Batch export map series pages to GIF files using ArcPy in ArcGIS Pro

Question

I have created a map series on ArcGIS Pro 2.5.1 displaying distribution data for different bird species over a UK county. Each page displays a different species. The index feature is a point feature class which is just a list of the different species, each with the same coordinates to centre the map. I want to export each page as a GIF file.

This Python code snippet from this help page seemed to be for the same general task:

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/arcpy/mapping/mapseries-class.htm

relpath = os.path.dirname(sys.argv[0])

p = arcpy.mp.ArcGISProject(relpath + "\\MapSeries\\US_States.aprx")
l = p.listLayouts()[0]
if not l.mapSeries is None:
  ms = l.mapSeries
  if ms.enabled:
    for pageNum in range(1, ms.pageCount + 1):
      ms.currentPageNumber = pageNum
      print("Exporting {0}".format(ms.pageRow.STATE_NAME))
      pageName = ms.pageRow.STATE_NAME
      l.exportToPNG(os.path.join(relpath, "Output", f"Ex2_{ms.pageRow.STATE_NAME}.png"))

I have tried to modify this to fit my own workflow:

relpath = os.path.dirname("C:\Yusef\Pembrokeshire Avifauna\Breeding 2000s gif")
p = arcpy.mp.ArcGISProject("C:\Yusef\Pembrokeshire Avifauna\Pembrokeshire Avifauna_working.aprx")
l = p.listLayouts()[0]
if not l.mapSeries is None:
  ms = l.mapSeries
  if ms.enabled:
    for pageNum in range(1, ms.pageCount + 1):
      ms.currentPageNumber = pageNum
      print("Exporting {0}".format(ms.pageRow.Species))
      pageName = ms.pageRow.Species
      l.exportToGIF(os.path.join(relpath, "Output", f"Ex2_{ms.pageRow.Species}.gif"))

For which I get the following error message, which I'm not sure how to interpet:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 12, in <module>
  File "c:\program files\arcgis\pro\Resources\arcpy\arcpy\_mp.py", line 1029, in exportToGIF
    return convertArcObjectToPythonObject(self._arc_object.exportToGIF(*gp_fixargs((out_gif, resolution, gif_color_mode, clip_to_elements), True)))
OSError: C:\Yusef\Pembrokeshire Avifauna\Output\Ex2_Barn Owl.gif

Can anyone tell me what I'm doing wrong?

Answer 1

It looks like the source of the error is the spaces in the file path names. I suggest using the string literal 'r' before the strings, as described here: https://docs.python.org/2/reference/lexical_analysis.html#string-literals

relpath = os.path.dirname(r"C:\Yusef\Pembrokeshire Avifauna\Breeding 2000s gif")
p = arcpy.mp.ArcGISProject(r"C:\Yusef\Pembrokeshire Avifauna\Pembrokeshire Avifauna_working.aprx")
l = p.listLayouts()[0]
if not l.mapSeries is None:
  ms = l.mapSeries
  if ms.enabled:
    for pageNum in range(1, ms.pageCount + 1):
      ms.currentPageNumber = pageNum
      print("Exporting {0}".format(ms.pageRow.Species))
      pageName = ms.pageRow.Species
      l.exportToGIF(os.path.join(relpath, "\\Output\\", r"Ex2_{ms.pageRow.Species}.gif"))