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Geoprocessing Using ModelBuilder Transcript

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Copyright © 2005 ESRI. All rights reserved. 1

Copyright © 2004 ESRI. All rights reserved.

Presenter: Jeff Bigos ESRI Redlands, California

Geoprocessing Using ModelBuilder

Good afternoon. My name is Jeff Bigos and I’m an instructor for the Educational Services team

here in Redlands. Joining me today is Catherine Jones, who is a product specialist for

ModelBuilder.

I want to welcome you all to today’s live training seminar.



Seminar overviewTopics

Creating modelsEditing modelsDocumenting and distributing models

FormatEach topic followed by a software demonstration, review, andQ & A session.

In today’s seminar, we are going to cover some of the basics of geoprocessing with

ModelBuilder. In this seminar we will cover creating models of our GIS workflow,

editing model elements and repairing broken models, and documenting and distributing models.

After each topic we will have a software demo, followed by a review and question and answer

session.



Creating models

First off, we are going to touch upon the basics of geoprocessing and creating models.



Creating a modelGeoprocessing basicsWhat is a model?Why build models?Model elementsCreating a modelModel statesRunning a model

In topic one, we are going to cover the following issues:

• Geoprocessing basics

• What is a model?

• Why build models?

• Model elements

• Creating a model

• Model states, and

• Running a model



What is geoprocessing?Tools for management, conversion, and analysisAccessible through ArcToolboxCan access models, tools, and scriptsTools available with ArcGIS extensions and all ArcGIS Desktop applications

To get started, we have to look at what geoprocessing is and how it applies to model building.

Defined, geoprocessing is a GIS operation used to manipulate data stored in a GIS workspace.

Geoprocessing is one of the most important aspects of a GIS because it provides us with the tools

necessary to perform data analysis, conversion, and management. At its core, geoprocessing is as

simple as converting data from shapefiles to geodatabase feature classes, or performing a buffer

analysis on your input data.

Many ArcGIS Desktop extensions have a toolbox associated with them, such as Spatial Analyst,

Network Analyst, Military Analyst, and Data Interoperability. Geoprocessing tools work with all

ArcGIS-supported data formats. They are also available with ArcMap, ArcCatalog, ArcScene,

and ArcGlobe.



Using geoprocessing tools

There are four different ways to interact with the geoprocessing framework, all of which are

initially taken from ArcToolbox.

They can be accessed and run through their tool dialogs from ArcToolbox, interactively typed in

the command line window, used in a geoprocessing script environment like Python, and finally,

we can work with the tools in ModelBuilder to build GIS task-based workflows.

Let’s investigate using models with geoprocessing.



What is a model?String of processes composed of data and tools

In ArcGIS, a model is displayed as a model diagram like what you see here. You can automate

your workflow by stringing data and tools together in the model diagram that will run in

sequence.



Why build models?Automate a geoprocessing workflowAbility to share geoprocessing workCreate custom toolsEasy to run and rerunVisual representation of geoprocessing work

So why would you want to build a model?

Building a model helps you to manage and automate your geoprocessing workflow. It can help

with simple multistep tasks, such as adding new fields to a feature class and then calculating

values for those fields.

Models are custom tools that you create. They can be run multiple times, and you can apply

different datasets each time you run them.

Also, they give users of your models a clear and concise representation of the geoprocessing work

that will take place.



What is ModelBuilder?Interactive window used to create models inside of ArcGIS

Here is the ModelBuilder interactive window. This is the window where your model building is

going to occur. When open, you will drag and drop in geoprocessing tools and project data and

connect them into processes which are then connected to create a workflow.

Let’s take a look at the different kinds of elements you will use when building your model.



Model elements

Connector

Process

First off, you will be working with project data. Project data is your input data that exists before

the model runs. Most of you work with this data on a day-to-day basis. This is the input data to

your model, the data that will go through the model and generate your result.

Tools represent the geoprocessing operation that will be performed on the project or input data.

This might be a buffer, clip, or union. Tools fall into two categories: system and custom. System

tools are provided to you by ESRI through ArcToolbox. Custom tools are models created by you

in ModelBuilder, script tools built with Python (or any scripting language), or tools you’ve

written using ArcObjects code.

Derived data is the result of tools run in the model. It is the data that is generated as the outcome

of a tool in your model process. This generated result can also be used as input into another tool

in the model chain. It will also be the end result of your model. ModelBuilder provides that kind

of functionality to chain tools and results together.

At its simplest, the line connector is a line that shows the sequence of processing. However, it is

much more than that. The line connector will allow you to connect your project or input data into


a geoprocessing tool. Using this element will populate some of the necessary input parameters to

the tool.

Together, these elements create a process within our model, and a model is composed of one or

more processes.



Creating the modelCreate a custom toolbox or have an existing custom toolboxOpens the ModelBuilder interactive window

To begin, you have to create a model. To do that, you need only to right-click on a custom

toolbox and then select New > Model. This will bring up the ModelBuilder interactive window

that we talked about earlier.

Before we apply our new knowledge and create and run a model, we need to look at model states

and running the model.



