{"id":172261,"date":"2010-10-07T17:33:57","date_gmt":"2010-10-08T00:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=172261"},"modified":"2020-10-26T12:24:25","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T19:24:25","slug":"getting-started-with-python-map-automation","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-desktop\/analytics\/getting-started-with-python-map-automation","title":{"rendered":"Getting started with Python map automation"},"author":3601,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[37501,23341],"tags":[25311,31181,24321,24341],"industry":[],"product":[36991],"class_list":["post-172261","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-administration","category-analytics","tag-arcgis-10","tag-arcpy","tag-geoprocessing","tag-python","product-arcgis-desktop"],"acf":{"short_description":"ArcGIS 10 provides a new Python mapping module (arcpy.mapping) that\r\nallows you to interact with the contents of map documents","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>ArcGIS 10 provides a new Python mapping module (arcpy.mapping) that<br \/>\nallows you to interact with the contents of map documents and layer<br \/>\nfiles without necessarily needing to interactively open an ArcMap<br \/>\nsession.\u00a0 The methods, properties and functions available in this new<br \/>\nmap scripting API enable you, for example, to automate changing data<br \/>\nsources, modify layer properties, export and print maps, as well as<br \/>\nautomate the creation of thematic maps and map series.\u00a0 Because the new<br \/>\nmapping module is part of the ArcPy geoprocessing framework, scripts can<br \/>\nbe used within ArcGIS Desktop but also published to ArcGIS Server as<br \/>\ngeoprocessing services making it much easier to make <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/mapping\">mapping<\/a> and<br \/>\nprinting capabilities available on the server.<\/p>\n<p>The following links are resources that will help you learn more about<br \/>\narcpy.mapping as well as sample scripts available for download:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0A \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/resources.arcgis.com\/gallery\/video\/geoprocessing\/details?entryID=B449043B-1422-2418-7F7A-E7EA74EF068E\">Python Scripting for Map Automation in ArcGIS 10<\/a>\u201d<br \/>\nvideo presented at the 2010 Developer\u2019s Summit is an excellent starting<br \/>\npoint.\u00a0 This presentation not only introduces arcpy.mapping but also<br \/>\ndemonstrates many of its use cases.<\/li>\n<li>ArcGIS Desktop\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/help.arcgis.com\/en\/arcgisdesktop\/10.0\/help\/index.html#\/Geoprocessing_scripts_for_map_document_management_and_output\/00s300000032000000\/\">help\u00a0<\/a>has a complete section dedicated to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/help.arcgis.com\/en\/arcgisdesktop\/10.0\/help\/index.html#\/Geoprocessing_scripts_for_map_document_management_and_output\/00s300000032000000\/\">ArcPy mapping module<\/a>.\u00a0 Embedded within the help are over 100 different, practical help samples that can be copied\/pasted into your applications.<\/li>\n<li>Approximately<a href=\"http:\/\/resources.arcgis.com\/gallery\/file\/geoprocessing\/details?entryID=A910AB18-1422-2418-3418-3885D388EF60\">\u00a020 script tools<\/a>\u00a0that perform routine map and layer management tasks, printing and exporting, as well as basic cartographic operations<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/resources.arcgis.com\/gallery\/file\/geoprocessing\/details?entryID=FBE3D235-1422-2418-8820-E071ED243854\">script tool<\/a><br \/>\nthat combines Data Driven Pages, arcpy.mapping, and the ReportLab site<br \/>\npackage to generate a map series that includes index pages<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/resources.arcgis.com\/gallery\/file\/geoprocessing\/details?entryID=FFBB051B-1422-2418-88A0-9DD853478BA3\">script that automatically reposition<\/a>s a locator map on a page layout avoiding overlap with underlying features.<\/li>\n<li>A\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/resources.arcgis.com\/gallery\/file\/geoprocessing\/details?entryID=3B67F638-1422-2418-A00C-D271D1E954CB\">script that calculates adjacent page numbers<\/a>\u00a0to be used for a map series.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":3601,"user_firstname":"Rob","user_lastname":"Elkins","nickname":"rpe2","user_nicename":"rpe2","display_name":"Rob Elkins","user_email":"relkins@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-02 00:15:15","user_description":"","user_avatar":"<img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/372025ad723ca3ed9f19047a9f7e1db155d632dbd4c919d556c8daa4654f15fa?s=96&#038;d=blank&#038;r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/372025ad723ca3ed9f19047a9f7e1db155d632dbd4c919d556c8daa4654f15fa?s=192&#038;d=blank&#038;r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' loading='lazy' decoding='async'\/>"}],"related_articles":"","card_image":false,"wide_image":false},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Getting started with Python map automation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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