Index creation on a shapefile

Question

Hi guys,

I would like to add an index to a field in a shapefile. I know that i can get all existing indexes through

IReadOnlyList<Index> idd = featClassDefinition.GetIndexes();

but i haven't been able to find a proper way to add a new index to a field.

Can anyone help me?

Thank you

Davide

XanderBakker · Answer

Good question! I wish I had a good answer for you...  One thing for sure is that the object model for Pro will not be as fine grained as ArcObjects is. ArcGIS Pro implements a new vision, where task, tools and for instance automation using arcpy.mp are the new way to go (see also FAQ · Esri/arcgis-pro-sdk Wiki · GitHub​ ). It is still in development, but it is and always will be very different from what ArcObjects is.

DavideLimosani · Answer

Thank you so much Xander, it was very helpful.

Reading your answer another small question comes to my mind. With arcobjects i have never had the necessity to use tools inside my c# code, because all functionalities were available inside arcobjects. Now i see that in proObjects some basic functionality, like adding an index, are just available with tools. Is this just a temporary condition or it is a long run choice?

Thank you,

Davide

XanderBakker · Answer

First of all, there are some restrictions in with shapefiles when creating attribute indexes (see help Pro: Add Attribute Index—Data Management toolbox | ArcGIS for Desktop 😞

Shapefiles don't support multiple indexes, so additional fields will become part of a composite index (that is, an index created on multiple fields in a table).

The GetIndexes will yield a readonly list to with the index position of field. see:

ArcGIS Pro 1.3 API Reference Guide This is not the same as an attribute index. I suppose you can use the tool Add Attribute Index to create the index.