You can specify default options for new maps and scenes from the options in the application settings. On the ribbon, click Project to get to the ArcGIS Pro settings page. On the menu, click Options to open the Options dialog box. On this dialog box, under the Application heading, click the Map and Scene tab to access the default settings for new maps and scenes. The settings are outlined in this topic.
Basemap
Basemap layers provide the foundation for the operational layers you add to your maps and scenes. You can specify which basemap, or set of basemaps, are added to new maps and scenes automatically, or you can choose to have no basemap added.
Expand the Basemap heading and choose options on the Map and the Scene drop-down menus. Choose Default basemap of your organization to use the basemap settings set by your ArcGIS Online organization. Choose None to have new maps or scenes open with no basemap layers. The other basemap options on the menu are determined by the configurations settings in your ArcGIS Online organization.
The default extent of new maps and scenes is the Default basemap of your organization option. This option is defined by the settings of the ArcGIS Online organization account. For example, your organization has set the extent to your local area. If you are signed in to ArcGIS Online while using ArcGIS Pro, any new map or scene uses the extent defined for your organization. If you are not signed in, the first layer added to the map or scene defines the extent for local scenes and maps. Global scenes always show the whole earth.
Add layers and tables
The Make newly added layers visible by default option controls layer visibility when you add a layer to your map. This option is enabled by default. In some cases, it can be useful to turn off this option, such as when the layer you want to add contains many features or may take a long time to display. Zoom to an area of interest before turning on the visibility of the layer in the Contents pane.
In ArcGIS Pro 3.2 and later, new field types to support date, time, and big integer values are available. When query layers on unregistered datasets or text files are added to a map in ArcGIS Pro 3.6, these fields may be assigned to the new field types, which are unavailable in earlier releases. To opt out of using new field types for query layers and text files, check the Use field types that are compatible with ArcGIS Pro 3.1 and earlier releases when adding query layers and text files option.
Layer data sources
You can choose what happens when the data sources of layers are deleted, moved, or renamed.
The When data sources are deleted setting controls whether layers are removed when their data source is deleted, moved, or otherwise inaccessible. Choose one of the following options:
- Do not remove layers (fastest)—Nothing happens. Affected layers in open maps do not draw because their data source does not exist and the layers are not available for modification or analysis. This is the default.
- Remove corresponding layers in open maps—The affected layers are removed from any maps or scenes currently open in the project.
- Remove corresponding layers in all maps—The affected layers are removed from all maps or scenes in the project.
The When data sources are renamed setting controls whether layers are updated when their data source is renamed. Choose one of the following options:
- Do not update layers (fastest)—Nothing happens. Affected layers in open maps do not draw because their data source does not exist or is otherwise inaccessible. The layers are not available for modification or analysis.
- Update layers in open maps—The data source of the affected layers is updated in any maps or scenes currently open in the project. This is the default.
- Update layers in all maps—The data source of the affected layers is updated in all maps or scenes in the project.
Spatial reference
You can set the coordinate system that maps and local scenes use by default. By default, the Use spatial reference of the first operational layer option is enabled. This means the first layer that is not a basemap sets the coordinate system for maps and local scenes.
You can use the Choose spatial reference option to specify a different default coordinate system. Note that the coordinate system setting does not apply to global scenes, because they always use WGS84.
You can enable the Warn if transformation between geographic coordinate system is required to align data sources correctly option, which displays a warning if the data will be transformed to fit the specified default coordinate system.
Suggested transformations are dependent on the spatial extent of the layers in the map. When a map includes a basemap layer, its global extent might skew the list of appropriate transformation choices. You can ignore the extents of any basemaps when choosing transformations by enabling the Ignore the extents of basemap layers when listing and automatically choosing transformations option.
Temporal reference
You can set the default format used when time zones are displayed. Choose one of the following:
- IANA—Time zones are displayed using Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) extended names, including both standard and daylight offsets.
- IANA (abbreviated)—Time zones are displayed using IANA location names, including only the standard offsets.
- Microsoft Windows—Time zones are displayed using the Microsoft Windows operating system names. This is the default.
Label engine
You can set the label engine that maps and scenes use by default. By default, the label engine is set to Maplex Label Engine.
The default font name and font style can be set on the Text and Graphics tab.
Note:
When new annotation feature classes are created, they will also use the default label engine set here.
Ground elevation surface
You can set the elevation source that new global and local scenes use by default. By default, the Default elevation service of your organization option is enabled. This means the default service of the active portal is used. The default Esri elevation source for this surface is a cached elevation image service, WorldElevation3D/Terrain3D.
You can use the Use custom elevation source option to specify a local elevation source, such as a raster dataset or TIN dataset, or specify a web elevation layer from the active portal.
You can also choose the No Elevation Source option, which removes the elevation source from any new scene and sets the elevation at 0. While no elevation source is in the scene, the ground surface is still available to adjust the Surface Color option.
Note:
These settings do not apply to the Global Scene and Local Scene system templates when ArcGIS Pro is first opened. Use Start without a template to see the updated default settings.
Feature cache
Check the Manage feature cache from the Map tab option to manage the feature cache manually for each map in a project. This exposes controls in the Feature Cache group on the Map tab, where you can fill or empty the cache or cancel a cache fill that is in progress.
When this option is unchecked (the default), the cache is managed by the application instead.
Layer IDs
Check the Assign unique numeric IDs to all layers in new maps option to adjust the unique ID assignment when sharing web layers. When this option is checked, assigned IDs remain static when the map is modified. The option is only applied to newly created maps.
When this option is unchecked (the default), IDs are assigned sequentially, which means layer IDs may change if their drawing order is changed.
You can manually reset the IDs for a particular map by clicking Assign IDs Sequentially on the Map Properties dialog box.
Contents pane
Very large or complex point, line, and polygon symbols are reduced to a maximum size in the Contents pane to ensure the pane remains usable. You can adjust the size of the patches to show larger symbols by adjusting the Legend patch size limit value. This value does not impact the sizes of some symbol patch types, such as mesh or text symbols.
Caution:
Adjusting the size of legend patches in the Contents pane may adjust the relative size of symbol patches or previews in other panes, such as in the Symbology pane symbol gallery.
Simulation cache
You can set the default number of cache slices that are stored for a simulation layer. This value is used when running and exporting a simulation result. The default value is 12. Use the arrows or type a new value in the box to change the default value. The larger the number, the faster the simulation appears to run and more disk space it requires.
The set default value can also be overridden from the simulation layer properties.
You can also control the resolution at which an area of interest is sampled when processing flood simulation. Three options are available:
- 2048—Sets a maximum resolution of 2048x2048.
- 4096—Sets a maximum resolution of 4096x4096. This is the default.
- 8192—Sets a maximum resolution of 8192x8192.
High-resolution processing consumes more resources and time.
You can delete the entire cache for all simulation layers by clicking the Clear Simulation Cache button. Other display caches and settings are not included; those are managed on the Display tab.
Query builder
When you use a definition query to, for example, select features by attribute or filter features, the query builder is used to create the queries. The query builder features two modes: SQL Designer and SQL Editor. You can set the mode to activate by default for every new query.
- SQL Designer mode—An interactive mode featuring constructed clauses. The menus of each clause include the values or fields present in the source data.
- SQL Editor mode—Write, manage, and build queries in SQL syntax. See the SQL reference guide for more information about writing SQL queries.