An overview of the Photos toolset
The Photos toolset contains tools for analyzing and managing digital photograph files. The toolset includes tools for creating a point feature class from geotagged photo files (photos that were captured from a GPS camera device or a smartphone) and matching photo files to features or table rows based on the time stamp of the photo.
Mobile devices that capture photos as well as GPS coordinates are becoming increasingly common. These geotagged photos have been supported by a number of websites that enable users to upload photos and view a map of where the photos were taken. The locations in these photos can now be imported to ArcGIS where the point features can be managed, modified, and analyzed by the full suite of ArcGIS geoprocessing tools.
Similarly, the desire to add location information to photo files (and the reverse, to add photo information to existing feature or tabular data) has become prominent, as photos, which are inherently geographic, provide exceptionally rich information about the appearance and conditions at a location at a set point in time. The tools in the Photos toolset enable this connection between traditional tabular and feature data and photo information.
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Tool |
Description |
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Creates points from the x-, y-, and z-coordinate information stored in geotagged photos. Optionally adds photo files to features in the output feature class as geodatabase attachments. |
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Matches photo files to table or feature class rows according to the photo and row time stamps. The row with the time stamp closest to the capture time of a photo will be matched to that photo. Creates a new table containing the ObjectIDs from the input rows and their matching photo paths. Optionally adds matching photo files to the rows of the input table as geodatabase attachments. |