Creating a new .aprx file in an existing project folder

Before tackling this tutorial, you will need to download and install a dataset following these instructions:

Create a folder called simple_project/ somewhere under your personal directory (e.g. C:\Users\jdoe\Documents\Tutorials\simple_project\).
Download the data for this exercise then extract the contents of earthquakes_dec_2019.zip into your newly created simple_project folder.

When starting a new ArcGIS project, you are most likely to start with an existing project folder housing GIS files. This short exercise steps you through the motions of creating a new ArcGIS project using an existing project folder.

Creating a new ArcGIS Pro project

On your desktop, click on the Windows icon in the lower left-hand-corner and select ArcGIS >> ArcGIS Pro from the applications menu list.

In the ArcGIS Pro window, select the "Map" option.

In the New Project window, name the new project Simple_project and set the location to the ./simple_project folder that houses the GIS data you downloaded for this tutorial.
Uncheck the Create a folder for this local project option.
Click OK.

After creating your new ArcGIS project, you will see that the .\simple_project folder is added as a folder connection. You'll also note that by creating a new ArcGIS project in your existing folder, the software added several folders and files. For example, a geodatabase with the project name gets automatically created (Simple_project.gdb in our working example) as well as a new Toolbox (Simple_project.atbx). These are not necessarily needed in a project and can be deleted (though they may be recreated the next time you open the project). In this and subsequent tutorials, we will ignore these added elements.

In most situations, your GIS project will be self-contained in a single folder, but if you are to tap into GIS files that reside in a separate folder, you can add that folder as a new connection by right-clicking on Folders and select Add Folder Connection.

Adding a layer to the map

Next, we'll add a layer to the map.

Expand the simple_project/ folder, then drag-and-drop the earthquakes shapefile onto the existing map.

At this point, you have a new map project showing the location of earthquakes whose magnitude is greater than 4.5 for most of the month of December 2019 and parts of the month of January 2020.

Next, you will save the project in your simple_project/ folder.

Saving the project

Click on the Save Project icon on the upper left-hand corner of the ArcGIS Pro window.

When the project was created, the software automatically assigned the name of the project to the *.aprx file--simple_project.aprx in this working example (see accompanying figure of a Windows file management window view of the project folder).

Any changes made to the ArcGIS project (symbology, layout, etc...) gets saved in the .aprx file. But note that the various layers (vector files and/or raster files) that make up the map's content are not saved in the .aprx. It's therefore important NOT to delete the GIS files originally present in your project folder (or at least those that are used in the map view).

If you do not see the filename extensions in the file manager window, click on the View tab and check the box next to File name extensions.

When a layer is loaded in Map view, lock files are created for that layer. These files are used to prevent the shapefile from being edited in a separate concurrent ArcGIS Pro session. Closing the ArcGIS Pro project will remove the temporary lock file. Locked files are identified with a long series of filename extensions that end with lock (only viewable in a Windows file manager application).

Avoid copying or archiving your GIS project folder when it is open in an existing ArcGIS session. Doing so will copy the *.lock files which serve no purpose other than to clutter your project folder.

Close the ArcGIS project.

Opening an existing ArcGIS project

Once your ArcGIS project is created, you can access it by simply opening the .aprx file.

In your .\simple_project folder, double click on the Simple_project.aprx file.

Note that had you removed the superfluous folders and files initially created when you setup the ArcGIS project (e.g. the Simple_project.gdb geodtabase folder or the Simple_project.atbx file), these elements will have been automatically recreated when opening the .aprx file.

You can close the ArcGIS project.

This wraps up this short tutorial.

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