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Is there a way to change from layout view to data view using python? I would prefer to do it using arcpy.

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Just curious, what's the use case for wanting to do this? – Derek Swingley Sep 28 '10 at 22:43
I originally wanted to do this because in ArcMap 10 the buttons to switch to layout or data view disappear sometimes. I thought I could simply change it using Python, but I still haven't been able to. It's not a solution to the problem, but I was more interested in learning how to do this in python anyway. – Tanner Sep 30 '10 at 3:36

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up vote 3 down vote accepted 
mxd = arcpy.mapping.MapDocument('CURRENT')
mxd.activeView = "my_data_frame_name"
arcpy.RefreshActiveView()
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Forget my last comment. It did work! Thanks a lot! – Tanner Nov 15 '10 at 4:39
up vote 4 down vote

To go the other way is as easy as arcpy.mapping.MapDocument("current").activeView = "PAGE_LAYOUT".

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Thank you. I see the mention of "PAGE_LAYOUT" now in the online documentation. I appreciate you pointing this out. It's the last thing I needed for porting a 60-page mapping tool written in VBA and ArcObjects to a 10-page tool written with Python and arcpy. Plus, I can also take advantage of data driven pages. Thanks again! – user1853 Feb 3 '11 at 13:39

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