ArcGIS Pro Foundation cheat sheet

Feature classes store one geometry type (point, line, polygon, multipatch, annotation); a feature dataset groups classes sharing a coordinate system and holds network/topology/parcel fabric containers.

Geodatabase types: file (.gdb, SQLite-based, cross-platform), mobile (.geodatabase in SQLite for field use), enterprise (ArcSDE on PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle) - file geodatabase default for project work.

Field types: short integer (16-bit), long integer (32-bit), float (32-bit), double (64-bit), text (max length set at creation), date, GUID, BLOB, raster - text length and type are immutable once features exist.

Domains constrain attribute values: coded value domain (list of valid codes) vs range domain (min/max); subtypes partition a class by a subtype field and can carry their own default values and domains.

Coordinate systems: geographic (GCS, degrees, e.g. WGS 1984) vs projected (PCS, linear units); on-the-fly projection displays mismatched layers together but does not change stored coordinates.

Reserved field names to avoid: OBJECTID, SHAPE, SHAPE_Length, SHAPE_Area, GLOBALID - these are system-managed and cannot be edited or deleted.

Relationship classes define 1:1, 1:M, or M:N links via origin/foreign keys; M:N requires an intermediate table; composite relationships trigger cascade delete of child features.

Metadata: item description (title, tags, summary, credits, use limitations) travels with the item when shared; FGDC/ISO 19139 XML can be imported/exported for formal metadata standards.

Store paths: project default geodatabase set in Project Properties; relative paths (default) let a project folder move without breaking layer links; absolute paths break on relocation.

Map vs scene: 2D maps use a single projected or geographic coordinate system; local/global scenes render in 3D with a ground surface and optional vertical exaggeration.

Layer draw order is bottom-up in the Contents pane; basemap layers sit at the bottom, operational layers above; group layers nest and can carry their own visibility scale range.

Symbology types: single symbol, unique values (categorical field), graduated colors/symbols (numeric field, class breaks via natural breaks, quantile, equal interval, standard deviation, manual), and unclassed.

Normalization divides a value field by another field (or a log/percent of total) to reveal rates; percent of total is computed per feature, not per map.

Classification method choice: natural breaks (Jenks) maximizes between-class variance but breaks are dataset-specific; quantile gives equal counts per class; equal interval gives equal value ranges.

Labeling: label classes allow different expressions per feature subset; Maplex label engine handles placement, conflict/weight ranking, and stacking; convert labels to annotation for editable text.

Scale-dependent display: set minimum/maximum scale on a layer so detail layers appear only when zoomed in; reference scale fixes symbol and label sizes for a layout.

Definition query filters features without altering the source data; it affects display, labeling, and selection but not the underlying feature class.

Charts (bar, line, scatter, histogram) and pop-ups attach to layers; pop-up configuration can use field values, expressions, and Arcade for formatted display.

Geoprocessing tools run from toolboxes, ModelBuilder, Python (arcpy), or the command line; every run writes output - tools do not edit inputs in place (except tools with explicit in-place behavior).

Environments set per-tool/per-session: output coordinate system, processing extent, snap raster, cell size, workspace, M/Z values, and parallel processing factor; they are inherited by models and scripts.

Overlay tools: Clip (cookie-cutter, keeps input attributes), Intersect (keeps all layers' attributes), Union (all features, all attributes), Erase (removes overlap), Spatial Join (transfers attributes by relationship, no geometry change).

Proximity tools: Buffer (planar vs geodesic distance), Near (adds distance and optional angle to nearest feature), Generate Near Table (all near features within search radius), Polygon Neighbors.

Selection: Select By Attributes (SQL WHERE clause), Select By Location (relationship: intersects, contains, within, crosses, touches), then export or run tools on the selection only.

Spatial join match options: one-to-one (first match by default), one-to-many, join one-to-one; match relationship determines which features pair.

Raster analysis: cell size and extent drive output grid; Zonal Statistics summarizes raster values within zones; Reclassify, Raster Calculator, and Euclidean Distance are core surface tools.

ModelBuilder: variables (parameters), tools, and connectors form a workflow; intermediate data can be set to managed (deleted after run) or intermediate to save disk; models can be exported to Python.

Arcade expressions work in symbology, labeling, pop-ups, and field calculation without Python; field calculation on a file geodatabase supports Python 3 expressions via Calculate Field.

Sharing targets: ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise portal, or ArcGIS Server services; the active portal is set in Project > Portals and determines available sharing destinations.

Item sharing levels: private (owner only), shared with groups, shared with the organization, or public (everyone) - public sharing requires the item and its data to be publicly accessible.

Web layer types: feature layer (editable vector, hosted or referenced), map image layer (cached or dynamic tiles from a service), tile layer (pre-rendered cache), scene layer (3D), imagery layer.

Publishing a web feature layer can copy all data to the portal (hosted) or reference a registered enterprise geodatabase (referenced) - referenced layers require a registered data store and credentials.

Offline maps: enable offline use on a web map, then download via ArcGIS Field Maps/Collector; requires a sync-enabled feature layer and sufficient tile/feature storage.

Credits are consumed by hosted feature storage, tile generation, geocoding, and spatial analysis services; consumption is visible in Organization > Status.

Groups control access: members can be view-only or contribute; group sharing plus item sharing level both must permit access for a member to see an item.

Collaboration: distributed collaboration shares content between portals/Online; branch versioning enables multi-user editing of enterprise data via feature services with version management.

Project packaging: Package Project, Consolidate Project, and Map/ Layer packages bundle data for transfer; check for broken data sources before packaging.