How to use the quick tools in ArcGIS

The quick tools give you a result for a single location in a few clicks, without adding any data to the map first. There are five, all in the TravelTime tab of the ribbon:

Each tool has a settings dropdown under its button. You can set the location by typing an address, typing a latitude and longitude, or clicking Pick on map. Use the magnifying glass to check an address was found correctly before you run.

Every quick tool adds its result as a new layer and saves it to the project’s default geodatabase.

Creates up to three isochrones around one location. In this example we used public transport isochrones for 15, 30 and 45 minutes. To create just one or two isochrones, enter 0 in the boxes you don’t need.

Shows the H3 cells you can reach from one location, coloured by travel time. Choose the cell size with H3 Resolution, from 4 (largest) to 12 (smallest), and whether each cell shows the minimum, maximum or mean travel time. Journey times can be up to 600 minutes, with lower limits at the higher resolutions. The dialog shows the longest journey time allowed at the resolution you’ve chosen.

Works out the travel time from one location to every point in a layer, or from every point to one location. Select the point layer first, or the tool stays greyed out. The journey time can be from 1 to 240 minutes.

In this example we used 626 locations across southern England and a 2-hour drive. Reachable points show in green and unreachable ones in grey. The output also has a reachable field (1 or 0) and the travel_time in seconds.

For many origins and many destinations, use the Travel Time Matrix tools instead. See How to create a Travel Time Matrix in ArcGIS.

Finds the fastest route between two points and adds it to the map, with turn-by-turn directions in the attribute table. When using Pick on map, click once for the start and again for the end. In this example we used public transport between two points in Sydney.

Each leg of the route is coloured by how it’s travelled, such as walking, bus or train.

Returns TravelTime Data API data for everywhere reachable from one location within a set time, up to 180 minutes. Choose a data layer (Demographics, Places, Open spaces or Neighbourhood) and an output type (Totals, Per cell or Features). Quick Data adds a styled layer to the map and shows the results in a window.

Quick Data uses one location and one measure. For several measures, or for place categories and open space classes, use the Data tools. See How to add demographics, places and environmental data to catchments.

The quick tools are best for one-off checks. For many locations, or for full control over the settings, use the tools in the TravelTime toolbox. See Core or Custom tools: which should I use?

Full details are in the quick tools docs: Quick Isochrone, Quick H3, Quick Matrix, Quick Route and Quick Data.