Referencing map documents on a disk_Programming ArcGIS 10.1 with Python Cookbook-QQ阅读女频短篇网

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Referencing map documents on a disk

In addition to being able to reference the currently active map document file in ArcMap, you can also access map document files stored on a local or remote drive using the MapDocument() method. In this recipe, you'll learn how to access these map documents.

Getting ready

As I mentioned earlier, you can also reference a map document file that resides somewhere on your computer or a shared server. This is done simply by providing a path to the file. This is a more versatile way of obtaining a reference to a map document because it can be run outside the ArcGIS Python window or a custom script tool.

How to do it…

Follow these steps to learn how to access a map document stored on a local or remote drive:

Open the IDLE development environment from Start | Programs | ArcGIS | Python 2.7 | IDLE.
Create a new IDLE script window by selecting New | New Window from the IDLE shell window.
Import arcpy.mapping:
```
import arcpy.mapping as mapping
```
Reference the copy of the crime map document that you created in the last recipe:
```
mxd = mapping.MapDocument("c:/ArcpyBook/Ch3/crime_copy.mxd")
```
Print the title of the map document:
```
print mxd.title
```
Run the script to see the following output:
```
Copy of Crime Project
```

How it works…

The only difference between this recipe and the last is that we've provided a reference to a map document file on a local or remote drive rather than using the CURRENT keyword. This is the recommended way of referencing a map document file unless you know for sure that your geoprocessing script will be run inside ArcGIS, either in the Python window or as a custom script tool.