Model statesNot ready to run

Ready to run

Has been run

As you create and edit models, you will begin to notice a change in the color of model elements.

These colors give us an indication of the state of a model.

When you open a model you will see one of three different states:

• Not ready to run: In this case there may be parameters not set, referenced data no longer

exists or has been moved, or the parameter value is invalid.

• Ready to run: All the parameters are valid and executing the process should be

successful.

• Has been run: A shadowbox around elements tells us that they have already been run

successfully.



Running a modelThere are three ways to run model processes:

Run a single processRun ready-to-run processes onlyRun all processes

Status messages are returned with each run

Now that we have looked at the basic building blocks and how to create the model, let’s run a

model.

Once you are ready to execute your model, you can run a single process of the model, like the

select or clip tool. We can run all processes that have not yet been run. And finally, we can run

the entire model, including rerunning any previously run processes.

Keep in mind that the more processes being run, the longer the processing time, hence the reason

you are able to run just ready-to-run processes.

When each tool is run, there are status messages generated. Status messages will include

parameter values, the start time and end time of execution, status of execution, and any error

messages, to name a few.

We will look at these again in topic three when we look at model reports.



Software demonstration

For now, let’s take a look at a demonstration on how we are going to go about creating a model.

To start, we are here in ArcMap and I’ve got a custom toolbox loaded in ArcToolbox called

Model_LTS. Inside of Model_LTS I’ve got some system tools, a Python script, and some models.

Now to start, I have to right-click on my custom toolbox and go to New > Model. Now that

brings up the ModelBuilder interactive window.

Now, for our analysis we want to create a model that will help us determine the total surface area

of water for a selected country.

I’ve got two layers loaded in my ArcMap table of contents. I’ve got one that represents countries

of the world, and I’ve also got another one, called World_lakes, which represents some of the

major and minor lakes around the world.

So first off, what I want to do is drag and drop the country layer into my model. What this is

going to do is the countries will serve as the input data or the start of my model.


Okay, now the first tool I want to use in my analysis is the Select tool. The Select tool is in the

Analysis Tools toolbox, in the Extract toolset. So here is the Select tool. To use it, I’m just going

to drag and drop it into my model, and there it is.

Now what I need to do is notice that the tool is in a not-ready-to-run state. I need to supply some

parameters to it. To do that, I’m going to use the line connector tool, click on the countries layer,

and then click on the Select tool. Now my countries layer is an input parameter to my Select tool.

Now I need to supply some additional parameters to the Select tool to get it to run. For me to

generate surface area waters for a country like Iceland, I have to supply an expression. So I’m

going to build one here in my Query Builder. I’m going to set out my country name equal to

Iceland. Click OK to each of these dialogs. Now the Select tool is ready for me to run.

The next tool I want to use in my analysis is the Clip tool. I’m going to go ahead and drag and

drop that into the ModelBuilder interactive window. Now instead of using the line connector, I’m

going to supply the parameters a different way. I’m going to go ahead and double-click on the

Clip tool and supply the parameters through this dialog here.

So for my input features, I’m going to go ahead and click on the World_lakes. Now, this

World_lakes is coming from my ArcMap table of contents. Go ahead and select the lakes.

Now, for the Clip Features, I want to use the output from the Select tool, and that is noted here:

World_CNTRY92_Select. That is the output to the Select tool. Now I’ve got the parameters

supplied to the Clip tool. One thing I want you to take note of is the Clip tool—it is white, so it is

not ready to run, there are no line connectors, and we haven’t added the World_lakes feature class

yet. So now when I click OK, all of that has been added. The appropriate parameters have been

added and World_lakes have been added to the model. Let me resize that so we can start to see

our model more.

The last tool I want to use in my analysis is the Summary Statistics tool. It is located here in the

Statistics toolset. Let’s go ahead and drag and drop that in and resize our model.

I’m just going to use the line connector to provide that World_lakes_Clip as the input parameter

to the Summary Statistics tool. Now I also need to apply some additional parameters to this tool.


I’m going to go ahead and double-click to open that up. In my World_lakes feature class, I’ve got

a SQKM (square kilometers) attribute.

Now I’ve clipped my lakes to Iceland, and now I want to sum up the SQKM field to tell me how

many square kilometers of surface area water is available in Iceland. So for Statistic Type, select

SUM.

Now my model is ready to run. My input data is here and my tools are in a ready-to-run state.

Now one more thing I want to point out is that, as each tool is running, it will turn red, indicating

that they are currently processing the data.

To run this model, I’m going to click the Run button. There goes the Clip tool, the Summary

Statistics, and any messages that the tools generate are being written to this Model progress

dialog. The clip took about a second and the statistics ran through quickly as well. So, three of

three processes were executed and our model is complete. Let’s click Close.

Now, the neat thing is that we have generated a result—Summary Statistics generates a table.

Inside of the ModelBuilder interactive window, if I want to see that table, I just right-click on the

result element and click on Add To Display.

Now to see the table in ArcMap, I have to set the table of contents to the Source tab; that is how

you see tables in ArcMap. Here is the result of the Summary Statistics tool. When I open it, it

tells me that there are over 1600 km² of surface area waters available in Iceland.

