topic Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField in ArcGIS Pro SDK Questions

Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 10:37:04 GMT

Hi,

I'm using the following code to determine if a field exists in the current layer:

var currentLayer = map.FindLayers(layer.Name).FirstOrDefault() as BasicFeatureLayer;
                        
//Does current layer have FACILITYID field??
Boolean facID_field = false;

TableDefinition tableDef = currentLayer.GetTable().GetDefinition();
if (tableDef.FindField("FACILITYID") >= 0)
      facID_field = true;‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

When I do not have a Join setup on the layer everything is fine, but with a Join I will get an "InvalidOperationException" error on the TableDefinition line of code:

An exception of type 'System.InvalidOperationException' occurred in ArcGIS.Core.dll but was not handled in user code

Additional information: The dataset 'SAN_Manhole_MH_dbf' does not have a valid definition.

In this case, the layername is 'SAN_Manhole' and the joined table is 'MH_dbf'.

Is there another way I should be looking for fields in a layer?? Or is there just an issue with Joined layers going on in the background.

Thanks,

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

UmaHarano — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 15:51:45 GMT

Hi Brian

I ran your code to find a field in a layer that has a Join. It worked fine for me. I was able to find a field in the base layer and in the "joined" layer's fields.

Not sure why this is crashing for you. Is there anything unique about your dataset? I used a file gdb on my local machine.

Thanks

Uma

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:05:06 GMT

Hi Uma,

No, nothing fancy. My feature layer is in SDE, and the table is in the project file GDB. I will try exporting the feature layer to the file GDB and report back.

Thanks,

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 16:40:14 GMT

OK, so with both in the same FGDB I can get past that bit of code. Is there anything you can suggest I look for within my original setup to get things to work??

In ArcMap, I have similar code which works on the same SDE feature class and table combination.

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

RichRuh — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 18:36:44 GMT

Hi Brian,

I've been working on this with Uma Harano‌. When you create a Join between two different workspaces, the join has to be computed client-side, so you cannot get a Definition from it. When both tables exist in the same workspace, sometimes the underlying database can create a database View, which we can use to create a definition.

There is another routine that might help you- BasicFeatureLayer.GetFieldDescriptions()

facID_field = currentLayer.GetFieldDescriptions().Any(f => f.Alias == "FACILITYID");‍

Should help you with the specific answer you have listed above.

I hope this helps,

--Rich

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 10:37:06 GMT

Hi RRuh-esristaff‌ and UHarano-esristaff

Thanks! That definitely helps. Now that I have gotten past that, there is another line of code that is getting an exception, but again, only when a Join is present. Here is a screen shot....hopefully you can help with this too:

Basically, the GetIntersectingField returns a string value to populate the DEPOTAREA field. It only crashes when a Join is present. Again, I'm not really sure why. By stepping through the code the proper values are getting returned. Manually I can do the same edit to the DEPOTAREA field through the Attributes pane without any problems.

Here is the code for the GetIntersectingField, but it seems to be working fine. The DEPOTAREA field is associated with a domain if that makes any difference, but the code works fine with no Join present.

        //This does a SpatialQuery using the current feature point and a layer to get the intersecting field value
        public string GetIntersectingField(MapPoint point, string fieldName, FeatureLayer sourceLayer)
        {
            try
            {
                SpatialQueryFilter spatialFilter = new SpatialQueryFilter();
                spatialFilter.FilterGeometry = point;
                spatialFilter.SpatialRelationship = SpatialRelationship.Intersects;
                spatialFilter.SubFields = fieldName;

                string fieldValue = "";
                int i = 0;

                RowCursor gridCursor = sourceLayer.Search(spatialFilter);
                Feature feature;
                while (gridCursor.MoveNext())
                {
                    using (feature = (Feature)gridCursor.Current)
                    {
                        int fieldPosition = feature.FindField(fieldName);
                        fieldValue = feature[fieldPosition].ToString();
                        i++;
                    }
                }

                //if CONTRACTNO and more than one intersecting boundary, then show a message box and populate field with nothing
                if ((fieldName == "CONTRACTNO") && (i > 1))
                {
                    fieldValue = null;
                    ArcGIS.Desktop.Framework.Dialogs.MessageBox.Show("There is more than one intersecting Contract Boundary for ??.  Please enter this field in manually.", "Contract Number");
                }

                return fieldValue;
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                ArcGIS.Desktop.Framework.Dialogs.MessageBox.Show(ex.ToString());
                return null;
            }
        }‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

RichRuh — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 17:55:14 GMT

The first thing I would do is to try hard-coding an assignment to the DEPOTAREA field in code. E.g.,

insp["DEPOTAREA"] = "value here";‍

Where "Value here" is a valid domain code for the depot area field. I *think* the code is crashing on this assignment, not inside GetIntersectingField(), but this would confirm it.

Then I would check to make sure there is a field called DEPOTAREA in the result, and that the index of the field makes sense.

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 13:58:33 GMT

Hi Rich Ruh‌. Sorry for the delay getting back to you, but I am back in the office now.

I've done some more testing, but I am still getting the same error even when hard-coding the value in as you describe above....but ONLY when I have a join on that layer. Without a join, the same code works fine. Is there anything else you think I should test??

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

RichRuh — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 15:13:51 GMT

Have you tried just using FeatureLayer.GetFieldDescriptions() to walk the list of fields and see which fields are available? The only thing I can think of is that the field is being renamed because of the join.

