The following are common terms that are encountered when using GeoPlanner.
Active scenario
When a project is created, a default scenario called Scenario A is automatically created and set as the active scenario. The Active Scenario section contains the active scenario layers in which you can sketch, paint, and split features. You can open multiple scenarios in a project, however, only one scenario can be active at a time.
Analysis tools
Analysis tools on the Explore tab can help you spatially assess the suitability of an area and visualize how an area functions. Analysis tools are divided into the following subset of tools: Summarize Data, Find Locations, Data Enrichment, Analyze Patterns, Use Proximity, and Manage Data.
Baseline indicator
You can use baseline indicators to perform a statistical analysis on data layers in a project. Baseline indicators can be useful for collecting information about features in a project. You can display baseline indicators on a project's dashboard. For example, a regional planning organization may add a feature layer containing data on its area's population density.
Baseline modifier
A baseline modifier is a configurable, constant value based on a field from a data layer. The values used to calculate a baseline modifier are joined to a design layer, and the calculation result is saved as a field that you can use to build equations for scenario indicators. You can create, calculate, configure, and delete a project's baseline modifiers.
Baseline report
A baseline report is an inventory of natural assets in an area. The report uses the Enrich Layer tool to generate information on landscape and natural assets within a study area, state, county, or hydrologic unit.
Basemap
A basemap is a reference map that is assembled and curated by Esri. It can be used as a foundation layer to support a range of web maps or web mapping applications. You can also author custom basemaps to define your own reference and background layers.
Classify tool
The Classify tool allows you to rank data on a one-to-nine scale based on attribute values. The tool creates an assessment or suitability layer to build a suitability scale that can be visualized in your data.
Consensus tool
Consensus is an evaluation tool that helps you understand the quality or performance of a plan by overlaying multiple plans or scenarios to identify similarities. It allows you to visualize the degree of consensus in land use between multiple plans or scenarios.
Cloud Raster Format
The Esri Cloud Raster Format (CRF) supports multidimensional raster data, which is the default storage format for dimensions, variables, and processing templates. The CRF file is optimized for writing and reading large files in a distributed processing and storage environment. In a CRF file, multidimensional raster data is divided into smaller bundles of tiles, allowing multiple processes to write simultaneously to an output.
Dashboard
A dashboard displays qualitative and quantitative information about a design layer or data layer point, line, and polygon features. Dashboards display Scenario Indicator, Baseline Indicator, and Chart Indicator information in gauges, numeric values, and charts so you can visualize and understand the effects of design decisions in real time.
Data layer
A data layer is an operational layer created using geographic data from a data source. Use a data layer for visualization and analysis by displaying geographic data on top of a basemap layer in a map or a scene. Locations can be displayed as points, polylines, and polygons.
Design layer (scenario layer)
Layers in the Active Scenario section of the Contents pane are known as scenario layers. These are also referred to as design layers because they house the features that you create on the map for your design.
Design tab
The Design tab provides tools for editing, drawing, and painting that can be accessed from the Select, Draw, and Paint toolbars. You can undo and redo changes from any of the toolbar options that appear while the Design tab is active.
Design types
A design type summarizes a model or an assessment layer and is displayed in a dashboard chart indicator.
Design types in GeoPlanner are a layer-related functionality that opens a dialog box that shows all design types for the chosen active scenario layer. The modal allows you to edit and change your active scenario layer's design types.
Evaluate tab
The Evaluate tab contains the following tools that can be used to understand the quality or performance of a plan by comparing it to the criteria modeled in suitability or active scenario layers and indicators: 3D, Side by Side, Swipe, Consensus, Scenario Comparison, Report, Project Screening, and Dashboard.
Explore tab
The Explore tab contains the following spatial analysis tools that helps uncover useful information, understand opportunities, and assess risks associated with a study area: Add Data, Analysis, and Modeler. The analysis tools also help you assess an area’s suitability for or vulnerability to development activities.
Feature service
A feature service contains one or more feature layers, along with its structures, attributes, and default values. The feature service also provides the symbology to use when displaying the features in a project.
Geodesign
Combining geography with design, Geodesign provides professionals with collaborative tools that support evaluation of design alternatives against the impacts of those designs, to make more-informed decisions.
GeoTIFF
GeoTIFF is the Tag Image File Format (TIFF), which has the ability to embed georeferencing information that allows geographic information to be associated with the data of an image.
Green infrastructure
Green infrastructure identifies and connects a network of natural assets such as open spaces, watersheds, wildlife habitats, parks, and other natural and seminatural areas before growth and development begins. GeoPlanner provides a Green Infrastructure Planning template to help planners create projects that support the management and prioritization of these natural assets.
