Capturing Coordinates for a Point Database

Question

I have just made the move from ArcMap to ArcGIS Pro.  The transition has been smooth with one exception.  I work with a large government database that uses points.  Right now I have to key the coordinates in by hand.  Is there a way in ArcGIS Pro to populate the Attribute Table by clicking on the map instead of keying in manually?

Thanks

Dave

Robert LeClair · Accepted Answer

Yes, if you set your snapping to point, then do a right-click, select Copy Coordinates.  Then you can copy/paste them into the attribute fields (assuming there's an X an Y here).  There is the Calculate Geometry geoproceessing tool that will do the same thing as well.  A few ways to accomplish the task.

KoryKramer · Accepted Answer

To add to Robert's comment about using Calculate Geometry, another geoprocessing tool that will allow you to calculate both x and y fields at the same time is Add Geometry Attributes (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation  .  However, the drawback is that the calculation is done once and if the point is edited, you would need to calculate those attributes again.  From the help topic:"The values in these fields are not automatically recalculated after edits. If you edit the features, you'll need to run this tool again to update the field values."

So you might want to look into setting up Attribute Rules on your x and y fields so that they are always maintained on insert and update.

Quick points about using attribute rules:

You'll need a standard or advanced license.

You'll need to add a global id field.

The Arcade expressions I used were:

Geometry($feature).x

Geometry($feature).y

It looks like this:

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Wrote this blog that outlines the process: Get to the Point: Automatically maintain x,y,z attribute values with ArcGIS Pro and attribute rules

davidwright2 · Accepted Answer

Thank you so much.  I will give it a go and see if I can get it to work.

KoryKramer · Accepted Answer

No worries.  It also occurred to me that there is an idea requesting to have the x and y coordinates maintained as system fields so all of this would just be done automatically.  You can up vote that by giving it kudos: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-pro-ideas/dynamic-columns-in-attribute-table-to-show-xy-arcgis-pro/idi-p/940925