idea Data Design > Fields, Attributes % Populated in ArcGIS Pro Ideas

Data Design > Fields, Attributes % Populated

MrRamonG — Thu, 16 May 2024 22:52:43 GMT

The Fields view, in Data Design > Fields, should include information for the percentage a field (attribute) is populated.

Re: Data Design > Fields, Attributes % Populated - Status changed to: Needs Clarification

SSWoodward — Tue, 21 May 2024 17:51:53 GMT

Thanks for the idea @MrRamonG when you say " the percentage a field (attribute) is populated." what specifically do you mean? The percentage of how many rows contain no data or null values, or something else?

Could you help us understand the workflow that this information would assist you with?

Re: Data Design > Fields, Attributes % Populated

MrRamonG — Tue, 21 May 2024 18:26:15 GMT

Hello @SSWoodward , thank you for following up. What I mean is it would be handy to know how many rows have values in an attribute, is it 100% populated, 66%, or 0% populated?

The workflow this would support would be data reviews or data audits. An attribute that is 0% populated isn't being used and may need review to see why there are no values, perhaps it is redundant, or it should just be deleted. An attribute that is partially populated, say 66%, may not be reliable for use in analysis.

Re: Data Design > Fields, Attributes % Populated

SSWoodward — Tue, 21 May 2024 22:30:17 GMT

Thanks for the clarification @MrRamonG

The data design views focus on schema information. Including this information in the fields view would mean we would need to read the entire table every time a user opened the fields view. This would cause a significant decrease in the responsiveness of the view.

This information is best retrieved using a cursor, where you can define what constitutes 'empty' for your data set. In many cases, null is a valid attribute value and wouldn't necessarily mean that the column is not used.

Re: Data Design > Fields, Attributes % Populated - Status changed to: Open

SSWoodward — Tue, 21 May 2024 22:31:37 GMT

Re: Data Design > Fields, Attributes % Populated - Status changed to: Closed

SSWoodward — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 23:07:38 GMT

Requiring a full read of the table to display this property in the fields view would reduce performance in the design views.

This idea is not currently up for consideration.