So let me save and close this model, as we will need it for the second demonstration.

So in this demonstration, we looked at how to create and run a model, and we looked at the

different model states and elements.



Review and Q & AGeoprocessing basicsWhat is a model?Why build models?Model elementsCreating a modelModel statesRunning a model

To review, in the first topic, we covered: Geoprocessing basics; What is a model?; Why build

models?; Model elements; Creating a model; Model states; and finally, Running a model. Now,

let's turn it over to Catherine for some of your questions.

Thanks, Jeff. The first question that we'll look at here is from Neal in Albuquerque, and he asks,

"Can AMLs be imported into ModelBuilder?" Well, Neal, you can actually create a custom script

tool that references your AML and then, because a script tool is just like any other tool, you can

drag and drop that into ModelBuilder and chain it together to the other processes that you have

there as well. So, yes.

Our second question comes from Emma in Wellington, and she asks, "Can you use ModelBuilder

to iterate through a set of individual features, performing processing on each one?" So, she's

asking if we can do batch processing in ModelBuilder. And the answer, again, is yes. What you

will need to do is to create a script tool again, a custom script tool, and then you can include that

in your model, and then that will do the batch processing for you in that way. In fact, there is a

technical article about that on the Knowledge Base that will tell you exactly how to go about

doing that.


There is also a question here from Brandon in Chicago, and he says, "How can we schedule to

run a model at midnight, that kind of thing?” Well, you can do that; it's no problem. You can

schedule your task to run at a different time. What you need to do is tap into the Windows

Scheduled Tasks, and there is actually again a Knowledge Base doc about how to do that for you,

and the actual Knowledge Base doc number is 27553.

We have another question here from Charlie in Dallas that says, "Can models be shared with

other GIS users?" Again, the answer is yes. Your custom models or script tools are saved inside

of your custom toolboxes, and those toolboxes are saved on your system as .tbx files. Those are

quite small binary files that you can very easily attach to an e-mail.

I think we'll pass it back to Jeff now. Thanks.



Editing models

In topic two, we are going to cover editing our models.



Editing modelsEditing a modelExposing model parametersCreating model variablesWorking with intermediate dataValidating your modelRepairing a model

Your organization is dynamic: data comes in, data goes out, databases and their paths change

daily or weekly, but your geoprocessing tasks may not.

Perhaps we want to apply one model to multiple datasets or databases. Our data might have

moved from the C to the D drive. We want our models to accommodate a dynamic work

environment

In topic two, we are going to cover some of the basics of model editing, ways to validate and

repair models, and ways to make our models more dynamic with parameters and variables.



Editing a modelChoose Edit on the model’s context menu to open the ModelBuilder interactive window

A model is not static, so often times we have to take a preexisting model and add or remove data

or additional tools to it, or perhaps change parameter values, or we may need to generate a

different analysis or to gather additional information about our data.

To do any of these things will have to edit the model. To do so, right-click the model tool in the

ArcToolbox window and choose Edit. This will bring up the ModelBuilder interactive window.



Editing a modelAbility to add and remove data and toolsAdding functionality to an existing modelApply environment settingsAlter parameter values

With the ModelBuilder interactive window open, we can begin to add additional tools and data to

our model. Perhaps in our analysis of determining how much surface area of water there is in

Iceland, we want to determine the number of water features in Iceland. With our model already

created, we can drag in the Get Count tool from the Data Management toolbox. This tool will

helps us determine the answer to that question.

In addition, we might have written and imported a Python script that helps determine additional

characteristics of the water bodies that we need in our analysis. You can incorporate system tools,

script tools, or other model tools into your model.

Perhaps we want to apply the same surface area analysis to another country, like Poland. How can

we make our model accommodate this kind of change?



Allow for user inputUsed when running a model as a dialogCreate a data-independent toolEnvironment settings

Model parameters

To accommodate using another country for the same surface area analysis, we are going to

expose some model parameters.

In geoprocessing, a parameter is a required or optional value supplied to a tool in order for the

tool to run. For instance, the buffer tool requires a distance value to generate buffers. For our

analysis, we need to be able to select any country to generate information about the surface

waters. Exposing a model parameter allows us to accomplish this task because it allows for user

input. All exposed model parameters will appear on the model tool dialog.



Creating parameter variablesShare values between processesExpose as variablesExpose for user input

Creating a parameter as a variable creates a list of all the tool’s parameters. This is a great way to

create an empty parameter that you could expose on a dialog, which would allow you to enter the

value at a later date or allow for user input.

Creating a parameter variable also allows you to use the same value for different tools. For

example, if your model included more than one buffer tool, you could create a variable out of the

buffer distance and connect it to both buffer processes. It’s as easy as right-clicking a tool inside

our model and making a variable from a parameter. We will look at this in more depth in the

upcoming demo.



Intermediate dataDerived data is flagged as intermediateUncheck Intermediate from your final result

At this point, we have added additional tools and set up parameters for our model. Since we are

still editing our model, we need to take into consideration intermediate data. Intermediate data is

temporary data that is created by tools within your model.

