What's new in ArcGIS Pro 2.0

See what's new and improved in ArcGIS Pro 2.0.

Video overview

This video compilation was created by ArcGIS Pro development teams to highlight new functionality specific to this release.

Highlights

The highlights section includes major functionality updates at this release.

Annotation editing

Annotation is typically text stored in a geodatabase feature class. Easily annotate areas that aren't represented by features in a feature class, such as seas in a larger body of water and mountain ranges in imagery. Geodatabase annotation is indexed spatially, so it draws and can be selected quickly. At 2.0, you have full control over annotation, including the ability to create annotation feature classes, convert labels to annotation, and edit annotation features (such as shown in the images below). For more information, see Annotation.

Measured grids and charts in layouts

Add and import grids to your layouts. A grid is a network of evenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines used to identify locations on a map. You can use grids to display measured locations using projected coordinates on the map.

You can also add customized charts to your layouts. Visualizing data through charts helps to uncover patterns, trends, relationships, and structure in data that may otherwise be difficult to see as raw numbers in a table.

Project favorites

If you find yourself adding the same folder, database, and server connections to many of your projects, you can favorite these items. Project favorites are available on the Favorites tab in the Catalog pane, and in the Catalog view. Learn how to favorite folders, databases, and servers, and manage these connections.

WFS standard support

Connect to a native Web Feature Service (WFS) from ArcGIS Pro. You can create a new connection to a WFS service by clicking New WFS Server on the Connections drop-down menu on the Insert tab.

Learn more about consuming the WFS service.

Get started

• The Project pane and the Project view have been renamed to the Catalog pane and the Catalog view.
• A new quick-start tutorial, Convert a map to a scene, is now available.

Application options

• You can now open and run multiple instances of ArcGIS Pro at the same time. Work on multiple projects simultaneously and open a new or existing project without closing your current project.
• The same project can be opened several times. The first time a project is opened, ArcGIS Pro will have a writable copy of the project. All other instances of the project will be read-only. You can work with a read-only project in the same manner as if the project is writable; however, on saving your changes you will see the Save Project As dialog box. Save a copy of the current project file (.aprx) to a writable location if you want to keep your changes. Learn more about opening and saving projects.
• When you set ArcGIS Pro to use a custom default geodatabase, an enterprise geodatabase can be used as well as a file geodatabase.

Mapping and visualization

General

• A new on-screen navigation control exposes many navigation functions in the lower left corner of the view. By default the navigator is hidden from 2D map views but shows in 3D scenes. There are two display modes depending on the level of control needed. Precise control over the camera means navigation in 3D for new users is easier to do, and it improves navigation in GIS data that is sometimes difficult to maneuver through, for example, navigating underground, inside buildings, and lidar data. The navigator also works on touch screens and in conjunction with your regular mouse and other keyboard shortcuts for navigation.

  

• Customizable background display is available for global views. Choose whether to show the background stars and a halo effect in global scenes.
• You can refresh the view or cancel the drawing process by clicking the Refresh button at the lower right of the view.
• You can now configure a layer with continuously updating content to automatically refresh its display at a regular intervals.
• You can choose whether or not to compress textures for layers in a 3D scene. Compression improves drawing performance, but if artifacts are seen, you can uncheck this option.

Coordinate systems

• You can now limit the list of available coordinate systems by setting a spatial filter.
• You can now create custom coordinate systems by modifying existing ones or by specifying parameters directly.
• You can save coordinate systems to a projection (.prj) file.

Styles

• Create and manage mobile styles for maps that will be shared in mobile applications. Mobile styles are intended for authoring maps and scenes that will be shared to a mobile application.
• When you save symbols to a style or otherwise create a new style item, you can enter a Key to store a unique identifier for style items in cases where unique item lookup is needed.

Map notes

• You can now create map notes in 3D in a scene.

