7 replies to this topic

[cmdrico7812]

I
want to restructure the tables of my shapefiles without having to
create all brand new tables as this would take an unbelievable amount
of time. I found the PowerStructure database utility extension for
ArcView....alas...I do not have ArcView I have ArcGIS 9.1. IS there
something similar to PowerStructure that I can use to go through and
change field names and such in my tables? Or does anyone know of a good
way to do this without having to create new tables or open them all in
Excel and changing their names. Much thanks in advance.

[benbakelaar]

"Off the top of my head, in ArcMap 9.1....

You
can just ""Start Editing"" via the Editor toolbar, then open the
shapefile ""Attribute Table"" (think you just right-click on the layer
you want). Should let you change the field name as well as field
entries, maybe you will have to right-click on the header area and go
to Properties. "

[cmdrico7812]

I tried that method and I can't edit the field names, only the data in the fields.

[Pete Y.]

"You could always try:

1. Export all shapefiles to geodatabase feature classes
2. Changing the new feature-class field names inside MS Access.
3. Exporting all the data back to shapefiles.

Wouldn't
that work? You have much greater database-level control of things
inside Access. You can probably do a ""batch"" procedure with (1) and (3)
inside Python or ModelBuilder (or it might already exist, too lazy to
check!)

Good luck.
"

[benbakelaar]

"

I tried that method and I can't edit the field names, only the data in the fields.

http://

You
are correct, I just played around for a while. Only thing I have is, my
XTools Pro bar has a Table operations -> Table restructure item...
but it seems to be only for registered versions. "

[ELeFevre]

See if this works for you:

1) Start Editing

2) Create a new field with the name you want to use.

3) Right click on the new field after it's created

4) Calculate values from the original field

5) Delete the old field

[frax]

If
it is a traditional shape file, you can open the dbf file in Excel (or
equivalent) and edit it there. If it is a personal geodatabase, just
open the .mdb file in Access and edit away.

[burwelbo]

"Try Xtools Pro. [url="http://"http://www.xtoolspro.com/"]http://www.xtoolspro.com/[/url]

There is a tool to restructure tables. Xtools also has a free evaluation period.

"