ArcGIS Pro organizational conundrums

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10-27-2017 04:59 AM
AndrewZimba
Occasional Contributor

The ArcMap paradigm of “one mxd -> one layout -> one print product” was GREAT for large multi-user organizations!

Let’s say that a company’s project (generic project, not Pro Project) has multiple Projects (Pro project, not generic project), each of which contains multiple layouts. A year after a print product has been made, a manager desires that product to be updated. How will a user determine which Project (Pro project, not generic project) contains the layout they need to modify without opening each one until they happen to find the layout they are seeking?

Let’s next posit that a large geospatial intelligence agency has several hundred of a project’s (generic project, not Pro Project) layouts stored in a single Project (Pro Project, not generic project). Some data changes that requires updating a large portion, but not all, of those layouts within a very short timeframe and that those updates may have national security implications. Can multiple users access and update those individual layouts within the project’s Project to get the layouts modified within the mission-critical timeframe or will the project’s Project be locked to a single user?

Are there settings that can be deployed in an automated fashion to defeat Pro from storing critical Project (in this case, both Pro Project and generic project) components on users’ and servers’ C:\ drive deep in profiles where they would not be backed up? Large organizations would not want to rely on individual users tweaking a bunch of settings to assure that all Project (Pro Project, not generic project) components are safe.

Many thanks in advance for any answers you can provide!

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MarcoBoeringa
MVP Regular Contributor

Well, to be honest, "there are as many opinions as there are people". Many users of also "large organizations" have been screaming for the multiple layout model of good old ArcView 3.x to be re-introduced. So here is Pro...

I really think there is the educational aspect as well, you can definitely set another storage folder for your project. In fact, when starting a blank project, you are presented with a dialog to do so: to specify the folder (which indeed defaults to user profile). If people are to lazy to change it and simply hit OK all the time, then they probably shouldn't be using Pro but ArcGIS Online...

Anyway, these Help pages may be relevant:

General options—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop 

Change project settings—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop 

Install options—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop 

There is probably more to come in the future in terms of (default) customizations to enable organizational workflows. Pro is definitely still in full development in many respects.

Just my 2 cents as another user...