the features. The problem is that I can only have it select the feature and use it as the clip features. I can't figure out a way to have it return the field with the filepath and use that as the input for the clip process. Is this possible in ModelBuilder, or am I going to have to export it to Python (which I have almost no experience with) and set some variables? If my understanding of the iteration functions in ModelBuilder is correct, this may very well be impossible to do. I thought of doing a sub model that iterates through the filepath field for each selected feature, but that could be extremely time consuming. Thanks in advance for any help.

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Date Last Visited	‎11-11-2020 02:23 AM

My Ideas

Latest Contributions by MattBull

Two Part Annotation Leaders

Automating Title Blocks

Re: Moving Layout elements in ArcMap using Python

Moving Layout elements in ArcMap using Python

Re: Sorting Linear Features

Re: Sorting Linear Features

Re: Sorting Linear Features

Sorting Linear Features

Re: Tile Cache Toolset missing

Tile Cache Toolset missing

Re: Split Line at Points

Split Line at Points

Problem With Linear Referencing

Re: ModelBuilder Iteration

ModelBuilder Iteration