How To: Access an Existing Locator Connection from a Script

Summary

Online locators can be accessed through an ArcCatalog GIS server connection. When a connection is created in ArcCatalog, an .ags file is created in the user's Windows login profile. The instructions provided describe how to access an existing locator connection from a Python script.

Procedure

When a script is run outside of the ArcGIS environment, such as from a command line, batch file, or application, it references a folder in the user profile.

The following list gives the locations of this folder by operating system, where %USERPROFILE% corresponds to a folder such as
'c:\users\<username>' or 'c:\documents and settings\<username>.'

• Windows XP: %USERPROFILE%\Application Data\ESRI\Desktop10.0\ArcCatalog
• Windows Server: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\ESRI\ArcCatalog
• Windows 7: %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\ESRI\Desktop10.0\ArcCatalog

The user profile contains an .ags file, such as 'premiumlocators.ags,' with the connection path and credentials for the service.

Examples of the connection string format in a script are provided below.

• For premium locators: GIS Servers\\premiumtasks\\Locators\\TA_BatchAddress_NA.GeocodeServer
• For standard locators: GIS Servers\\arcgisonline\\Locators\\TA_Streets_US.GeocodeServer

The steps below describe how to use the server connection information in a script.

Run a task from a different user profile

To use the connection credentials located in one user profile while running a task in a different user profile, copy the .ags file to the corresponding location in the second user profile.

Run applications outside of a user profile with no credentials

To run an application outside of a user profile without credentials, add syntax, such as the following, within the script.

Code:
pathToAGS   = r"C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\ESRI\Desktop10.0\ArcCatalog”
agsName     = “premiumtasks” # for an AGS file called premiumtasks.ags
locatorName = “Locators\TA_Address_NA.GeocodeServer"
Locator = os.path.join(pathToAGS, agsName, locatorName)

In this case, the full path would appear as follows.

r"C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\ESRI\Desktop10.0\ArcCatalog\premiumtasks\Locators\TA_Address_NA.GeocodeServer"

Obtain the full string for a specific locator

1. In the Geocode Addresses tool, click the Browse button for the Input Address Locator field.
2. Browse to the .ags file on disk. It is displayed as a server connection name in the dialog (for instance, 'arcgis on tasks.arcgisonline.com' if the task has not been renamed or 'premiumtasks' if it has been renamed).
3. Double-click the connection name to view the contents.
4. Browse to the exact locator desired within that connection.

Note:
The .ags file can be accessed from anywhere on disk using the syntax given above.

Article ID:000011322

Software:

ArcMap

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Error 000732: Input Address Locator: Dataset ... does not exist

Access an existing locator connection from a script

Summary

Procedure

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