Retrieving a toolbox alias

All toolboxes have an alias which, when combined with the tool name, provides a unique reference to any tool in ArcGIS for Desktop. This alias is necessary because a number of tools have the same name. When referencing a tool from your Python script, it is necessary to reference both the tool name and alias.

Getting ready

In the last recipe, we looked at the Clip tool. There are actually three Clip tools, which can be found in the Analysis Tools, Coverage Tools, and Data Management Tools toolboxes. Each Clip tool performs a different function. For instance, the Clip tool in the Analysis Tools toolbox clips a vector feature class using an input feature, while the Clip tool in the Data Management Tools toolbox is used to create a spatial subset of a raster. Since it is possible to have multiple tools with the same name, we can uniquely identify a particular tool by providing both the tool name and the toolbox alias in which the tool resides. In this recipe, you will...