Geoprocessing in ArcGIS

 

 

In Module 5, the lesson addressed the following objectives:

• creating a toolbox
• creating a tool using ModelBuilder
• setting model parameters
• exporting a script from ModelBuilder
• updating a model-derived script to work outside of ArcMap
• creating a script tool

The task was to use ModelBuilder to clip a "soils" layer to the extent of another layer, "basin", then to select soils within the clipped output that were not prime farmland and to erase them.  The image above shows the result.

 

Using ModelBuilder was straightforward and fun (compared to writing the script from scratch), and it helped me visualize the process so that when we did have to update the script to work outside of ArcMap, I actually understood what was written.  The three tools, Clip, Select, and Erase, were linked with inputs and outputs whose parameters we manipulated.  This also clarified the process for me.