  

Symbology

• Use the new basic mode of symbol layer drawing to set up joined or joined and merged symbology on symbol classes in a layer a group layer.
• Mesh symbols are a new type of symbol to draw the features in multipatch layers and 3D object scene layers.
• Procedural layers are no longer a discrete symbol layer type. To use procedural symbology, add either a marker or a fill symbol layer to a symbol, and set its type to Procedural.
• In marker symbol layers, when inserting the shape from a file for shape markers, you can now import scalable vector graphics (.svg) files. When inserting the shape from a file for 3D model markers, you can now import Wavefront (.obj) files.
• There is a new YXZ Rotation order to define the order in which rotation is applied to markers in a point symbol in 3D. This option works best with 3D model marker symbol layers where the forward direction for a symbol is north-facing, with the z-axis as the up direction.
• You can now reset the orientation of 3D model markers within a symbol to control how the model responds to the symbol's rotation order.
• The Decorations marker placement has been renamed to At Ratio Positions.

Layout

• You can now add and import grids to your layouts. As with graticules, you can modify the grid components to your specifications.
• You can also add charts to your layouts and customize their appearance.

Text

• Upgrade annotation feature classes to take advantage of the full cartographic model of ArcGIS Pro. Once upgraded, you will be able to edit annotation and modify the properties of the feature class.
• With annotation, you can now use symbol substitution to temporarily change the symbology of annotation for a map.
• Annotation layer properties such as the reference scale, and feature-linked annotation information, are now listed on the Layer Properties dialog box.
• You can view and modify annotation feature class properties, such as the symbol collection and annotation classes, in the Catalog pane or view.
• You can create annotation feature classes in the Catalog pane or view.
• You can now convert labels to annotation with a geoprocessing tool.
• Annotation is supported in core geoprocessing tools, such as Copy Features, Append, and Feature Class to Feature Class.

Animation

• You can export multiple movies in one session from your project. This way you can keep working while the export is processing. You can monitor and cancel the exporting media at any point in the process, and you can also export to a variety of output formats at one time.
• Animations can now export to animated GIF, which is included as an option in the media export presets gallery on the Movie Export pane.
• You can now choose either a geodesic or a Cartesian camera transition within your animation. Geodesic creates the shortest possible line between two points on a sphere (or other curved surface). This helps create a straighter camera path when Cartesian would otherwise create more bend in the path following more of a natural curve. Use the Animation Properties pane to set the camera path logic for each keyframe.
• Five new animation how-to videos have been designed and created to improve your learning skills with animation. These short videos range from beginner to more in-depth concepts related to animations.

Table

• When you are working with the Show selected records view mode in a table, you can highlight a subset of rows within the selection set in yellow.

  

• You can now show or hide table columns. Right-click a column in a table and choose to hide that field.
• When you are scrolling down large tables using the scroll bar, only the records needed for the released position in the table view will be requested. Use the mouse wheel or scroll bar arrow buttons to move through the table and load every record in order, or click the Load button to pull down all the rows.
• You can force a refresh of a table by clicking the Refresh button at the lower right of the table.

Time

• Live-time mode is now included on the time slider. You can indicate that a temporal layer contains a live data feed, such as the real-time positions of vehicles or current weather conditions, on the Time tab of the Layer Properties dialog box. Automatically progress the time slider with your system clock by enabling the option on the top of the on-screen time slider control.

  

• The time slider can now include or exclude temporal values that fall on the minimum and maximum thumb values for the time slider. This is useful for data that is captured at a standard rate, such as every hour or every year. The options are exposed as toggle buttons on the Time contextual tab, which is shown when there are one or more time-aware layers in the map.

OGC web services

• You can now select which version to connect to when creating a new connection to a WMS, WMTS, WCS, or WFS service.
• Connections to native Web Feature Service (WFS) services are now supported in ArcGIS Pro. You can create a new connection to a WFS service by clicking New WFS Server on the Connections drop-down on the Insert tab.
• After creating a new WFS server connection, you can consume the WFS service by adding layers to the map. These layers will behave the same as a read-only feature class, where you can view and query data but editing and schema changes are not supported.
• In addition to consuming WFS layers in a map, you can also enable feature caching to improve performance when working with large datasets. To enable caching, you can choose to set the MODE parameter to COMPATIBLE upon making the connection to the WFS server. Alternatively, you can enable the feature cache by right-clicking the URL in the data source view of the Contents pane and selecting Enable feature cache from the context menu.

