Opening a plan

There are several ways to open districting plans, including from sign in, from a local file, and for comparison. Opening a plan is the first step to create and edit districting plans.

Opening a plan from sign in

When you first sign in to Esri Redistricting, you can open an existing plan.

When you first sign in to Esri Redistricting Online, you can open an existing plan. This allows easy access to both saved and shared plans.

1. Sign in to Esri Redistricting.
2. On the Open Plan dialog box, browse to the desired plan.
3. Click to highlight the plan you want to open.
4. Click Open Plan.

Opening a shared plan from sign in

When you first sign in to Esri Redistricting, you can open plans that have been shared to your users. Shared plans include plans you have shared with groups and the Esri Redistricting community, as well as plans that have been shared to groups of which you are a member.

On the Open Plan dialog box, a Shared Plans parent folder organizes your shared plans. A corresponding folder is created for each group of which you are a member and when plans are shared with that group. If no plans have been shared with a group, the group folder will not be listed under Shared Plans. An Everyone folder is also created to organize plans that have been shared to all Esri Redistricting users.

Note:

For shared plans you do not own, you can open the plan; however, the plan is read-only. To modify the plan, you must perform a Save As function to create a copy of the plan to your user account. You can then make updates and share your plan with the group.

1. Sign in to Esri Redistricting.
2. On the File ribbon, click Open.

   The Open Plan dialog box appears.

3. On the Open Plan dialog box, click Shared Plans.
4. Browse to the desired directory.
5. Click to highlight the plan you want to open.
6. Click Open Plan.

   If the plan is read-only, you will see read-only status on the Open Plan dialog box. However, you will not see read-only indicators when the plan is opened.

   If the plan is read/write, you will be prompted to lock the plan for editing or open the plan as read-only. When you lock a plan, you are the only user who can perform edits and make changes to the plan. When the plan is open, read/write indicators are displayed.

Opening a plan from within a current session

Existing plans can be opened in Esri Redistricting to allow you to update plans, share plans with other users, collaborate on plans with team members, and modify plans according to changing business needs.

1. Open the Open Plan dialog box:
   • On the File ribbon, click Open.
   • On the toolbar, click Open .
2. On the Open Plan dialog box, browse to the desired plan.
3. Click to highlight the plan you want to open.
4. Click Open Plan.

Opening a plan that is shared as read/write

There are two access levels that are granted to other users or groups when a plan is shared: read-only access or read/write access.

Read-only access allows other users to only view your plan. Modifications, assignments, or changes to the plan will not be saved with your plan. However, other users can make changes to your read-only plan and use the Save As function to save the plan to their user account for editing. You will see the read-only status displayed on the Open dialog box under the Status column.

Note:

If you are the plan owner, you are allowed to make changes to the plan, even if the plan is shared as read-only with others.

Read/Write access allows other users to read and modify plans that you have shared. Plans that are shared as read/write will be displayed as read/write for all users, even the plan owner. The read/write indicators are shown for any user who has access to and opens the plan that is shared as read/write, because any user can potentially lock the plan and make changes.

When you open a plan that has been shared as read/write (even if you are the plan owner), you are prompted to lock the plan. When you lock the plan, you are the sole user who can make edits to the plan. Read/Write is beneficial if you want to collaborate with other users on a redistricting plan.

1. Open the Open Plan dialog box:
   • On the File ribbon, click Open.
   • On the toolbar, click Open .
2. On the Open Plan dialog box, browse to the desired plan.
3. Click to highlight the plan you want to open.
4. Click Open Plan.

   The Lock Plan dialog box appears. This dialog box allows you to decide whether to lock the plan and prevent others from editing it or to open the plan as read-only.

5. Open the plan using one of the following options:
   • Click Yes to lock the plan in order to make and save edits. This prevents other users from modifying the plan.
   • Click No to open the plan in read-only mode.

   Since this is a read/write access plan, you will see the read/write indicators next to the plan name. These indicators are also shown on the Create ribbon. If you lock the plan for editing, you see a lock icon next to the plan name.

   Note:

   A plan will remain locked even if you exit your Esri Redistricting session. You must unlock a plan to allow others access to modify and edit the plan.

To unlock a plan, on the Plan ribbon, click Unlock Plan. Anytime you want to lock a plan, go to the Plan ribbon and click Lock Plan.

Opening a plan from a local file

Plans that are saved locally can be opened in Esri Redistricting.

1. On the File ribbon, click Open Local.
2. Browse to the location of the local file.
3. Highlight the local file you want to open.
4. Click Open.

   The plan loads successfully in Esri Redistricting.

Opening a plan for comparison

With Esri Redistricting, you can open two plans at one time for side-by-side comparison. The plan that is currently open in your Esri Redistricting session is the active plan. You can open a plan for comparison, which is referred to as the compared plan. This plan comparison feature could be helpful, for example, to show differences between existing districts and proposed redistricting plans.

Once you have a compared plan open, plan comparison tools are enabled. These tools allow you to modify the transparencies of each plan, view differences, zoom to the active district, or zoom to the extent of the plan differences. For more information on how to use the plan comparison tools, see Working with plan comparison.

1. On the Review ribbon, click Open Plan.

   The Open Plan For Comparison dialog box appears. This dialog box has the same look and feel as the Open Plan dialog box.

2. Browse to and highlight the plan you want to open.

   Tip:

   You can select any plan to compare, including plans that have been shared with you from group members or are visible to everyone in the Esri Redistricting community.

3. Click Open Plan.

   The plan comparison tools are now enabled. In the upper right corner of the Esri Redistricting application, you can see the names of both the active plan and the compared plan.

   For steps on how to use the plan comparison tools, see Working with plan comparison.

   Note:

   Once a compared plan is opened, Comparison Report is also enabled in the Reports drop-down menu. This allows you to generate a report based on the plan comparison. For more information on generating reports, see Generating a report from a plan.

There are several ways to open districting plans, including from sign in, from a local file, and for comparison. Opening a plan is the first step to create and edit districting plans.