Preparation of fields, values, and domains can take some time. The process isn’t complicated, as you can read here, but the work can become tedious since we have many layers of the same questions in other maps and databases. This text is about swiftly replicating attribute tables in another database using the same questions.
In the other article, we discussed preparing questions for the Field Maps Designer question form. This article somewhat continues this thread, as it aims to use the produced output many times, not only once.
Our example from the previous work is displayed in the image below (Pic. 1).
We have the layer with an attribute table containing the fields prepared by the earlier occasion. Now, we would like to have the same sort of fields in the layer that belongs to the other project and map. There is a swift solution where we can smoothly transfer our data to the other database. The steps are described below.
1. Right-click on your edited layer -> Data -> Export Table (1). Next, in the Parameters, you can specify the fields the current attribute table includes. You can also change the output table name, but it can be done later. You can delete the fields or optionally add new ones by specifying them. However, the new ones won’t have domains. You should see the latest table falling into the Standalone Tables section (3) by clicking OK.
If you are unhappy with the name of your table, you can change it by double-clicking on the name. Sometimes, a separate box opens, and the name can be changed there (Pic. 3).
2. Right-click on the newly exported standalone table -> Sharing -> Save As Layer File and export your attribute table with all its content to the file, as shown in the image below (Pic. 4).
The file is saved as a .lyrx file, the same extension under which you can save your style files for ArcGIS Pro.
3. Drag your .lyrx file into the other project you are working on (1). Once done, the table produced in your previous project should be listed in the Standalone Tables section (2) (Pic. 5).
Next, right-clicking on this table -> Open will populate everything edited in our previous project (3).
4. Use the Join option to append these settings to your current attribute table, assuming it applies to the same layer with the same parameters (Pic. 6).
Adding joins is simple; we must select the Input Table to which we want to join the data. Specifying the Input Field, which should contain unique values, is essential. Our Join Table will be imported from a previous project, comprising an analogic Join Field (Pic. 7). If the Input Field is, for example, OBJECTID, the Join Field should also be OBJECTID or at least similar to unique values.
The Join Operation can remain empty because, by default, it will be Join One to First anyway. After the successful operation, you should see all the columns from your imported table already appended to the table with the join added.
5. We don’t want all these fields, as some might be duplicated and come from the same layer. Therefore, we must remove them and keep only those specified for the Field Maps Designer purpose (Pic. 8).
The most convenient way to do it is to click -> Data -> Export Features (1), where we can specify which fields are necessary by selecting and deleting the redundant ones (2). The best way to choose them is to hold Ctrl + mouse click, making them bound to bluish. After that, you must hit the “x” signature on one of them, and all the questions will disappear instantly.
After export, open the attribute table and see all proper fields, including those specified in your last project (3).
6. Finally, you should investigate the Fields section, where all the domains set in your previous project should remain in place (Pic. 9).
As you can see, all the settings determined in the layer at our previous project are now pulled through to the current project. Our layer is the same; it covers a different area, and these settings are used without hassle. Since all your further projects are analogical with layers, you can use this method to transfer the fields and their domains over the same layers you’ve produced.
Mariusz Krukar
Links:
- https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/3.3/help/data/databases/copy-and-paste-data-between-databases.htm