Analysis and geoprocessing

Interactive feature input

• Many tools have been enhanced so that you can interactively draw new input features to use as input. This is a new input mode, in addition to the previous modes of selecting an existing map layer or browsing to a dataset.

  

Charts

• You can create a new type of chart, box plots, to visualize and compare the distribution and central tendency of numeric values through their quartiles.

  

• You can change the appearance of your charts using the new Chart Format ribbon tab.
• The profile graph creation is not limited to the first 10 features in a feature class.

3D Analyst tools

• The following new tools were added:
  • The Classify LAS Noise tool detects LAS points that likely represent anomalous measurements and classifies the points as noise.
  • The Classify LAS Overlap tool detects LAS points from overlapping flight lines and classifies the points with larger magnitude scan angle values as overlap.
• The Spline With Barriers tool is now available in ArcGIS Pro. This tool interpolates a raster surface using a minimum curvature spline technique that fits the input measurements, which can be optionally constrained by line or polygon features.
• The following tools were enhanced:
  • For the Polygon Volume tool, LAS dataset is now supported as an input surface.
  • For the Slope and Aspect tools, a change was made to how NoData cells are handled, and a new geodesic method is now used, which improves the performance of both tools. Additional details about these changes can be found in the Raster Surface toolset overview.

Analysis toolbox

• The Create Thiessen Polygon tool's algorithm was rewritten to deliver significant improvement in performance while using less memory.

Aviation toolbox

• The Aviation toolbox contains tools that generate obstruction identification surfaces (OIS) according to different specifications.

Cartography toolbox

• A new Annotation toolset contains the Convert Labels To Annotation tool to create annotation from dynamic labels in maps.
• The Simplify Buildings tool is now partition enabled to better process large datasets. Use the cartographic partitions environment variable when running this tool to process by partition.
• The Merge Divided Roads tool has a new Output Table parameter to create a many-to-many relationship table that links the merged road features to their source features.

Conversion toolbox

• The Export to CAD tool now supports the conversion of multipatch features into DWG and DGN 3D mesh entities.
• A new Add Raster To Geopackage tool loads raster data into GeoPackage tiled raster.

Data Management toolbox

• The new Add Fields tool allows you to add multiple fields more efficiently at one time.
• The Calculate Field tool now honors the Transfer Field Domain Descriptions environment. When this environment is activated, any fields that have an associated domain will use the domain description instead of the field's value.
• The Enable COGO tool adds COGO-related labeling and symbology to the selected line feature class. Lines are drawn with custom COGO symbology, and a label expression labels each line with its COGO dimensions, if they exist.
• The Disable COGO tool removes COGO-related labeling and symbology from the selected line feature class.
• The CheckGeometry and RepairGeometry tools have a new geometry validation option, OGC. The OGC validation method ensures geometry complies with the OGC specification as defined in OpenGIS Implementation Standard for Geographic information – simple feature access – Part 1: common architecture.
• The Add Rasters to Mosaic Dataset tool allows you to edit the Processing Template for the raster type.
• The Create SQLite Database tool now supports the creation of GeoPackage versions 1.0, 1.1, and 1.2.
• The Validate Scene Layer Package tool has been added to provide a diagnostic capability for troubleshooting issues encountered with viewing or publishing a scene layer package.

Editing toolbox

• The Transfer Attributes tool now includes a new Transfer Rule Field(s) parameter for setting rules to control attribute transfer for m:n matches where multiple source features matched one or more target features.

Geoanalytics toolbox

• Multiple tools in the Geoanalytics toolbox now support a Data Store parameter to control whether the output will be stored in a spatiotemporal big data store or a relational data store.

