ESRI mapping tips

A recent post on the ESRI Mapping blog caught my eye, not so much for the tip it gave, but instead for the admission that knowing basic ArcGIS is different than knowing how to put together those steps elegantly.

It’s been possible to do this sort of thing in ArcGIS for many years, though it took knowing the combination of steps and tools to use.

This is true of some things in Illustrator or Photoshop too. Sophisticated treatments sometimes require multiple steps that aren't obvious, even when you know each of the individual actions.