The ArcGIS Pro tool reference contains detailed information about every tool provided with ArcGIS Pro as well as the environment settings that can be applied to them and any errors or warnings that may be encountered as you use them.
Note:
Documentation about tools provided with ArcMap is available separately; see A quick tour of geoprocessing for ArcGIS Desktop.
Geoprocessing tools can also be run from ArcGIS Server using Python; see ArcGIS Server and ArcPy.
What's in the tool reference?
The ArcGIS Pro tool reference is organized into Tools and Environments sections. These sections are both browsable and searchable. In addition, there are appendices that include a list of tools that are available in ArcMap but not in ArcGIS Pro as well as the errors and warnings topics that are available when using search.
Tools section
In ArcGIS Pro, tools are grouped into toolsets, which are then collected into toolboxes. As you browse the Tools section of the ArcGIS Pro tool reference, you will see this pattern reflected in its organization.
Click to expand the Tools heading and you'll see information about the anatomy of a tool reference page and a list of toolboxes available in ArcGIS Pro.
Expand a specific toolbox and you'll find the following:
- An overview that describes the purpose of the toolbox and gives a summary of each toolset the toolbox contains. When applicable, the summary also includes links to related topics.
- A licensing topic that summarizes the licensing requirements for every tool in the toolbox.
- Nodes for each toolset in the toolbox.
Expand a specific toolset and you'll find the following:
- An overview page that describes the organizing principle of the toolset and gives a summary of each tool in the toolset.
- A reference page for each tool in the toolset. See the Anatomy of a tool reference page page for details on what you will find on each of these pages.
- When applicable, there will also be a Concepts node. This contains more detailed information about specific tools in the toolset.
Environments section
Environment settings can be applied to tools and will affect their results. For example, you can use the Current Workspace and Scratch Workspace environments to set default locations for tool inputs and outputs. Click to expand the Environments heading and you'll see the topic What is a geoprocessing environment setting followed by reference pages for each of the settings organized by subject. Each environment reference page includes a summary, usage notes, and the syntax for the setting.
Errors and warnings reference pages
Geoprocessing errors and warnings are delivered as a six-digit code and a text message. Click the error code link to access its reference page in the ArcGIS Pro tool reference. You can also conduct a search for the error to access the same page.
Click to expand the Appendices node and you'll see the topic about errors and warnings. Due to the number of error reference pages, they are not provided in a browsable format. Instead, enter a search query to find a particular error reference page.
Use a tool
If working with tools in ArcGIS Pro is entirely new to you, or you want to understand how the tools fit within the context of the geoprocessing framework, start with the What is geoprocessing topic. If you're already familiar with tools, here's a refresher on how to run the tools via the Geoprocessing pane, ModelBuilder, and Python. You can run the tools via the following:
Run a tool in the Geoprocessing pane
- On the Analysis tab, click Tools. The Geoprocessing pane appears.
- Select a tool to open it in the pane.
- Set input and output parameters. Required parameters must be filled in for the tool to execute and are indicated by a red asterisk. Optional parameters can be left blank or unmodified to use a default behavior.
- Environments settings are optional. If set here, they will only be applied to this specific execution of the tool.
- Click Run.
For more details, see Find a geoprocessing tool and Run a geoprocessing tool.
Run a tool in ModelBuilder
- On the Analysis tab, click ModelBuilder. A blank canvas opens for your new model.
- Drag a tool onto your model from the Geoprocessing or Catalog pane. You can also drag additional elements onto your model, such as data, map layers, or more tools.
- Connect your data and tools by setting the input and output parameters for the tool. Required parameters must be filled in for the tool to execute and are indicated by a red asterisk. Optional parameters can be left blank or unmodified to use a default behavior.
- Environments settings are optional. If set here, they will only be applied to this specific execution of the tool.
- Validate your model by clicking Validate in the Run group.
- In the Run group, click Run.
For more details, see Open ModelBuilder, Add and connect data and tools, and modify elements, and Run a model.
Run a tool in the Python window
- On the Analysis tab, click Python.
- Type arcpy at the Python prompt in the window.
- Type the name of the tool and a set of matching tools appears.
- Click on the tool and it is added to the code in the Python prompt.
- Enter valid parameter values. The syntax for parameters appears when you click in the Python prompt.
- The Python prompt will contain something similar to the following: arcpy.Buffer_analysis("c:/data/Portland.gdb/streets", "c:/data/Portland.gdb/steets_buffer", "500 METERS").
- Press Enter to run the tool.
For more details, see Using tools in Python.