Geostatistical Analyst

• Areal Interpolation has been added to the Geostatistical Wizard. Areal interpolation is a geostatistical technique that allows you to interpolate data collected in polygons and reaggregate predicted values into a new set of polygons. For example, counties often collect data about the number of children with elevated lead levels in their blood, and areal interpolation can be used to predict the number of children with elevated lead levels in individual school districts within the counties.
• Cross validation statistics can now be visualized and explored through interactive pop-up dialog boxes. This allows you to quickly investigate the accuracy of a geostatistical model and easily compare different models side by side.

Network Analyst

• The Network Dataset Property page now has additional information on network sources and includes a summary of all the network dataset settings.

Python

• A new arcpy.da.Describe function was added for describing data. It is similar to the arcpy.Describe function but returns its information as a Python dictionary.
• The arcpy.Describe function has been updated with many additional mosaic dataset properties.

  The arcpy.mp module added legend synchronization options with its map layers. The module also added support for the RasterClassifyColorizer and RasterUniqueValueColorizer.

Raster Analysis toolbox

• You can specify the raster analysis settings for each portal job on the Settings tab of the Output Generation page. These settings control the environment of your job, such as defining the geographic processing extent, coordinate system for all outputs, or the cell size of output web image layers.

Spatial Analyst toolbox

• In the Surface toolset, the Slope and Aspect tools have been improved at this release. A new geodesic method for performing calculation is added. There is a new capability for improving performance. Finally, there is a change how NoData cells in the input are handled.
• In the Interpolation toolset, the Spline with Barriers tool is now available in ArcGIS Pro. This tool interpolates point values onto a raster surface using a minimum curvature spline technique. The output predictions can be constrained by either a line or a polygon feature class that defines areas where measured values change abruptly.
• In the Segmentation and Classification toolset, there are two new tools to help generate and inspect your classification training samples:
  • The Generate Training Samples from Seed Points tool creates class training sample polygons that grow from seed points depending on a thematic class map or GIS layer. The seed point feature class file can be created from the Create Accuracy Assessment Points tool using different random sampling strategies, and is intersected with the thematic class map or GIS layer to guide the growth into training class polygons.
  • The Inspect Training Samples tool estimates the accuracy of individual training samples. Outputs include a training sample dataset with the accuracy score for each training sample, and a misclassified raster class map to view where classification confusion exists and what is causing it.

Space Time Pattern Mining toolbox

• A new Create Space Time Cube From Defined Locations tool has been added. This tool takes panel data or station data (defined locations where geography does not change but attributes are changing over time) and structures it into a netCDF data format by creating space-time bins. The resulting space-time cube can be used to understand trends in your data and as input to other tools in the Space Time Pattern Mining toolbox.
• A new Fill Missing Values tool has been added to the Utilities toolset in the Space Time Pattern Mining toolbox. This tool completes your dataset by replacing missing values (null values) with estimated values based on spatial neighbors, space-time neighbors, or time-series values.
• The Emerging Hot Spot Analysis and Local Outlier Analysis tools have new parameters for setting the Conceptualization of Spatial Relationships. These parameters allow you to specify how neighbor relationships among bins in a space-time cube are defined.

WFS support

• You can now consume native OGC Web Feature Service (WFS) services in ArcGIS Pro. Create a connection to the WFS server and use WFS layers by dragging the layers in the Catalog pane onto the map. Once the layer is in the map, it can be utilized like any other read-only feature layer. For example, you can view data, set definition queries on the layer, change symbology, or use as input for geoprocessing tools.

