Copy and Paste Features with Attachments

Question

I have a feature class with attachments. I would like to copy and paste features in the feature class to the same feature class or a different feature class while maintaining the attachments.

The reason I would copy the same feature to the same feature class is due to different types of features with in the same feature class. For example Primary Overhead and Secondary Overhead Electric lines.

I understand I can use append to copy features with attachments from one feature class to another. This is time consuming when you are doing it by hand. However, append does not work when you are trying to copy/paste features within the same feature class.

CarsonG · Answer

"When I do this, for example point assets incorrectly added to the wrong feature class Water Meter vs Water Valve,"

This can be done with the Append GP tool if the water meter and valve are in different feature classes. It is faster than saving the attachments > copying/pasting features > adding the attachments.

The process you describe is the current process I have to use when the features reside in the same feature class like Primary and Secondary Overhead electric lines. When you have 20+ features this needs to be done for it takes significantly longer than if there was a tool like append or if there was an option to copy attachments when pasting to the same feature class.

There currently is no GP tool that I am aware of that will copy/paste features in the same feature class in order to maintain attachments. To do so, I would need to append the features to a temporary feature class and then append them back to the original feature class. It is a work around, but it is a pain with attributes being different across 70 feature classes.

Copy (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation Is for copying data types like feature classes or feature datasets, etc.

Copy Features (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation Is for copying features and putting them in a new feature class. This tool creates a new feature class during the process. If you use an existing feature class, the tool will overwrite that existing feature class.

JonathanDandois · Answer

I believe there is no way to do this with with the Editing "Copy -> Paste" tools, and only with GP tools: Maintain Attachments.

When I do this, for example point assets incorrectly added to the wrong feature class Water Meter vs Water Valve, i use the copy paste feature to copy the geometry and attributes to the correct FC and then save the attachment to a scratch folder from the original feature and Add it to the new feature. A pain, but doable.

Perhaps an alternative for many features would be to add the ones that need to be copied with attachments to a selection or definition query and then use one of the GP Tools to copy with attachments.