In our analysis of surface waters, the first tool to run is the Select tool. The output of that tool is

used to clip our water features. That is the extent to which we are going to use the result from the

Select tool. It is not the final result of our model, but it just data needed to continue the analysis.

There are a few points to think about with intermediate data: models run from a dialog box or the

command line delete intermediate data automatically; and, models run within the ModelBuilder

window maintain intermediate data on disk.

One thing to remember is that your end result will be flagged as intermediate data. Also, if you

run the model through its dialog or at the command line, your final result will be deleted.



Model validationEnsures that parameters are validModel state may be affected

In topic one, we mentioned the three different states of a model: not ready to run, ready to run,

and has been run. The state of a model when you first open it will reflect its status when you last

ran it.

Any time you open a model, it is good practice to validate the entire model. This validation will

verify all parameter values to make sure they are correct, for example, whether input data is in the

same location or has been moved, or whether custom tools are still available or valid.

To validate your model, in the ModelBuilder interactive window, select Model > Validate Entire

Model. We will look at this further in the next demo.



Repairing a modelAssociated data or tools have been moved or renamedParameter values are no longer validModel elements change back to not-ready-to-run state

Like most environments, the work environment is very fluid. At times, we might move our data

to different network drives, or tools might get moved from project folder to project folder.

Actions like this might change elements within our models. When this happens, your model

might need to be repaired.

If a change that affects the model occurs, then ArcToolbox will change the icon of your model to

reflect this. When you see a red X through the model icon, you know you need to repair

something in your model. Also, when you validate your model and elements return to the not-

ready-to-run state, you will need to repair your model.

When we edit the model it might look like the graphic here. Notice the change in color to the

Countries oval. It is no longer blue, and in addition, there is a red X through the Summary

Statistics tool. There are properties about those two elements that need to be fixed before we can

execute the model, and we would do this by finding lost data, checking parameter values, and

fixing any broken custom tools.


So let’s take a look at how we will go about editing, repairing, and making our model more

dynamic




Okay, first off I want to look at the model we created in the first demonstration. Now what I want

to show is the Model dialog. If I double-click on the model from the first demo, I see this text

here which says, “This tool has no parameters.” If I were to click OK, the model would run and

perform the same analysis for the country of Iceland. What I want to do is expose a model

parameter to allow people to specify their own country for this analysis. So let’s look at how to

do that.

To do that, first we have to edit our model. Right-click on the model and select Edit. Now what I

need to do is expose a model parameter. I need to let people select a country that they want to

perform an analysis on, perhaps Poland.

To do that, I need to expose a parameter of the Select tool. To do that, right-click on the Select

tool, select Make Variable > From Parameter, and select Expression. Notice that now I get a new

element; it’s this one here named Expression. If I double-click on it, notice it is just the same tool

that allowed me to build a SQL expression. I’m going to close those dialogs. Now, to make this a

model parameter, I have to right-click on this element and select Model Parameter. Now if I take

a closer look at this after selecting this element as a model parameter, you’ll notice this P. This P


indicates that this is a parameter of the model. So let’s look and see what this has done to our

Model dialog. Save the model and close it.

Now, double-click on the model in the custom toolbox in ArcToolbox. Notice now that the same

expression that we just looked at is here on the Model dialog. If I wanted to reset the analysis for

Poland, I could just type in Poland, click OK, and my analysis for the surface area would run for

Poland. I need to add some additional tools to the model, so I’m not going to run it from there.

We are actually going to run it from the ModelBuilder interactive window.

So let’s go back in and edit our model. Before we add in some additional tools, let’s go ahead and

validate our model to make sure our data and tool references have been maintained. So go to

Model > Validate Entire Model. The states haven’t changed, so if I wanted to, I could rerun the

analysis. Before that, I want to generate my surface analysis, but I also want to know how many

water features I had in this analysis.

So I think that a while back somebody told me about a Get Count tool. I only know about it, but I

don’t know what toolbox it is in. So what I can do is click on the Search tab here, type in count,

and what we have here is some results. So what the Search tab did is look through ArcToolbox

searching for every instance of “count” and it found it in these three tools here. The first result

just happens to be that Get Count tool, which is in the Data Management toolbox. The neat thing

about the Search tab is that, not only does it tell me what toolbox it is in, but if I click on the Get

Count tool, I can go ahead and drag and drop it into my model.

Okay, now I need to supply the parameters to it, so I’m going to use the line connector tool to go

from my clipped lakes into the Get Count tool, so now that is ready to run. So the last thing I need

to do to reset the analysis for Poland is to reopen this Expression element, and let’s go ahead and

type in Poland.

All my parameters are set and my model is ready to run. Let’s go ahead and regenerate the

analysis. Okay, so our model ran through successfully; four of four processes were executed.

Right here on the Model progress dialog, notice it says, “Row Count = 17.” This is the output

from the Get Count tool. It tells me that there are 17 features that were clipped for the country of

Poland.