Edit data

• In the Create Features pane, feature templates for annotation layers include Horizontal Annotation . To learn more, see Create annotation features.
• In the Create Features pane, feature templates for multipatch layers contain construction tools that create generic predefined shapes whose size, rotation, and position can be preconfigured. Once these shapes are added to a 3D scene, you can modify using Vertices .
• In the Modify Features pane, Annotation modifies annotation features. You can edit the text string and move, scale, or rotate the feature by dragging a selection handle when you select the feature using Select Annotation . To learn more, see Modify annotation features.
• In the Modify Features pane, Vertices reshapes the polyline along which baseline annotation is displayed. When you add, delete, or move vertices, or change the shape of a segment, the annotation follows the new shape. The workflow is the same as editing polyline vertices and segments. To learn more, see Reshape annotation baseline geometry.
• New functionality has been added to the Traverse tool:
  • Improved labeling and symbology for a COGO-enabled line feature class.
  • Add previously entered and saved traverse lines to the Traverse tool by tracing over the lines in the map. Lines being traced must belong to a COGO-enabled line feature class and have populated COGO attribute fields.
  • Digitize traverse lines. Use edit tools to digitize single, two-point lines and multisegmented polylines.
  • Reorder traverse courses by dragging a traverse row to a different location. The traverse will be recomputed based on the new order of the courses.
  • Traverse calculator. Use operators to quickly calculate and derive distances.

Manage data and geodatabases

General

• When browsing folders and databases containing a very large number of items, it may take a while to list all of them. Items will start to appear as the list is compiled. If it takes too long to load the folder's contents, you can cancel the process.
• The UUID data type in PostgreSQL is now supported as a GUID in ArcGIS software.
• Import data and export data context menus are now available on geodatabases, feature datasets, feature classes, tables, and shapefiles in the Catalog pane.
• A new Manage Data Licenses dialog box in the Licensing options for a project provides tools that allow you to register and manage your data licenses.
• The Project pane and the Project view have been renamed to the Catalog pane and the Catalog view.

Project favorites

• Project favorites are available on the Favorites tab in the Catalog pane, and in the Catalog view. You can quickly add your favorite items to the current project without having to remember where the items are located or what connection information is required. If your organization has an enterprise database or server used by all projects, set these to be added to all new projects. Learn how to favorite folders, databases, and servers, and manage these connections.

Data Interoperability extension

• Spatial ETL tools authored in ArcMap can now be shared with ArcGIS Pro users. By installing the Data Interoperability extension , you can import and convert 10.X ETL tools to be used in your ArcGIS Pro project.

Data Reviewer

• New methods are available for automating validation of your data when using Reviewer rules. These validation methods include the following:
  • Domain—Finds attribute values that do not comply with coded value or range domains that are associated with an attribute field.
  • Duplicate Feature—Finds features of the same geometry type that are collocated and optionally share attributes.
• New capabilities are available for streamlining workflows that identify errors that cannot be detected using automated capabilities. These tools include the following:
  • The Browse Features tool enables you to perform visual review analysis of selected features in your map and create error results for features that fail review.
  • The Flag Missing Features tool enables you to create an error result indicating the location of missing features on your map.
• A new capability for visualizing the results of your quality control review is available. The Symbolize command displays a result's geometry on your map to help you identify the spatial distribution of errors in your data. Result geometries identify the exact location of where a feature does not meet your organization's quality requirements and can be used to assist in corrective workflows.
• You can now implement automated and semiautomated review workflows for your web feature layers. This includes automating the detection of noncompliant web features using Reviewer rules. The following validation methods (checks) support validation of web feature layers:
  • Cutbacks
  • Domain
  • Duplicate Feature
  • Feature on Feature
  • Query Attributes
  • Monotonicity
• Web features can also be evaluated in visual review workflows when using the Browse Features and Flag Missing Features tools. Errors detected on noncompliant web features are managed as a Reviewer result and are used in reporting and corrective workflows.

Geodatabases

• Topology properties can now be edited through the Topology Properties dialog box. You can update the name, cluster tolerances, and coordinate ranks as well as add and remove feature classes and topology rules.

