ArcGIS Pro 2.6: What is the function of Index and ImportLog folders that are created along with the aprx?

[JamalNUMAN]

ArcGIS Pro 2.6: What is the function of Index and ImportLog folders that are created along with the aprx?

I couldn’t figure out the function of the Index and ImportLog folders that are created along with the aprx

[DanPatterson]

thumbnails of your maps for one... did you look into the folders and see all the weirdly named jpg files?

eg 00B42E22-481E-481D-8336-004FEF7BB345.jpg

put your file explorer to view thumbnails rather than list

[TimOrmsby]

Hi Jamal, you can find some discussion of the index folder and import log folder in the documentation. See the topic Projects in ArcGIS Pro, specifically the section Project files and their associated files.

[JamalNUMAN]

Thank you guys for the input.

I observed that multiple files\folders created along with the aprx file. Is there any setting that enable saving in a single aprx file without having any other related files

[TimOrmsby]

You have some control over auxiliary files but I don't think complete control. Take a look at the General options topic. You can designate one geodatabase and one toolbox as the default for all projects--then you don't have new gdb and tbx files created for each project. You can turn off project recovery--I assume the .backups folder is not created in that case, but haven't tested. You can also turn off indexing--again, I'm not really sure if that means no Index folder is created. (And I'm not sure you want to turn off indexing if you need to search for files.) But that's as much as I know.

[JamalNUMAN]

Many thanks Tim.

What I wanted here is to end up with one single aprx file (mxd of ArcMap is used to be one single file)

[TimOrmsby]

It's really not so different. In ArcMap, you save your geoprocessing outputs to a geodatabase. You save your models and scripts to a toolbox. You save other things like styles, calculations, placemarks, and so on, to various external files. Not all your work is stored in the mxd. Same with Pro. It's just that Pro makes you more conscious of these external objects and (by default) creates a new geodatabase and toolbox for each project. 

In ArcMap, all your geoprocessing outputs from all your mxds go to the gdb in your user profile (C:\Users\<username>\Documents\ArcGIS\Default.gdb) unless you designate a different geodatabase. Pro tries to be smart and save outputs to a geodatabase specifically created for the work you're doing now--so it doesn't get mixed up with work you did for some other reason six months ago.

But if you don't like that, you can set your application options so that by default your gp outputs are stored in the same geodatabase and your custom tools are stored in the same toolbox. Within a project, you can make any geodatabase the default for that project. You can override the default by sending any tool output to a different geodatabase (or by changing the default). It's flexible, just like ArcMap.

[DanPatterson]

Do you create a new folder for each project?

I find it useful to create a new folder for each project save in a default location that I specify.  Then everything is one location

And if makes it easier to zip-and-ship or better still to package your project for sharing or archiving.

Package Project (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation 

[JamalNUMAN]

Many thanks guys for the useful input.

Is there a way to save the aprx as a single file without having other related files\folders created?

Correct, there is a way to avoid creating gdb or tbx files but it appears that there is no way to avoid creating Index, ImportLog, ags, etc.

Add to this that there is no way to set the “without a project template” option with having an option to uncheck the “create folder for the project” option. In other words, if the “without a project template” option is chose, then the aprx file will be compulsory stored in a folder

[TimOrmsby]

Hi Jamal, 

it appears that there is no way to avoid creating Index, ImportLog, ags, etc.

To avoid creating the index folder, go to the Settings page. Click Options > Indexing. Click Don't create index. I'm not sure about the ImportLog folder. When I set options for creating projects to Same default geodatabase for all projects and Same default toolbox for all projects, it seems the ImportLog folder is no longer created. (??) Your .ags files are connection files to ArcGIS servers. They are created if you add a server connection--they are not present by default when you create a project.

When I create a project from the Map template (or another template) with my options set as below and indexing turned off, I see only an aprx file created and no other files.

Result:

if the “without a project template” option is chose, then the aprx file will be compulsory stored in a folder

Yes, I think you're right. If you start without a template, and then choose to save the project, a project folder is created automatically.

But... I agree with Dan that folders are good for keeping projects organized. In addition to the reasons he gave, it's also the best way to delete a project and be sure you have deleted all the components. Same for moving a project. Pro doesn't have its own functions for these operations--you have to use the operating system.

Also, most of these files that get created by default--like index and backup--are helpful.