Getting Started with Geoprocessing Tools in ArcGIS Pro

Geoprocessing tools are at the heart of spatial analysis and data management in ArcGIS Pro, allowing you to perform a wide range of tasks, from simple data transformations to complex spatial analysis workflows. Whether you are clipping layers, calculating statistics, or running spatial joins, geoprocessing tools help you manipulate and analyze geographic data.

In ArcGIS Pro, geoprocessing tools are organized into toolboxes, which contain groups of tools for different types of tasks. The most commonly used tools are available in the Analysis tab or through the Geoprocessing pane, where you can search for specific tools, input parameters, and run operations interactively.

Analysis Tools Gallery

The Analysis ribbon is the powerhouse for spatial analysis and geoprocessing. It provides access to a wide range of tools for performing spatial analysis, including tools for proximity, overlay, and surface analysis. Users can also manage and run geoprocessing models, scripts, and tools from toolboxes. The Analysis tab integrates advanced functions like raster analysis, network analysis, and spatial statistics, making it essential for conducting in-depth geographic analyses and deriving meaningful insights from spatial data.

The Geoprocessing Pane

You can find geoprocessing tools by entering a search phrase in the search bar at the top of the Geoprocessing pane. You can search for a geoprocessing tool by name or by describing the type of operation you want to perform, for example, type proximity.

You can view geoprocessing search results as detailed tiles or as a list, with toggle buttons to switch between the two views at the bottom of the search results.

Favorites

You can find geoprocessing tools on the customizable Favorites tab in the Geoprocessing pane. The Favorites tab lists the following tool favorites:

• My Favorites - Tools that are recorded in your user profile and will be listed regardless of the open project.
• Project Favorites - Tools that are specific to your open project. When you create a project, several commonly used tools are included by default.
• Recent - A chronological list of tools that you have used recently.

Toolboxes

You can find all geoprocessing system tools that are included with ArcGIS, including extension and industry-specific toolboxes, on the Toolboxes tab of the Geoprocessing pane under the System heading. These tools are organized and grouped into toolboxes and toolsets. Custom toolboxes in the project are listed under the Project heading.

Project Toolboxes

Every project has a default toolbox. You can also add any toolbox from within a folder connection or geodatabase to a project, which stores a link to the toolbox with the project (but does not move the physical toolbox file). Project toolboxes appear on the Project tab of the Catalog pane under the Toolboxes node. Additionally, project toolboxes are listed on the Toolboxes tab of the Geoprocessing pane under the Project heading.

Folders and Geodatabases

Toolboxes that are in a folder or geodatabase will display when viewing the container on the Project tab of the Catalog pane under the Folder Connections or Databases nodes.

Portal Tools

You can find and run analysis tools from ArcGIS Enterprise through your active portal. Tools from your portal represent services running on an ArcGIS Server site federated with your portal. The Portal group on the Analysis ribbon tab and the Portal tab in the Geoprocessing pane show which tools are available through your active portal. You can use these tools as you do other geoprocessing tools. The only difference is that the tools run on servers federated with your portal instead of on your local desktop machine. These tools also create output layers in your portal instead of new data in a local folder or geodatabase.

Ready To Use Tools

Ready To Use tools are geoprocessing services that use ArcGIS Online hosted data and analysis capabilities. They are called ready to use because you only need to provide a few basic input features, since all the other data necessary for the analysis and the computation are hosted in ArcGIS Online.

You can use the Ready To Use tools to solve diverse spatial analysis problems, including the following:

• Profile and viewshed (Elevation)
• Watershed and stream tracing (Hydrology)

Find the Ready To Use tools in the Ready To Use Tools gallery on the Analysis ribbon. Click one of these tools and specify the input parameters. When running one of these tools, the output will automatically be given a name based on the service name, copied to the project geodatabase, and added to an open map.

Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar

You can add geoprocessing tools to any location on the Ribbon and to the Quick Access Toolbar. This includes system tools as well as custom model and script tools that have been added to the project. This customization is stored in your user directory and applies to any project you open.

We hope that this article has been helpful! If you have any feedback or questions, please feel free to send us an email or connect with us for a chat. The NTGISC team is here to assist you further!