The components to set up the analysis are as follows:
the data and code, which can be downloaded in this section
the software ArcGIS 10.6 or higher, preferably ArcGIS 10.8.2
a program that can read .xlsx files, for example Microsoft Excel, or LibreOffice.
Optional: the ArcGIS 64-bit geoprocessing module if you are processing larger regions. This module is part of the ArcGIS installation package and contains the 64-bit python geoprocessing scripts.
The following steps are required to install the toolbox:
Extract the zip folder to a directory on your computer (Figure 2.1a).
Open ArcMap and access the ArcToolbox window (Figure 2.1b).
Right-click in the ArcToolbox window and select “Add Toolbox” (Figure 2.1c).
In the “Add Toolbox” window, navigate to the file directory where the zip folder was extracted and select the FFRA_v001 toolbox (Figure 2.1d).
The contents of the zip file provided through the dropbox link are shown in Figure 2.1a and are briefly described below.
Data Folder: Contains the data used in the tutorial for running the FRA. The data folder contains:
example_data.gdb: A file geodatabase containing four feature classes: barriers, benchmark_rivers, lakes, and streams. Each of these feature classes is explained in further detail in the next section, 3 Input Data.
tutorial_config.xls: Provides an example config that can be used to auto-populate the tool’s parameters for the tutorial.
output folder: This folder is provided as an empty folder and is intended to be set as the output location of the tool’s results. A different folder can be specified in the “Path Settings” as the output folder if desired.
FFRA_v001.pyt: Contains the Free_Flowing_Rivers_Analysis tool.
Free_Flowing_Rivers_Analysis: The tool used to conduct the free-flowing river analysis.
input_data.mxd: An ArcMap document that can be used as a working document for conducting analyses. To make getting started a bit easier, the document has the example data added to the Table of Contents and the FFRA_v001 tool box has been added to the ArcToolbox menu.
template.mxd: An ArcMap document file that contains the symbology to be applied for output ArcMap documents displaying the spatial data outputs of the tool. It is recommended not to remove this document from the source directory (the folder containing FFRA_v001.pyt) as changes may affect the tool’s ability to display the spatial data outputs. User’s can customize the output map results by altering the template document to their liking. Editing the template document is covered in the Tool customization section.