Set catalog browsing options

You can use catalog browsing options to set preferences for working with the Catalog pane, catalog views, and browse dialog boxes.

Open the catalog browsing options

The catalog browsing options are available on the Options dialog box on the ArcGIS Pro settings page.

1. Go to the ArcGIS Pro settings page in either of the following ways:
   • On the ArcGIS Pro start page, click Settings in the lower left corner.
   • In an open project, click the Project tab on the ribbon.
2. On the settings page, in the list of side tabs, click Options.
3. On the Options dialog box, under Application, click Catalog Browsing.
4. Choose the options you want, as described in the following sections.
5. Click OK.

Browse project items

You can choose a default display name for folder connections.

• Folder name only, e.g. ProjectData displays only the name of the folder to which you connect. This is the default setting.
• Complete path, e.g. C:\Data\ProjectData displays the complete path of the folder connection.

The complete path includes a drive letter if you connect to a folder on your computer—for example, C:\Data\ProjectData. It does not include a drive letter if you connect to a folder on a network computer—for example, \\whidbey\Data\ProjectData.

Complete paths are displayed in the following locations:

• The Catalog pane
• The Contents pane of a catalog view
• Browse dialog boxes
• Catalog views that display items as tiles

In catalog views that display items in columns , folder names appear in the Name column and paths appear in the Path column, no matter which setting you use.

You must restart ArcGIS Pro for changes to take effect.

Tip:

You can also alias folder connections. When a folder connection is aliased, only the alias is displayed, regardless of your default display name setting.

Catalog view locations

When you open an existing project that has one or more catalog views, you can choose the locations from which the views start.

• When the Starts from the last saved location check box is checked, catalog views open to the locations they had when the project was last saved. This is the default setting.
• When the check box is unchecked, catalog views open to the Project level of the catalog.

You must save your current project for changes to take effect.

With the option checked (top), catalog views open to saved locations. With the option unchecked (bottom), they open to the Project level of the catalog.

Browse dialog box locations

You use browse dialog boxes to complete such tasks as opening projects, adding folder connections, selecting input data or output locations for geoprocessing tools, and adding data to a map.

Browse dialog boxes have predefined behavior that specifies the location to which they open on first use, and whether they subsequently open to their last visited location. For example, on first use, the Add Data browse dialog box opens to the Project level of the catalog. After you browse to a location, such as C:\MyData, the dialog box opens to that location on next use. Other browse dialog boxes may have different starting locations, or may not support returning to their last visited location.

You can choose whether to accept the default (predefined) behavior for browse dialog boxes.

• When the Accept default behavior for each browse dialog box check box is checked, browse dialog boxes observe their predefined behavior. This is the default setting.
• When the check box is unchecked, browse dialog boxes always open to their predefined first-use locations in the catalog.

You can also choose to clear the last-visited locations for browse dialog boxes.

• When the Clear the last visited location check box is unchecked, browse dialog boxes open to their last-visited locations if they support this behavior. This is the default setting.
• When the check box is checked, last-visited locations are cleared for all browse dialog boxes.

Clearing last-visited locations is a one-time operation, like clearing a cache. When you click OK on the Options dialog box, the operation takes effect and the check box is unchecked automatically. The next time you open any browse dialog box, it opens to its predefined first-use location. Thereafter, the Accept default behavior for each browse dialog box setting is observed. If default behavior is accepted, last-visited locations are used again for browse dialog boxes that support them.

Advanced column settings

By default, catalog views display the last modification date and file size for most file geodatabase items. In large geodatabases, this may affect browse performance. If it does, you can choose not to show these properties.

• When the Display item size and modification date for file geodatabases check box is checked, these properties are displayed for file geodatabase items. This is the default setting.
• When the check box is unchecked, these properties are not displayed.

After changing the setting, you need to restart ArcGIS Pro.