Image service
An image service provides access to raster data through a web service. Multiple rasters can be served as one image service through mosaic dataset technology. An image service supports accessing the mosaic image, its catalog, and the individual rasters in the catalog. Image services are flexible, scalable, robust, and provide a way to store, process, analyze, and share imagery data.
Indicator report
An Indicator report shows a summary of dashboard indicators from one or more scenarios. It only displays the chart indicators in your project. Each design type summarizes a model or assessment layer and displays in a dashboard chart indicator. Design types correspond to the primary chart indicator, while models or assessment layers resolve in the secondary chart indicator. The Indicator report contains suitability scores for each type, or feature in a type.
Land use planning
Land use planning helps find more efficient use of land resources while balancing natural land use types and protections. GeoPlanner provides the Land Use Planning template to help planners create projects that support the general space use decision-making process. Planners can use this template to create goals that diversify land use, by incorporating a mix of commercial and residential land use.
Map service
A map service represents a map made in ArcGIS Pro and published as a service to an ArcGIS Server site. Map services can be added to web applications, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and other client applications.
Map Viewer
Map Viewer is an online tool that allows you to create and modify 2D web maps using a browser. It is available on ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise.
Meta Raster Format
Meta Raster Format (MRF) is a storage format that combines raster storage with cloud computing for tiling, indexing, and supporting multiple resolutions. The MRF splits a raster into three separate files that can be stored separately. The main file is small and includes key properties and references to identify the files that are used to store the index and data tiles.
Paint
Paint contains tools that allow you to update existing features by clicking or lassoing them. They allow you to envision and propose alternatives to a plan or an existing scenario.
Project
A project represents a planning goal with a set of items, processes, and decisions that must be made to meet the goal. A GeoPlanner project provides tools for creating a project, inviting others to join the project team, opening an existing project, editing project properties, and managing permissions of a project.
Project defaults
The project defaults are comprised of the default settings for the project extent, bookmarks, active scenario, data layers, basemap, dashboard settings, and dashboard cards for a project. The project defaults are automatically applied to new project members when they first open a project. Existing project members can reset the project to its default values with the Reset Project tool in the Collaborate menu. Each project has its own default values that can be updated by the project owner or the organization administrator using the Update Project Defaults tool in the Collaborate menu.
Project screening
Project screening allows you to mark spatial relationships in a scenario based on a configurable set of criteria. You can mark intersecting areas as conflicts using the tool to adjust your design accordingly.
Report
The Report tool allows you to inventory the natural assets in an area and catalog how the features in your plan summarize models and assessment layers.
Scenario
A scenario is a single, unique design alternative to be considered during the planning process. Every GeoPlanner project contains at least one scenario, and all the scenarios of a project are visible to the project team members.
Scenario indicator
Scenario indicators measure a numeric value that tracks progress toward a plan. GeoPlanner dashboards can include one or more scenario indicators to display data that pertains to the active scenario.
Suitability scores
Suitability scores are calculated by comparing criteria across all candidate sites. Each criterion receives a score, a weighted score, and a final score. It can be calculated using the Calculate Suitability Score tool or by clicking Calculate Score in the Suitability Score group.
Screening criteria
Screening criteria allows you to mark spatial relationships based on operators and attributes. Each item in the screening criteria contains at least a data layer and a spatial relationship option.
Study areas
The Study Areas section on the Layers tab contains study areas in a scenario that are used to define an area of interest for analysis.
Suitability Modeler widget
The Suitability Modeler widget is an interactive environment for creating and evaluating a suitability model. A suitability model is used to identify the best locations to site things or areas to preserve, based on the location features. For example, you can use a suitability model to decide the best location to build a shopping center, or find the best areas for parks, endangered wildlife habitat, or flood control.
Symbol Palette
The Symbol Palette pane contains tools that allow team members to sketch and draw components using symbols in the active scenario.
Template
A template contains a web map and one or more feature layers to help you get started on creating a project. Several ready-to-use GeoPlanner templates are available and can be used for a variety of planning scenarios, including economic development, land use, and green infrastructure.
Tagged Image File Format
Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) is an open-source, file-based surface storage format that is used extensively in the desktop publishing industry. TIFF supports black-and-white, grayscale, pseudo color, and true color images, all of which can be stored in a compressed or a decompressed format.
Weighted overlay service
Weighted overlay services are image layers published to ArcGIS Server that represent physiographic and ecological data at a global scale. You can use these services to identify locations based on your criteria and answer geographic questions. GeoPlanner provides the Weighted Raster Overlay Service toolbox to help you prepare and configure your data for a weighted overlay service.
Weighted raster overlay
A weighted raster overlay is a method used for modeling suitability that helps identify the best location for an activity.
Zonal Statistics
The Zonal Statistics tool calculates data from raster layers or the output of a Weighted Raster Overlay (WRO) model and outputs a new data layer combined with information from an input feature layer.