topic Can't use the calculate tool in Arc GIS Pro when using a joined table in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Can't use the calculate tool in Arc GIS Pro when using a joined table

AndrewReynoldsDevon — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 12:16:20 GMT

Hi,

I'm using Arc GIS Pro 2.8 & am using model builder to create 2 tables. One has reference data (decimal values) that I want to refer to in the other table when carrying calculations using the calculate tool.

I found this article Bug: Unable to calculate fields when tables or feature classes are joined (esri.com) which I've tried & still get the error message attached. Any ideas?

The tables are joined on the object ID field & when opening the calculate tool I can see all of the fields from both tables.

I have also tried appending/merging the 2 tables to achieve the same outcome of having all of the fields available to then carry out calculations however when I append I can schema errors. Merging creates 6 records instead of just 3.

Re: Can't use the calculate tool in Arc GIS Pro when using a joined table

DanPatterson — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 13:06:15 GMT

Are you trying to do a field calculation in the table that you joined to or the one you are using for the join?

The former supports the field calculations, the latter cannot unless you reverse the join. A period in the field name suggests you might have duplicate names differentiated by table names.

There are two join tools

Add Join (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

Join Field (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

check which one suits your needs

Re: Can't use the calculate tool in Arc GIS Pro when using a joined table

AndrewReynoldsDevon — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 13:22:27 GMT

Hi Dan,

Thanks for the quick reply - I tried the join the other way & the calculation is now working ok!

Andy

Re: Can't use the calculate tool in Arc GIS Pro when using a joined table

PaulCone2 — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 00:11:51 GMT

How do you "reverse the join" when using the Make Query Table tool? I am joining two tables on two fields, name and ID, and now I want to populate a field in one of the tables from a field in the other table, but I get a 003643: Joined field <value> not allowed for field calculation.—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation error.