Use browse dialog boxes

Browse dialog boxes allow you to access locations on a local computer, network drive, or active portal. They are used to select items for various tasks, such as adding data to maps or specifying inputs to geoprocessing tools. They are also used to specify nondefault output locations for the results of operations.

Browse dialog boxes typically open from a Browse button or associated with an operation. They may also open directly from a ribbon command. Each browse dialog box has a unique name according to its purpose, but all are similar in appearance and function.

The browse dialog box elements are described in the following table. The numbers in the table correspond to the numbers in the image above.

Browse dialog box elements

Element	Description
Location bar	The location bar shows the current catalog location. As in a catalog view, you can type or paste paths into it. Type a partial path followed by a backslash separator (\) to see a drop-down list of available matching paths.
Search box	You can search project items or search portal items.
Navigation pane	Double-click a project or portal item container to browse its contents. Only containers relevant to the current operation are displayed. You can also browse to items on your computer or mapped network drives.
Contents list	View the contents of the current location or the current search results.
Details panel	View item information for a selected item. This is the same information available in a detailed item pop-up in the Catalog pane.
Name text box	If an item is selected in the contents list, its name appears in the box. If no item is selected, you can type in the box. A list of matching items in the current location appears as you type. You can also change locations by typing or pasting a path. Type a partial path followed by a backslash separator (\) to see a drop-down list of available matching paths.
Item type filter	Click the drop-down arrow and choose an option to filter the contents list by item type.

The contents list in a browse dialog box is filtered to show only items you can use in the current task. For example, on the Add Data browse dialog box, only items that can be added to a map or scene appear. Similarly, the Input Features browse dialog box only presents feature classes and web feature layers as possible geoprocessing tool inputs.

A browse dialog box may allow you to filter the contents list. For example, to add a specific type of item to a map, you can choose an appropriate filter.

The contents of a folder are filtered to show layer files and packages.

Note:

A browse dialog box may provide access to a file type not typically available in ArcGIS AllSource. For example, some geoprocessing tools that import or export external file formats have parameters that accept any file type (*.*). In this case, the browse dialog box may list all available item collections and show all types of items and files, even if the dialog box title or filter specifies a file type. You can select any file that appears on a browse dialog box, regardless of whether its file type matches the dialog box title or filter.

Browse dialog boxes include limited functionality for managing items. You can browse to a catalog location and perform the following operations as long as the browse dialog box's purpose and current filter support them:

• Create items—Click the New Item drop-down arrow and create a folder, file geodatabase, mobile geodatabase, database connection, or toolbox (.atbx file) on a local or network disk. You can also create these items from a context menu by right-clicking white space in the contents list of the dialog box.
• Create a folder in My Content in the active portal.
• Rename items—Select an item in the contents list. Click the Organize drop-down arrow and click Rename , or right-click the item and click Rename .
• Copy item paths—Select an item in the contents list. Click the Organize drop-down arrow and click Copy Path , or right-click the item and click Copy Path .
• Add or change folder connection aliases—Right-click a folder connection in the contents list, point to Alias , and click Change Alias .
• Delete items—Select an item in the contents list and press Delete.

Browse dialog boxes have default behavior that determines the catalog location where they initially open and whether they subsequently open to the last visited location. The default behavior may vary from one browse dialog box to another. Use the catalog browsing options to change the default behavior.

Create an item from a browse dialog box

Many ArcGIS AllSource operations involve browsing to a location to store or access data. In the course of such operations, you can create new items, such as folders, geodatabases, and toolboxes. The types of items you can create may be enabled or disabled according to the purpose of the browse dialog box.

In the following example, a file geodatabase is created in the course of changing the default geodatabase for a project. The same steps apply to creating an item in any operation that opens a browse dialog box.

1. On an open browse dialog box, browse to the location in which you want to create an item.
2. Click the New Item drop-down arrow and click the type of item you want to create.

   

   In this example, a file geodatabase will be created in the C:\Data folder.

   The item is created with a default name, such as New File Geodatabase. The name is selected and editable.

   Note:

   In this example, you can create a file geodatabase, a mobile geodatabase, or a connection to an enterprise geodatabase. Any of these items can be the default geodatabase. You can also create a folder in order to create a geodatabase within that folder. However, you cannot create a toolbox because a toolbox is not a geodatabase or a geodatabase container.

3. Type a name for the item, press the Enter key, and click the item to select it.

   

   The new geodatabase is named OutputData.gdb.

4. Click OK to complete the operation.

   If you click Cancel, the operation is not completed, but the new item still exists.

5. Confirm that the new item is specified as intended.

   

   The new file geodatabase is set as the default geodatabase for the current project.