I’m going to go ahead and save the model, as we will need it for the third demonstration, and I’ll

close it down.

In our ArcMap table of contents, I have the Summary Statistics result here, so

if I right-click and open it up, we can see that there is over 3000 km² of surface area water

available in Poland.

So that’s editing a model. Now let’s look at how we would go about repairing a model. So, in my

custom toolbox, Model_LTS, I have this model here that has a red X icon through it. That

indicates to me that there is something broken inside the model. Let’s take a look and see what it

is. Right-click on the model and select Edit. I just need to resize the model so that we can all see

it. Okay, now we have it in full view. Okay, the input data for Country and Lakes has lost its

reference, and also the Summary Statistics tool. So let’s go ahead and repair these.

To repair the Country layer, I’ve already got my countries loaded in ArcMap, along with my

lakes. So if I wanted to repair Country, I just go ahead and double-click on Country, use the pull-

down, set it to the World_CNTRY92 layer that I have loaded in ArcMap, and click OK. Let’s go

ahead and do the same thing for Lakes. We’ll set this to World_lakes, and now our Select and

Clip tools are in a ready-to-run state.

Now let’s look at the Summary Statistics tool. Now, I might have had this tool in a custom

toolbox that got deleted, or the Summary Statistics tool got deleted from my toolbox, so let’s go

ahead and repair that. To do that, double-click on the Summary Statistics tool. Now, in my

custom toolbox, Model_LTS, I already put in my Summary Statistics tool, so that is where I’m

going to point the reference to. Click Add, and now I have successfully repaired my model. So

now I can regenerate the analysis of surface waters for a given country.

In this demonstration we looked at how to edit and repair an existing model.



Review questionLocate the Review question link in the upper-left corner of your browser window. Click this link now.

So in this demonstration, we looked at how to edit and repair an existing model. Now we have a

question for you. Locate the Review question link in the upper-left corner of your browser

window. Click this link now.



Review questionWhich type of data element in a model is considered virtual?A) Project dataB) ToolC) Derived dataD) Environment

To submit your answer, click A, B, C, or D then click the Send button.

Okay, the question is: Which type of data element in a model is considered virtual: project data,

tool, derived data, or environment? To submit your answer, click A, B, C, or D, and then click the

Send button. I'll leave this in view for a few seconds so you can determine the answer.



Review and Q & AEditing a modelExposing model parametersCreating model variablesWorking with intermediate dataValidating your modelRepairing a model

To review, in this last topic, we looked at editing a model, exposing model parameters, creating

model variables, working with intermediate data, validating your model, and finally, repairing a

model.

Now, let's turn it over to Catherine for some of your questions.

Thanks, Jeff.

Let's take a look at the first question that we have here. This is from Dorothy, and she asks, "Can

I use all data types in ModelBuilder (coverages, grids, shapefiles, and feature classes), and can

the data type be mixed or do I need to convert to a common data type?”

Well, Dorothy, you can use any one of the valid ArcGIS data types as input and output for your

tools, and then those tools are in ModelBuilder, so the answer to your first question is yes. The

second part of that I think I also answered—yes, you can mix them around. For one of your tools,

the input could be a shapefile, then for the next process, one of the inputs could be a geodatabase

feature class, and so on.


So let's see. The next question we have then is from Ricardo, and he's saying, “Is there a limit on

the number of processes and elements that you can have in a model?”

The only limitation, Ricardo, is your imagination. So whatever you need to put into your model

diagram, you can have in there. Keep in mind though, and I'll make a suggestion to you that I've

made to other people, that, just like you would do if you were creating a file structure in Windows

Explorer on your computer, you would have a sort of a plan in mind where you would have

things broken down into folders and then subfolders and so on. I would recommend that you do a

similar sort of thing with your models as well. Break them down into workable units. It will make

your life a lot easier when it comes to trying to make changes or if you need to do any kind of

editing, or if you need to fix things in that, and then you've got each one of those smaller models

being called in another model. So, sort of break it down into workable units.

Our next question is from Terry, and he says, “Can you demonstrate how to create a custom script

tool that runs in AML?”

Well due to time constraints, Terry, we can't demonstrate that for you, but I won't leave you

empty-handed. I'm going to tell you this: Go to the Desktop Help System, open that up, and there

is a book under there called Writing geoprocessing scripts. There is another book underneath that

called Messaging and script tools, which contains a page called Using AMLs with script tools.

This will explain everything to you and actually give you a step-by-step process on how to get it

done. So, there’s plenty of information there for you for that.

Then we have a user in West Lafayette who says, “Can I use ModelBuilder and a script together

in tandem?” I want to make it very clear to everybody—because this is something that a lot of

newer people have trouble with—that there is no difference between a system tool that we

provide you or a custom tool, such as a model and a script that you use. So yes, they can be used

together. You can drag and drop script tools into your ModelBuilder interactive window and use

those to build your workflow—no problem. And then inside of your script, you can also call a

model tool, just like you would call one of our system tools, so there’s no difference there. So

there's the answer to that question as well.

I think we'll pass it back to Jeff now.



