A quick tour of geoprocessing packages

A geoprocessing package is a convenient way to share geoprocessing workflows by packaging one or more tools and the data used by the tools into a single compressed file (.gpk). All resources (models, scripts, data, layers, and files) needed to reexecute the tools are included in the package. This means consumers of your package can rerun your tools to produce the exact same results. They can analyze your tools to understand how you accomplished your workflow and can substitute their own data for the data provided in the package.

To create a package, right-click a result in the Results window and select Share As > Geoprocessing Package.

Sharing a geoprocessing result
To create a geoprocessing package, right-click a result and choose Share As > Geoprocessing Package

A geoprocessing package includes one or more results. Each result includes:

NoteNote:

If your result was created from a model tool that uses an iterator to create multiple output datasets, only the first output will be packaged. To generate and view all outputs, simply re-run the shared task from the results window.

Creating a geoprocessing package

To create a geoprocessing package, you start with a geoprocessing result. Geoprocessing results are created by the execution of a tool and are found in the Results window. A geoprocessing result contains all the information needed to create the package: data used in the input and output parameters, data used within your models or scripts, and the geoprocessing environments in effect when the tool was run, that is, all the information necessary allowing others to reexecute your workflow when shared.

In the Results window, right-click a result and select Share As > Geoprocessing Package. The Geoprocessing Package dialog box opens to guide you through the process of creating the package. From the Geoprocessing Package dialog box, you can:

TipTip:

For a finer degree of control over how data is packaged, use the Package Result tool. For example, you can specify that only data within the current map extent is packaged.

The Share As menu choice will be disabled for a result when:

Sharing a geoprocessing package

Geoprocessing packages can be shared by writing a geoprocessing package to disk as a .gpk file. Once you have created a .gpk file, it can be shared via e-mail, over a network, or uploaded to ArcGIS Online. Sharing to ArcGIS Online allows you to share your package with a much broader audience that you control by creating groups and setting permissions.

Using a geoprocessing package

The recipients of your package will be able to add it to ArcMap by:

Once a package has been added to ArcMap, the input and output datasets will be added to the table of contents. The result that was packaged will be extracted to the Results window under the Shared node.

From the Results window, consumers (users) of your package will be able to investigate and understand the logic behind your workflow by:

Related Topics

5/6/2015