ArcGIS Pro 3.1.5: The "add to display" option has no effect on the output of the "Calculate Field" tool in model builder,

Question

I observed that whether the "add to display" option is selected or unselected for the output of the "Calculate Field" tool in model builder, the corresponding output layer doesn’t respond accordingly, causing confusion.

In contrast, the "add to display" option works as expected for the output of the "Copy Features" tool.

What could be the best practice for this?

JamalNUMAN · Answer

There is a case where the “add to display” option works for the output of the “Calculate Field” tool, but this occurs only if the output of the “Copy Features” tool is not added to the display. Therefore, I don’t see any reason why the “add to display” option for the output of the “Calculate Field” tool should behave differently from other outputs, as it should display and hide the layer consistently.

MarcoBoeringa · Answer

Some tools like Calculate Field do not actually create a new dataset as output, but just modify the existing dataset. I think this may be the reason the "Add To Display" option is not working, as the modified dataset may already have been added to the TOC in the previous step.

You could use an extra "Make Feature Layer" tool step in the model just after the "Calculate Field" tool, and add the output of that instead.