A quick tour of Task Assistant Manager for Designers

The Task Manager toolbar for Designers

The Task Manager toolbar in ArcMap is the gateway to the Task Assistant window. The image below shows the Task Manager toolbar configured for the Task Assistant Designer installation.

Button	Name	Function
	Task Assistant Window	Toggles the visibility of the Task Assistant window
	Validate Workflow	Validates the current task assistant workflow against the current map document and configuration information
	Reset Workflow	Unchecks all selected check boxes and resets results of the Validate Workflow command
	Step Builder	Adds a new step to the task assistant workflow with settings based on the current state of the ArcMap environment

Task Manager toolbar buttons and their functions

The Task Assistant toolbar

The Task Assistant toolbar includes tools to do the following:

• Create, open, and save task assistant workflows.
• Create, copy, and paste task assistant workflow steps.
• Promote and demote steps.

In addition, during the execution phase of steps that enable tools, a tool palette is also available on the Task Assistant window toolbar if that step contains ArcGIS tools or commands. Tools that require interaction can be grouped together in a single step so the tool palette can show the tools or commands needed whenever a step requires the use of more than one.

In map navigation, for example, ArcMap provides a number of different tools: Zoom In, Zoom Out, and Pan. The icon for the first tool or command in the list is displayed along with a drop-down arrow. Clicking the arrow displays the other tools or commands in the list for selection.

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The arrow for the tool palette is not displayed when a step has only one tool or does not require a tool.

The Task Assistant window

The Task Assistant window displays the overall task assistant workflow and any associated subtasks needed to execute a GIS task. When a step is selected, a GIS task is executed based on the properties set in Task Designer.

The Task Assistant window shortcut menu for Task Designer

The Task Assistant window shortcut menu is accessed by right-clicking in the Task Assistant window and allows you to do the following:

• Manage task assistant workflows.
• Manage steps.
• Access recent task assistant workflows.
• Manage step check boxes.
• Associate task assistant workflows with saved map documents.
• Manage node styles.

The Task Assistant tabs for Task Designer

The Task Assistant tabs for Task Designer allow you to view and configure task assistant workflows and workflow steps.

The Help tab

The Help tab displays the step description, if you created one during the step design process. Descriptions are optional but are often useful for others accessing the task assistant workflows you have designed.

To learn more about populating the Help tab, see Adding_a_description.

The History tab

The History tab displays a log of the steps or tasks that have been completed and by which user.

Right-clicking on the History tab provides the following options:

• Clear History—Clears the displayed history information from the History tab.
• Save History—Saves the displayed history information. Choosing this option allows you to browse to the location in which you want to save the history information. History is saved as a comma-separated text file.
• Load History—Allows you to browse to the location from which you want to load history information.
• Edit Notes—Allows you to append notes to a specific item in the history information. The notes appear under the Notes column on the History tab.

The Designer tab

The Designer tab contains the properties that allow the configuration of the task assistant workflow steps.

Right-clicking a cell on the Designer tab displays a shortcut menu of commands for working with steps as well as for opening and saving the configuration file.

The Properties tab

The Properties tab allows you to set application-specific properties as well as refresh the configuration file.

The following can be set on the Properties tab:

• Execute Step(s)—When this check box is checked, steps execute when clicked in the Task Assistant window. It is useful to have the check box checked for testing and verification and unchecked during design.
• Close Workflow(s) on MXD Close—When this check box is checked, the current workflow in the Task Assistant window closes when the MXD is closed. Upon starting a new ArcMap session, the Task Assistant window is empty.
• Refresh Config—Refreshes the default configuration file. The configuration file contains ArcGIS commands, geoprocessing tools, feature templates, and layer information that are loaded in the current MXD. See also the Append MXD Items and Refresh MXD Items Only options discussed below.
• Append MXD Items—This check box allows you to specify how the map configuration is reset when the map document is changed. When this check box is checked, the map configuration information on the Designer tab is not cleared when a new document is opened; instead, the new map configuration information is appended to the existing map configuration information.
• Refresh MXD Items Only—If this check box is checked when Refresh Config is clicked, only the MXD configuration information (layer information and geoprocessing tools) is refreshed. Configuration items such as commands are not refreshed.