598
October 2018
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
BOOK
REVIEW
GIS Tutorial 1 ArcGIS PRO: A Platform
Workbook
Wilpen Gorr, Kristen Kurland
ESRI Press: Redlands, CA 2017. ix and 470 pp., diagrams, maps,
photos, images, index. Softcover. $99.99 (from ESRI). ISBN
9781589484665.
Reviewed by
Gabor Barsai, Associate Professor,
Surveying Engineering, Ferris State University, Big
Rapids, Michigan.
ArcGIS Pro is the latest version of ESRI’s extensive ArcGIS
software. This book teaches the basic functions and capabilities
of ArcGIS Pro through step-by-step tutorials. Data is available
from ESRI. This dataset is quite large, it may take the user
several minutes to download and then open. The authors have
several “GIS tutorial” books now, so the book is well versed on
the functionality of the software and complements the existing
books. It has examples of visualizing, querying, editing. Arc-
GIS Pro is a 64-bit software and has no support for 32-bit PCs.
The book consists of 13 chapters divided into four parts,
each part containing between three and five chapters, for a to-
tal of 470 pages including a credit index. Each chapter then
contains several tutorials from existing project files using the
ESRI data relating to the chapter topic. Each tutorial is made
up of exercises. The book starts out with easy exercises and
progressively becomes more and more advanced, going into
3D representation and basic Python programming. The first
part introduces the software interface, map design, symbology
and Explorer for ArcGIS, a simple map viewer app. The second
part introduces some basic analysis methods and describes ge-
odatabases. The third part goes into the more detailed spatial
analysis. Part four introduces Model builder and the Collector
app, an app used for collecting data on a mobile device.
Part 1 consists of 124 pages about “Using,making and sharing
maps” on ArcGIS Pro. It includes instructions on downloading
data for the course’s examples, basic ArcGIS Pro techniques,
and a general discussion of “map design” and “map concepts
for GIS projects” including loading maps to Story Maps. Part 2
consists of 162 pages, “Working with spatial data,” describe the
general setup of geodatabases and shapefile layers and spatial
data in general, as well as ArcGIS Pro procedures for geopro-
cessing, digitizing, dissolving and geocoding. A nice addition to
this part is showing the reader how to obtain data from various
GIS data portals: USGS, Penn State sites. Part 3 consists of
115 pages, “Applying advanced GIS technologies” on spatial
analysis, raster GIS, geoprocess modeling, and 3D GIS in Arc-
GIS Pro, including data animations. Animation is an excellent
addition to ArcGIS, as features are not static: cars move, hur-
ricanes move. The user can witness representations of changes
over time while manipulating the direction of view, the pace or
the parameters of the map displayed. 3D scene creation is also
shown, adding realistic scenes, trees. Finally, Part 4 is titled
“Managing operational systems with GIS” The tutorial proj-
ects in this part involve building a “Graffiti Mapping System”
and a “Graffiti Mapping Removal System.” The first analyzes
patterns in infraction locations and the second handle supervi-
sory job tasking for clean-up crews. Modelbuilder and Optimal
routing are introduced here. Task items are introduced in this
part. Task items can be used to create an automated workflow
to work for similar geoprocessing requests which operate and
manage different other processes or groups.
Each tutorial has detailed, step-by-step descriptions and
pictures to show the results. Basic tasks like geocoding, cre-
ating features are covered in well-written chapters with fine
exercises. There are pragmatic examples, like how to import
geodatabases into Excel to create scatterplots or exporting to
Google KML format. Each exercise has a “Your Turn” segment,
allowing the user to experiment with the software and data.
This is a beneficial addition compared to “Getting to know Arc-
GIS Pro” book.
There is a welcome chapter on ArcGIS online. Many times
GIS textbooks will leave out online versions, although this
seems the easiest way to start and may provide the beginner
user with easier options than the full desktop option. ArcGIS
online can also be used with collaborative mapping, contained
in one of the chapters and used to display Story Maps.
There are several geoprocess modeling exercises and are
easy to follow, it shows how to set up repetitive tasks and add
it to the toolbox. One way to do this is done through Model-
builder. ModelBuilder is an application, which allows the cre-
ation, editing, and management of flowcharts, digitally. A nice
property of the ESRI Modelbuilder is that it can be exported as
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
Vol. 84, No. 10, October 2018, pp. 598–599.
0099-1112/18/598–666
© 2018 American Society for Photogrammetry
and Remote Sensing
doi: 10.14358/PERS.84.10.657
