Configure a step command

A task step can be configured to execute a command or tool on the Actions tab in the Task Designer pane. The step must be selected in the Tasks pane for the Actions tab to be available in the Task Designer pane.

A task step can have the following types of commands:

  • A command, geoprocessing tool, or Python script tool
  • A dialog box prompting the task user to enter an attribute

Execute a command or tool

To configure a step to run a command or geoprocessing tool, click the Record button Record or the Edit button Editable on the command action bar.

Load a command by clicking the Record or Edit button
Load a command by clicking the Record or Edit button.

Click the Record button Record and click a command to quickly load it as the active command for the step. You can click commands or tools on the ArcGIS Pro ribbon or in the Catalog pane, or right-click to access commands. Click the Edit button Editable to browse to or search for a command or geoprocessing tool.

To configure a step to run your own Python script tool, click the Record button Record and double-click the tool in the Catalog pane to load it as the active command for the step. Make sure the script tool exists in a toolbox that has been added to the project. You can also browse to the custom script tool by clicking the Edit button Editable.

Note:

Only the command or tool that was clicked during the recording session is added to the step. Any parameters or values entered for the command or tool during the recording session are not recorded. Parameters can be specified for geoprocessing tools and preset parameters can be specified for embedded commands after the step has been recorded and created.

Tip:

The quickest way to create a series of task steps with commands is to record steps. Command or tool clicks can be recorded to create steps that are configured with the command or tool that was clicked. During a recording session, each command or tool clicked creates a new step in the Tasks pane.

Embed or un-embed a command

Some commands can be embedded in the Tasks pane when the step runs. For example, the Attributes command and Create command panes are embeddable. Embeddable commands are embedded by default when adding them to a step action. When the step runs, an embedded command opens and displays in the Tasks pane instead of in a separate pane.

Note:

The step behavior of embedded commands can be set to Auto Run only.

Some embeddable commands support preset parameters. Preset parameters become available in the Task Designer pane under Command/Geoprocessing when the command is embedded.

To view preset parameters and the embeddable command properties in the Task Designer pane, click the Edit button on the command action bar. Preset parameters are only available in the Task Designer pane and are not available when the step runs. Under Command/Geoprocessing you can also un-embed a command.

See examples of commands that support preset parameters

Embed a geoprocessing tool

When a geoprocessing tool is loaded as the step action, it is embedded by default. When the step runs, the embedded geoprocessing tool opens and displays in the Tasks pane instead of in the separate Geoprocessing pane.

Once a geoprocessing tool is added as a step action, the tool parameters are available in the Task Designer pane under Command/Geoprocessing. To view the tool parameters and the embeddable properties, click the Edit button Editable in the command action bar. Under Command/Geoprocessing you can also un-embed the geoprocessing tool.

Geoprocessing tool parameters can be left empty, which requires the task user to populate them when the step runs, or the task author can populate them with preset values. If the tool parameters are populated with preset values, the step can automatically run the tool without requiring input from the task user. For example, the step behavior can be set to Automatic, where the step automatically starts, runs the geoprocessing tool, and proceeds to the next step.

Preset parameters can be populated for both embedded and non-embedded geoprocessing tools.

Get attributes

A step can load a dialog box prompting the user to enter an attribute. The entered attributes can be saved in variables to be used in subsequent steps. For example, a step would get an attribute from a task user and use it to calculate attribute fields in a subsequent step.

Learn more about getting attributes in a step

Configure a step command on the Actions tab

To configure a step command, do the following:

  1. Create the step.
  2. With the step selected and the Task Designer pane open, click the Actions tab.
  3. To set a command or tool, click the Record button Record on the command action bar and click a command or tool on the ArcGIS Pro ribbon or in the Catalog pane, or right-click to access commands.

    Click the Edit button on the command action bar Editable to edit the properties of the tool or command.

  4. Instead of recording a command or tool, click the Edit button Editable on the command action bar to browse to or search for a command or tool:
    1. Click the drop-down list under Type of Command and choose either Command or Geoprocessing Tool.
    2. For Command, locate the command you want to use. Choose List of Tabs to find the command by its tabbed location on the ribbon, or choose All Commands to search for the command by typing the command name.
    3. For Geoprocessing Tool, locate the tool you want to use. You can search for a geoprocessing tool by typing the tool name.
  5. To configure a step to get attributes, click the Edit button Editable on the command action bar and choose Get Attributes under Type of Command.
  6. Click Add Attribute to define an attribute to be entered by the task user.