ArcGIS Pro Tips and Tricks - AM Workshop

In this workshop the focus will be on three separate topics related to working with ArcGIS Pro: Using Display Filters to Limit Feature Display, Using Arcade to Create Dynamic Label Expressions, and Creating Map Series.

Using Display Filters to Limit Feature Display in ArcGIS Pro

In this section you'll learn how to use Display Filters to limit feature display.  Display filters are scale based or query based filters that limit which features of a layer are displayed. They differ from definition queries in that display filters impact the display only. The features filtered from the display using display filters are still available for query and analysis. Features filtered by definition queries are not available to the layer at all. Use display filters when you want to draw a subset of features, but you want to retain access to all features. When a display filter is active, all features in the layer remain in the layer's attribute table and can be selected, identified, edited, and be available for geoprocessing operations. But, because only visible features are labeled, display filters affect the labeling of a layer. 

Using Arcade to Create Dynamic Label Expressions

1. The default for labeling in ArcGIS Pro is to use a single field from the attribute table of the feature class. However, you can define a custom, dynamic label expression using the new Arcade language included with ArcGIS Pro. VBScript, Jscript and Python can also be used to define a custom label expression, but Arcade provides an easy to use language for customizing the creation of dynamic labels. You'll learn the basics of how to apply an Arcade expression for creating custom labels.  In addition, you'll also learn how to limit the features displayed using a SQL expression.

Creating a Map Series (Map Books)

A spatial map series is a series of individual map pages that cover a larger geographic area and are generated by taking a single layout and iterating a set of map extents. The map extents are defined by the features in a layer known as an index layer. Any point, line, or polygon layer can be used for the index layer. 

When stitched together, these individual maps can cover a large area with high detail. Map series, also called map books or atlases, are often used by field workers who cover large geographic areas. Rather than using a single large map, which can be unwieldy, field workers prefer a map series because it provides a high level of detail while still covering a large area. The creation of a map series is based on a single layout in an ArcGIS Pro project. In this section of the workshop you'll learn how to create a spatial map series.