Review question resultsTo view the results, click the Review question link in the upper-left corner of your browser window.

Which type of data element in a model is considered virtual?

A) Project dataB) ToolC) Derived dataD) Environment

Okay, thanks, Catherine.

Let's take a look at the answer to the review question. So the question was: Which type of data

element in the model is considered virtual? The answer is C, derived data. It looks like about 60

percent of you got that right. Now the reason that it is derived data is that derived data has not

been created until the model is run.



Documenting and distributing

models

At this point, we have a working knowledge of how to create and edit a model. We now want to

take advantage of the portability of our geoprocessing tools. Before we think about distributing

our tools we must first document our model. This way our users have some descriptive

information about the process they are going to run.



Documenting and distributing modelsLabelingDocumenting model processesArcToolbox Documentation EditorModel reportsModel propertiesDistributing models

To do that we will consider the following: labeling; how we can document processes within the

ModelBuilder interactive environment; using the Documentation Editor to create help for our

model; how we can use model reports; we’ll take a brief look at model properties; and, finally,

things to consider before distributing our work



LabelingTwo different types:

Stand-alone labelsElement labels

Can be connected to tools or line connectors, or free-floating

Labels are a quick and easy way to provide useful information to your user. You might use labels

to briefly describe a geoprocessing tool or some input data, describe a process, or your model as a

whole.

There are two different kinds of labels you can use in ModelBuilder. There are stand-alone

labels—these are not connected to process elements. They might provide an overview of a model.

Then, there are element labels—these are labels that are connected to a geoprocessing tool, data

element, or line connector.

These labels will stay with their associated element if they are moved in the model’s interactive

window, and they will be deleted if the element is deleted.



Documenting a processAdditional information about each process

As you go through and construct the model, you are going to want to provide help to users about

the model you created. There are several ways to accomplish this.

As you go through and build your model, you can write help about the tools that you have

incorporated into your model.

You can create documentation about a process while editing the model. Just right-click on a tool

and select Edit Documentation. This will launch the process Documentation Editor, where you

can provide information about the tool within your process, perhaps the kind of parameter values

the tool is expecting, or what the process will generate. The information that you provide about

the individual tools gets integrated into the model’s help file.

You would do this when you want to provide users with information about parameter values that

have been set, what the process will achieve, or links to additional documentation.



Documenting a modelThree types of documentation:

Help page MetadataDialog side panel

Create help the same way as system tools

Documentation and metadata can be created for all geoprocessing tools that you create. This help

is created by using the Documentation Editor, accessible in ArcToolbox through the model’s

context menu.

The Documentation Editor is easy to use and gives you a lot of functionality for documenting

your models. With the Editor, you can provide summaries of the model’s processing capabilities,

examples of how to use the model, describe the different parameters required, usage tips, and so

on.

Provided that documentation has been created for your model, you will be able to access it three

different ways: through the Help page, the Metadata tab in ArcCatalog, and the model’s dialog

side panel.



Documentation: Help pageHelp page allows you to view:

ParametersModel-associated tools Example syntax to run in different geoprocessing environments

Here is an example of the kind of output you can expect when looking at help for the model from

ArcToolbox. The output created from the model is a professional-looking HTML Help file that

has been integrated within your tool.

The Help page will open in your default browser and will show information such as a description

of the model, usage tips that will help you run the model successfully, syntax necessary to

execute the model in a different geoprocessing environment (such as the command line or in a

script), examples, and details about each process in your model, to name a few.

You can access this Help page by right-clicking on the model in ArcToolbox and selecting Help

on the context menu.



Documentation: ArcCatalog metadataKeywords integrated into ArcToolbox and ArcCatalog will help you search authoring information

In ArcCatalog, you can click on the Metadata tab to return simple metadata about your model,

such as a brief description of the tool, who designed it, and how to contact them. It should also

include keywords that will allow you to utilize the search capabilities of the application.



Documentation: dialog side panelBrief description of tool and parametersLinked to full Help page

Finally, you can create help that will appear on the model tool’s dialog side panel. A brief

description of the tool and its parameters will appear. Plus, by clicking the Help button on the

dialog you can open the full Help page.



Model reportsProvide information about the modelShow information regarding variables and processesDisplay status messages

A model report is a good way to track properties of your model. The report will provide

information about the last time it was ran, such as which datasets were used in the model, the

different tools used, model variables, status messages for each process, and processing times.



Distributing modelsSetting model properties Storage optionsThings to remember before you distribute your model

So let’s move from documenting your model to learning how to distribute your model. To do that

we’ll look at setting model properties, storage options, and things you need to remember before

distributing your models.



Distributing models: propertiesSet model name, label, description, and dialog style sheetCan set relative paths to toolbox locationPreview exposed model parameters and environments

The Model Properties dialog allows you to set a name and label for your model, write a

description for your tool, and set a custom style sheet for the dialog.

Included on the General tab is an option that pertains to distributing your geoprocessing work. On

the Model Properties dialog we have the ability to set relative paths, meaning that pathnames will

be maintained relative to the toolbox or workspace that contains the model.