Imagery and raster

• Airbus- and DigitalGlobe-based sensors now support raster type templates.
• The Raster Functions Batch Editor allows you to insert, update, or remove functions for multiple selected rasters in a mosaic dataset using a step-by-step wizard. This applies or removes functions at the item level of a mosaic dataset.
• In the Raster Item Explorer, you can now edit raster functions at the item level.
• You now have access to mosaic dataset side tables.
• The mosaic dataset default properties have been enhanced to support product definitions and datum transformations.
• You can now view and edit the functions at the item level for Cached Raster, Constant, LAS to Raster, LAS Dataset to Raster, Merge Rasters, Raster Info, and Terrain to Raster.
• Tile cache information is now available for Cached Raster.
• In your ortho mapping workspace, you can create an ortho mapping workspace from an existing mosaic dataset to improve orthomosaic accuracy or generate products such as DEMs.
• Additionally in your ortho mapping workspace, you can compute ground control points based on a referenced image while you adjust your satellite or digital aerial images.
• Georeferencing has been improved with georeferencing options and the ability to specify the target x,y coordinates.
• Raster analysis, using Portal for ArcGIS, has been enhanced with validation and settings.
• The Contour function generates contour lines by joining points with the same elevation from a raster elevation dataset. The contours are isolines created as rasters for visualization.
• The Contents pane now shows the classified legend with only the upper value for each class, to mimic how the Symbology pane shows the class breaks.

LAS and lidar

• The LAS Dataset Properties dialog box, which can be opened from the Catalog pane, provides in-depth information about a LAS dataset. To learn more, see LAS dataset properties.
• Two new geoprocessing tools are now available to work with LAS data. These are Classify LAS Overlap and Classify LAS Noise.
• Vertical coordinate system transformation support has been added to the Extract LAS and Tile LAS geoprocessing tools.
• Points from a LAS dataset can be displayed with intensity modulation to reveal greater detail about the material captured by the lidar scan. Intensity modulation shades the color being used to symbolize the LAS point.
• You can now use the Polygon Volume tool with LAS datasets.

Pipeline referencing

• The Configuration toolset was added to the Location Referencing toolbox and contains tools that allow you to do the following:
  • Create the linear referencing system (LRS), LRS Networks, and LRS events.
  • Change configurations within the LRS, LRS Networks, or LRS events.
  • Remove any LRS, LRS Networks, or LRS events that no longer need to be managed.

Production

Defense Mapping

• Defense Mapping is a new ArcGIS extension that streamlines GIS data and map production for topographic mapping agencies and contractors. Defense Mapping and the Topographic Production toolbox provide tools that enable specialized data collection and attribution, geodatabase maintenance, data validation, geodatabase models, topologies, and business rules required for Topographic Data Store (TDS) and Multinational Geospatial Co-Production Program (MGCP) products.

Work more efficiently

Workflow Manager

• Adding jobs under Workflow Connection in the Catalog pane has been deprecated.
• Closing the LOI map view will prompt you to click Save and Close or Close the map view. For more information, see Specify a location of interest (LOI).
• You can buffer a line feature to create a polygon area of interest as the location of interest for your job.
• You can now export ArcGIS Pro maps (.mapx) into your ArcGIS Workflow Manager (Classic) database using the Export Map button on the Workflow tab.
• You now have the capability of creating new jobs from the Workflow tab. The new job can have an LOI that is defined based on the map selection.

Tasks

• The Locate pane can be embedded in the Tasks pane when a step runs.
• A step can set the editing state of a stand-alone table and select the table in the Contents pane.
• When running a task, click the Back to previous step button at the bottom of the Tasks pane to go back to the previous task step.

Share your work

• Sync and extract can be enabled when sharing web feature layers that reference registered data to Portal for ArcGIS 10.5.1.
• Time zones can be set when sharing a web feature layer with copied data to Portal for ArcGIS 10.5.1.
• Vertical coordinate systems are included when sharing web scenes and web scene layers.
• You can now continue working with ArcGIS Pro while packaging. You can additionally close ArcGIS Pro while packaging completes in the background.

Extend ArcGIS Pro

• ArcGIS Pro SDK for Microsoft .NET is available for you to extend ArcGIS Pro with your own unique tools and workflows using SDK add-ins and configurations.