Adding layer titles to summary table using batch processing and ModelBuilder

Question

I have 180+ Landsat Raster Layers open. Part of the layer names in the TOC include the date the image was taken.

I'm trying to get weighted average NDVI for each layer in one summary table. This is the output of my model currently:

.

I can't figure out how to get the names of the rasters into a new field. Here's my process so far...

1. Add Landsat NDVI layers from ArcGIS online
2. Select by location to only include rasters in my polygon
3. Add selected rasters to map, creating what you see there in TOC
4. Run batch extract by mask tool. Here I can't customize names of output. The batch tool is awful. However, in ModelBuilder I can't iterate through these rasters because they aren't in a Raster Catalog, yet. There doesn't seem to be a way to export these directly to a Catalog without first running a tool, probably because they are huge files and from ArcGIS online?
5. Save each extracted raster in a Raster Catalog
6. Run the model which iterates through this new Raster Catalog, runs a series of calculations and gives me the output table you see.

I can very painstakingly manually add dates to the summary table. Obviously not scalable and that's why I'm here. Seems that I can't use ModelBuilder to fix the issue due to what I described above.

What can I do to get the raster names reflecting what you see in the TOC when I run the Extract by Mask tool?

I don't know any Python yet.

Answer 1

I agree with @PolyGeo, this type of processing tends to be much easier if scripted in Python, as you are now discovering the limitations of ModelBuilder, not particularly great for looping type workflows.

That said if you have the very latest version of ArcGIS Pro (2.7) then you can use the new Iterate Layers iterator which can step through layers in a map document. I've not had cause to use it yet so can't comment on usability but it appears to behave like the other model iterators. This can provide you an opportunity for a non-coding route if you are not familiar with Python.