topic Where is the "Transfer field domain descriptions" in ArcGIS Pro? in ArcGIS Pro Questions

Where is the "Transfer field domain descriptions" in ArcGIS Pro?

CathyWilson2 — Tue, 16 May 2017 22:30:40 GMT

I just found this setting in ArcGIS 10.4.1 that enables you to export a feature class from a geodatabase to a shapefile and maintain the domain descriptions in the attribute table. Without this, you only get the values. For example, if you have a field indicating who has access to certain roads with "1" meaning "public" and "2" meaning "staff only," your exported attribute table would have 1's and 2's.

Here's how to fix it. When you export the feature class, you go to the Environment Settings > Fields, and put a check next to "Transfer field domain descriptions." The result is a field in the shapefile with the value and a second field with the description. You would have a "1" in the Access field and "public" in the associated d_Access field.

I then tried to do this in ArcGIS Pro and don't know where this setting is. I don't see it in the Environment tab. Is it missing or is it somewhere else?

Re: Where is the "Transfer field domain descriptions" in ArcGIS Pro?

Jared_Motuz — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 14:38:26 GMT

Hi Cathy,

These settings can be found within the Environments window on the Analysis ribbon tab.

Geoprocessing environment settings

Geoprocessing environment settings—ArcGIS Pro | ArcGIS Desktop

Re: Where is the "Transfer field domain descriptions" in ArcGIS Pro?

NajmehServatsamarein2 — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 19:31:56 GMT

When I export a feature class from the geodatabase to a shapefile, I don't see the domain descriptions in the attribute table—only the numbers appear. I’ve checked the box for "Environments" and selected "Transfer Field Domain Descriptions" during export, but the issue persists.

Re: Where is the "Transfer field domain descriptions" in ArcGIS Pro?

Kevin_MacLeod — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 22:03:27 GMT

This is a bug which has been present on the platform for 15 years. You can check the Env setting. It does nothing. After significant and extensive repro testing on my end, Support assigned a Bug ID to me for this. It's a bug in most ArcMap versions and all ArcGIS Pro versions, when exporting from SDE and even from file GDB. From the GUI and from Python. Only some fields are blank not all fields. Odd since they are the same data type even. Only Table to Excel gets around this bug. We have a complicated model to export to SHP by joining the Excel table to the Shapefile. BUG-000179097