It was early, hours before sunrise, and the air was filled with the scent of freshly brewed coffee. Once properly caffeinated, it was time to embark on the ArcGIS Pro graphical user interface (GUI) or just the user interface (UI) scavenger hunt.
Yes, that's right—a scavenger hunt!
However, this doesn't involve searching physical space for a list of
items but a virtual space for the correct sequence of double and
right-clicks to produce a list of deliverables. This scavenger hunt is
less gamified and is a solo endeavor, as opposed to traditional team
collaboration. Honestly, solo is the way to go! Just imagine the
pressure a poor "clicking" finger would be under from a barrage of "click
here" and "no click here" as a team hunts for the correct order of clicks.
Project Setup & Data 
The scavenger hunt's boundaries were collaboratively established by the application, ArcGIS Pro, and the organizer. The application specifically requires a Windows operating system, and the organizer provided instructions for the initial task, which involved producing the first deliverable item: a screenshot illustrating the organization of a project's input/output (I/O) and artifacts.
My initial reaction was a hesitant 'Ugh! Windows.' As a long-time Linux
user, navigating Windows has always felt a bit clumsy, with an
unnecessary abundance of double-clicking to accomplish tasks. However,
what's a scavenger hunt without some challenges? The solution became a
matter of re-calibrating hours of muscle memory by utilizing a terminal
and the beloved GNOME window display manager on a Fedora workstation.
Navigating Windows File Explorer was a snap—locating and moving files on
the filesystem was a breeze. Mounting (or in the Windows world,
mapping) Google Drive required additional steps, obtaining and granting
necessary permissions for cloud accessibility. For the sake of sanity, it was paramount to mounted a folder on the host machine to the virtual Windows. After
some quick settings, the directory /home/mlucas/Documents/GIS5050 is now mapped to
drive letter W.
Exported Map & The File Path
The naming convention expected in programming jargon uses Pascal Case (a.k.a. CamelCase) with a SmurfNamingConvention. Initially, it was a bit confusing with all the ArcGISOverview and inflated, 'Ugh! Windows' nomenclature. After unzipping the OverviewArcGIS directory from item one, once things are organized, the structure served its purpose.
Overall, with some trial and error, producing the map was fairly
intuitive, involving few exploratory double-clicks to generate a
somewhat simple and unpleasant-looking map. However, the primary goal
here was to become familiar with the UI.
Previous experiences with Esri software primarily involved the use of ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcServer, with limited exposure to ArcGIS Pro. While ArcMap exhibited good integration with ArcGIS Online, it is notable that ArcGIS Pro provides a more tightly coupled integration in terms of both look and feel.
Mission accomplished, and once-faded memories of where things are in the application began to return!
No comments:
Post a Comment