Introduction

In this chapter, we're going to cover the creation, testing, editing, and sharing of add-ins created with Python. Add-ins provide a way of adding user interface items to ArcGIS Desktop through a modular code base designed to perform specific actions. Interface components can include buttons, tools, toolbars, menus, combo boxes, tool palettes, and application extensions. The add-in concept was first introduced in ArcGIS Desktop 10.0 and could be created with .NET or Java. However, with the release of ArcGIS 10.1, add-ins can now be created with Python. Add-ins are created using Python scripts and an XML file that defines how the user interface should appear.

Add-ins provide an easy way to distribute user interface customizations to end users. No installation programs are necessary. A single compressed file with a file extension of .esriaddin is copied to a well-known folder, and ArcGIS Desktop handles the rest. To simplify the development even further, a Python Add-In wizard...