Why should you migrate to ArcGIS Pro?

04/21/2021
I recently found myself finishing a major project and about to dive back into a couple others. I hadn't yet build up really complicated map documents or folder hierarchies for either project, so it seems as good a time as ever to educate myself on ArcGIS Pro and start using it. To my great surprise, it felt less like biting the bullet and more like a joy!
  • It really just makes more sense. I don't know about you, but when Microsoft Office first rolled out the ribbon menus, I didn't like them. It took a long time to win me over, but now, I actually appreciate how responsive and visually organized they are. And I say that despite not being a visual person (in general)! ArcGIS Pro introduces a ribbon menu that's aesthetically identical to what you've already (presumably) been using in MS Officer for years, and if you give it half a chance, I think you'll find it very intuitive. (In tech speak, it's a "workflow-driven user experience.")
  • It really can do more. I'm really impressed by all the little "quality of life" changes that ESRI has made to ArcGIS Pro. Multiple maps tied to the same data, within the same project! Complete easy-to-use integration of 2D and 3D! Heat map as a symbology option! Circular inset maps!
  • It's faster. It's 64-bit and multi-threaded. What's even more impressive, it actually feels faster.
  • It's mature. (And ArcGIS Desktop is out of date.) ArcGIS Pro has been out for over 6 years now, and it's on version 2.7 (having started at 1.0)!
  • It's in demand. When I was hunting for jobs recently, I found that employers are starting to specify and, in some cases, even require ArcGIS Pro experience. Starting to gain experience now will help you in your next job, and it may even help you get your next job.
  • Python 3. Support for Python 2 ended January 1, 2020, with a final release on April 20, 2020. If you keep using Python 2, you will likely find yourself using libraries with bugs that will never be fixed, that have permanently left development. You also may not be able to use new libraries at all. Plus, do you really want to have to migrate even more code to Python 3 at some point down the road?? Best to start developing in Python 3 now to save yourself the headache.

If you want to get started, I found this set of tutorials very helpful. A few tips:

  1. Navigate between tutorials using the hierarchical menu on the left side of the screen. That way, you can skip around to what you want to focus on rather than on what ESRI, in its infinite wisdom, might feel is the logical next tutorial.
  2. Watch each video to start, as it gives a brief ~3-minute synopsis of what you'll learn. If you don't feel it's relevant, move on!
  3. If you want to spare yourself searching for each tutorial's data (invariably the first few steps of each tutorial), you can simply use the corresponding link in the body of the link given above (not the menu at the left), then choose the "Open in ArcGIS Pro' option.

UPDATE (4/23/2021)

I found another set of tutorials that are specific to using Mars data in ArcGIS Pro. Personally, I find the first set (described above) a more user-friendly place to start, even if you're ultimately interested primarily in Mars. However, if you're already familiar with ArcGIS Pro and want to move onto some Mars exercises, you've already completed that first set, or you're an instructor who wants Mars-focused exercises that may be more fitting to a classroom setting, this second set looks like it would work quite well.

Ethan I. Schaefer
All rights reserved 2020
Powered by Webnode
Create your website for free! This website was made with Webnode. Create your own for free today! Get started