Distributing models: storage optionsModel is saved as a tool in a toolboxToolboxes are saved as *.tbx files or in a geodatabaseDefault location for *.tbx files is the user’s profile:

\\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\ESRI\ArcToolbox\My Toolboxes

There are two different storage options for your toolboxes. They may be stored as stand-alone

.tbx files or stored inside a geodatabase.

Stand-alone .tbx files are shareable. For example, they can easily be attached to an e-mail. This

type of toolbox is located in your Documents and Settings folder by default, but you can change

the save location through the Options dialog found in the application.



Distributing models: things to considerSet the toolbox to read/writeShare:

All dataScripts or additional models usedAll documentation Additional files (graphics and style sheets)

Set relative pathsIf data moves, the model won’t break

Automating your own workflows and automating other people’s workflows is ultimately the point

of ModelBuilder. Automating your own workflows is simple. You know where your data is

located and, if it moves, where your toolbox is located and so on.

Automating workflows for other people is just as easy as long as you keep several things in mind.

When you share toolboxes or tools (in this case model tools) with other users, you have to make

sure you: set the toolbox to read/write, share all data used in the tool, share any scripts or

additional models used, share all documentation, share additional files such as graphics and style

sheets, and set relative paths to data so that, if it moves, the model won’t break




So let’s take a look at how we can set up documenting and distributing our models.

We are back in ArcMap and we’re in our custom toolbox. This model (named Model) is the one

we created in the first and second demonstrations. Now, the first thing I want to point out to you

is model properties. To get there, right-click on your model and select Properties.

This brings up the Model Properties dialog box. We are going to take a look at the General tab.

The first thing that we want to enter is a name. The name is used to reference our model in the

command line and scripting environment. An important thing to remember is that we cannot have

any spaces in the name. So we are going to call this one “SQKMSurfaceArea.” There are no

spaces in the name. Now in Label, what we type here is going to be displayed in the custom

toolbox. So we are going to add the same text, but we are going to make use of the ability to add

spaces. Now, I want a short description to show up on our model’s dialog side panel, so here is

where I enter in that description. So we’ll just enter in a short description here: This model will

determine the surface area of lakes. If I wanted to apply a custom style sheet, I could apply that

here.


Most important with the General tab and distributing our work is this option here to store relative

pathnames. This is the property that will make all pathnames within our tool relative to the

toolbox location. Let’s go ahead and check that off. So that is the General tab. On the Parameters

tab, in the second demonstration we exposed a parameter of the Select tool and created a model

parameter from it, and that is what we see here. So we have the name as Expression and the data

type is SQL Expression. You’ll see all of your model’s parameters here in this tab. We can also

set up some environment settings. If we had a .chm file, or compiled help, then we could apply

that here.

So let’s go ahead and click OK. Notice that the label of our model has changed from Model to

SQKM Surface Area. Now let’s take a look at what it did to our dialog side panel. When we

double-click on the model, we have a brief description on the side: This model will determine the

surface area of lakes.

So now I want to document some of the processes within the model. To do that, I have to be

editing the model. Now, I briefly want to describe the Select tool. To do that, right-click on the

Select tool and select Edit Documentation. This brings up the Select Documentation editor. I can

provide a paragraph of text, some bulleted items, provide a link to a file or an illustration (maybe

I had a picture of what some of the lakes looked like). So I can provide that here. For now, I’m

just going to provide a simple paragraph. So let’s put in: Will select the country provided in the

expression. So now we have basically documented the Select tool. Click OK.

Now let’s document something about the Clip tool. Right-click on the Clip tool and select Edit

Documentation. Now instead of doing a paragraph, I’m going to add some bulleted items. So here

I’m going to say: Uses the country from the Select tool. So there is one bullet, and let’s add

another: Clips the lakes with the selected country.

So now we have two bullets that are going to briefly describe tools within our model.

So that has now been applied to the Help associated with our model. So let’s go ahead and save

our model and close it out.

Now we are going to look at the Documentation Editor of the model. Up till now, we have just

described two processes within our model. So let’s take a look at what that has done for us. If I

right-click and go to the Help, and If I click on Model, here is the Select and here is the Clip tool.


Here are the two bits of information I provided about the tools: the paragraph and the two

bulleted items. So those are the processes that I just documented inside the model. Now let’s go

into the Documentation Editor. So right-click on your model and go to Edit Documentation. That

brings up this Documentation Editor.

Now there are two sections to look at here. There is General Information and there is Help. The

General section is going to apply to the metadata of your model. So we can provide an abstract,

some keywords, author information, and perhaps constraints to running the model. So I’m going

to provide an abstract to the model. So let me get that here, and I’m just going to paste that in, and

fix up the text here so that it will display properly. This is just an abstract about what the model is

going to do. Now, an important thing to consider is that what I place here will replace the

description that I have in my model’s side panel. So, before I just entered in a very simple line of

text when we were looking at the Model Properties dialog. This abstract is going to replace that

description.

For Keywords, I want to be able to use a search to find my model. So I’m going to type in Iceland

and let’s also type in Surface Area. So if I wanted to locate my model, I could just type in Surface

Area and it would go and find my model. If I had information about the author, I could provide

that here and how to contact them, and finally, constraints for running the model.