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 17:05:21 GMT

Hi,

Using the .GetFieldDesciptions I can see that the name without the join is "DEPOTAREA" and with the join it is "GISWRKS1.WORKS.SAN_Manhole.DEPOTAREA". But....the three lines of code before the DEPOTAREA assignment are working properly, so I'm confused as to why the DEPOTAREA field is not working. GRIDNO, LocalMunicipality and SettlementArea are not causing me any problems.

In ArcObjects I would use this line of code to do basically the same thing, and never ran into problems related to Joins:

feature.set_Value(feature.Fields.FindField("DEPOTAREA"), UpdateByLandFeature(feature, depotAreaFLayer, "DEPOTAREA"));‍

Is there a recommended way for editing fields that I am not doing right?? I never know when a user may/may not have a join and I would like this to work for all instances, just like in ArcMap.

Thanks!

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

RichRuh — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 17:58:07 GMT

I don't think you're doing anything wrong. At this point I'm just trying to narrow down what isn't working and hopefully provide you with a workaround.

Do the other fields (GRIDNO, LocalMunicipality, SettlementArea) have mangled names when you use .GetFieldDescriptions(), or is it just DEPOTAREA? Does DEPOTAREA come from a different source table than the other fields?

One more thing to try is to fetch the row and edit it with Editor.Modify() rather than using the Inspector. If nothing else, that will help us determine if the Inspector class is causing the problem or if the problem is at a lower level.

If there is an easy way to package up some code and data that reproduces the problem and submit it to technical support we can do some of this experimentation on our end. Thanks for your patience.

--Rich

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 19:11:10 GMT

Hi Rich,

Yes, the other fields have mangled names too, but only with the join present.

All the fields are from the same table/feature.

I will give it a go with Editor.Modify() and get back to you.

Thanks!

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Sun, 12 Dec 2021 10:37:09 GMT

Hi Rich,

I'm trying to edit using EditOperation, but having some issues getting the code to work. Can you see where I am going wrong? No errors, but the feature doesn't actually get edited.

                            foreach (var oid in selectedOIDs)
                            {
                                var qf = new QueryFilter() { WhereClause = "OBJECTID = " + oid };
                                var cursor = currentLayer.Search(qf);
                                var editOp = new EditOperation { Name = "Edit DEPOTAREA" };
                                

                                while (cursor.MoveNext())
                                {
                                    Row row = cursor.Current;
                                    editOp.Modify(row, "DEPOTAREA", "ORONO");
                                    featureCount++;
                                }

                                editOp.Execute();
                            }‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

RichRuh — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 16:09:14 GMT

Your code looks fine. I going to guess that editOp.Execute() returns False, and that editOp.ErrorMessage contains a string that may or may not be useful. My guess is that the Editor is having the same problems finding the field "DEPOTAREA" as the original code.

I'm out of ideas. Could you send this to text support with some data and a code snippet? You can add my name so that there are no delays routing it to me. At this point I need a debugger to take a closer look.

Thanks,

--Rich

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 17:03:00 GMT

OK. Sounds good. I will ZIP up a bunch of data and the source code. How do I send it to Tech Support?? Can you give me their contact info??

I'm out of the office tomorrow, but I'll try to get it out to you on Wednesday.

Thanks,

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

RichRuh — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 19:23:34 GMT

This link should help: https://support.esri.com/en/contact-tech-support#us

--Rich

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

CharlesMacleod — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 20:26:55 GMT

The issue may also be that you are not using a non-recycling cursor. To test, access a non-recycling cursor off the feature class, not the layer.

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 12:56:34 GMT

Hi Charles Macleod‌ and Rich Ruh‌,

I was able to get the EditOperation code to work by changing a bit of the code. As Charles mentioned, using the non-recycling cursor allows me to edit the field, but again only when there is NO join. As soon as I add the join I cannot edit the field because of the 'mangled' field name.

So it seems like regardless of using EditOperation or Inspector Classes, there needs to be some way to access the field when there is a join. In ArcObjects I never had this problem, but if there is a better solution to what I am trying to do just let me know. In the meantime I am working on packaging up some data and will hopefully get a ticket submitted later today.

Thanks!

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 19:47:39 GMT

OK, so I'm still working on getting that support ticket, but in the meantime I did more testing today, and the problem only seems to happen when that feature class has a Join, and only on the DEPOTAREA field. The other fields are updating fine, even when there is a join.

There are no duplicate field names in the joined table either, so I'm not sure what the problem is.

Anyways, I hope to have that ticket issued next week once our contact with esri is back in the office. If you can think of anything in the meantime, just let me know.

Thanks

Re: Using TableDefinition and FindField

BrianBulla — Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:26:55 GMT

Hi Rich,

So it looks like that using DepotArea instead of DEPOTAREA is resolving the problem. I'm still not 100% sure why though and was hoping you can shed some light. Here are some details on my data:

NAME	ALIAS
LOCALMUNICIPALITY	LocalMunicipality
GRIDNO	GRIDNO
SETTLEMENTAREA	SettlementArea
DEPOTAREA	DepotArea

In ArcObjects, using the highlighted names always worked, but in ArcPro they all worked except for DEPOTAREA. So I am using the Alias now, but in the documentation for the Inspector class it just says to use the 'Attribute Name'. Is it really case-sensitive??

http://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/sdk/api-reference/#topic9684.html