Make 'Start ArcGIS Pro' options available through Pro.settingsConfig

[MatthiasKl]

As I was pleased to see, more settings have been added with the release of 3.1. However, the setting that determines how ArcGIS Pro should start can't be set via Pro.settingsConfig. Is there a particular reason for this? I had expected that this setting in particular would be set company-wide.

At the moment I set this option in the initializing callback of a managed configuration.

protected override void OnApplicationInitializing(CancelEventArgs cancelEventArgs)
{
    ApplicationOptions.GeneralOptions.StartupOption = StartProjectMode.WithoutProjectTempate;
}

I think it would be better to define this directly in a prosettings file (which we also need anyway, for example to lock certain settings).

[KoryKramer]

Hi @MatthiasKl we have separated this into it's own idea so that we can better gauge demand and varying use cases for setting this at an organization level. From your description, you have all of your users open ArcGIS Pro without a template - so Pro opens without presenting the start page to the user.

Can you give us more context behind the reasons/your organization's workflows that lead to the need to prohibit users from opening Pro to the Start page (and potentially creating a project using a template)?

Thank you!

[TroyBum72]

This has a slightly different flavor on another IDEA.  Hopefully they can combine some efforts here.  Setting Pro organizational settings through Pro.se... - Esri Community

[MatthiasKl]

@KoryKramer  Thank you for considering my suggestion.

Can you give us more context behind the reasons/your organization's workflows that lead to the need to prohibit users from opening Pro to the Start page (and potentially creating a project using a template)?

Sure. Perhaps I should start by pointing out that most users in my organization only work in a virtualized environment (Citrix) and that we are still in the process of migrating this userbase from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro.

In ArcMap, it is possible to open a map based on a template without saving the MXD first. A lot of our users (myself included) start ArcMap, look at certain things, quickly do some analysis and then discard the project again. I think such an approach is very common and most programs can be configured to start with an empty file/project. For example, Microsoft Word provides an option to start with a blank document so that I can start writing immediately (not so long ago, this was the default).

With our current setup, ArcMap launches with a temporary MXD (and certain layers already added to the dataframe). Please also see the ArcMap option "Startup Script" discussed here.

In order to start ArcGIS Pro with a temporary map you have to: Start ArcGIS Pro, click on "Start without Template", add a new Map, add the data you want to inspect/do some simple analysis.

Providing a project template (*.aptx) for our users is not a option for us, because users would have to 1) Start the application 2) Choose the template 3) Save a new project. This approach takes to much time and creates a lot of file bloat. I was also thinking about coding a custom start page (like in this community sample) to streamline the UX. However, due to the high maintenance effort, I would actually like to avoid this.

So, in a nutshell: Ideally, there should be a setting (also available in .settingsConfig) "Start with a temporary project based on a specific template".

[KoryKramer]

Thanks @MatthiasKl it sounds quite similar to https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/start-arcgis-pro-without-a-project-but-with-a-new/idi... (instead of with a default project, or a blank template with a map/scene/globe, you'd be looking for start with a default template: and have that settable in pro.settingsConfig. Correct?

[MatthiasKl]

Yes, this is correct. I think an option "Start with a temporary project based on a specific project template" would be even better than "Start with an empty temporary project and add a map" because a map does not contain "project items" (folder connections, database connections, styles etc). We want out users to start ArcGIS Pro and immediately have

• a map with some layers
• our default *.stylx
• a read-only connection to access our enterprise geodatabase added to the temporary project

If it were possible to open an *.aptx without saving first, this could also be a viable path for us (even if a dedicated option would be even better).