Now we are going to jump into the Help section. So when I right-click on my model tool and

select Help and see the Help information, this is where I enter that text. So for Summary, I’m just

going to add a paragraph, and I’m going to make it the same text as the abstract. Again, let me

just fix this up. So my summary is ready to go. I can provide an illustration, or provide some

usage tips on how to run it.

For Command Example, if I wanted to provide additional information about how to run this

model from the command line, I could provide that here. Same with the script example—if you

wanted to run the model from a geoprocessing script environment like Python, you could provide

that example here.

What I want to do is enter in some information about the parameters. Notice here we exposed a

parameter in the second demonstration called Expression. Here I have two things that I can

document, Command Reference and Dialog Reference. Command Reference applies to the model


Help. So I’m going to just type in a quick sentence: Use a SQL expression to select a country. I’m

going to use the same text for the Dialog Reference.

Now the Command Reference shows up on the model Help, the Dialog Reference shows up on

the Model dialog, and I’ll show you what I mean by that in just a second. Go ahead and click on

the paragraph, and let’s just paste in that same text. Now I’m going to click Finish.

Now if I right-click on my model and go to Help, let’s look at the scripting syntax, and here is

what I entered: Use a SQL expression to select a country. Here is the summary of my model here,

and of course the processes that I documented in my model before.

Now if I double-click and open up my model, here is the abstract of the model. Now if I click on

the expression, notice that the text has changed to “Use a SQL expression to select a country.”

So in this demonstration, I showed you how to document individual processes within a model,

and also how to use the Documentation Editor.



Review and Q & ALabelingDocumenting model processesArcToolbox Documentation EditorModel reportsModel propertiesDistributing models

To review, in the last topic we looked at labeling, documenting model processes, the

Documentation Editor, model reports, model properties, and distributing models.

And now let’s turn it over to Catherine for some of your questions.

Thanks, Jeff. I think we have a couple minutes to answer just a few brief questions. We have a

user here from Kalamazoo that wants to know the Knowledge Base article number for batching

models, and the number you're looking for is 26892. There's also a Help page titled About batch

processing with geoprocessing scripts. If you go to the Desktop Help system and search for that,

you'll find that as well.

We have another user in Champaign that says, "Do all tools in a model share the same model

environments, and can each tool have its own environment setting?" It's a great question.

Environment settings throw off a lot of people. There is a hierarchy to environment settings. The

lowest level is if you set it in the application or if you set it in the ArcToolbox window, those

environments will apply to all of your custom tools and all of the system tools as well, so every

tool. If you open up the ModelBuilder interactive window and you set environments inside the


window, that will apply to all of the tools and/or processes within just that one model. And that

will override what you've set in the application. You can also right-click on each one of the tools

and set specific environments just for that tool, and that will override all of the other settings.

Hopefully that will clear it up. There are Help pages that will help you with that as well.

We have another question here. It says, "Can you clarify the role of intermediate data? When is it

temporary and when is it saved to disk?" Intermediate data is that data which is within your

model. As you step through each one of your processes, there's an input and an output, and that

output then becomes the input to the next process. This is what we classify as intermediate data.

More than likely, we're not interested in each one of those individual steps. What we want is the

end result of our model. Those individual steps along the way, those results are classed as

intermediate. All intermediate data is flagged as temporary unless it's data from an exposed model

parameter or the output of the process updates the input of the process, so like an Add Field tool,

for example, where the output is just an updated version of the input. It's saved to disk if you

uncheck the Intermediate option or if you run your model from the interactive window. Then, all

of your intermediate data is always saved that way. It can maintain the model state for you the

next time that you look at your model. However, if you run your tool from the ArcToolbox

window or at the command line, your intermediate data will be deleted at the end of execution.

One other brief thing to question here is from Brian in Jackson, and he says, "Are there any rules

about which process will run first in my model?" This is something for you to keep in mind.

There is no guarantee as to the order and how the processes will run. The only way you can

guarantee that is if you set something called preconditions, and there's quite a bit of write-up

about that within the Help system to help you get through that. Let me sort of briefly explain that.

If you had a process or a string of processes, and it was a single string (so you have three

processes, and they all chained one from the other), it would be acceptable for you to assume, and

it wouldn't be wrong, that it would start at the project data and step through the three processes

until it reached the end. For the majority of us, when we build models, it's going to have more

than one chain involved, and you'll find then that the chains will converge and diverge as you

work through your model. In those cases, the only way to guarantee what will get run first and

what will have to be run before other things is to set something called preconditions.

That's all the time we have for questions right now, so I'm going to pass it back to Jeff.



For more informationVirtual Campus course

Geoprocessing with ArcGIS Desktop

Instructor–led trainingAdvanced Analysis with ArcGIS

Product book or tutorialGeoprocessing in ArcGIS

For more information about ModelBuilder and geoprocessing, you can visit the resources listed

here.



Thanks for participating

That concludes today’s presentation. Thank you for listening.
