topic Re: Select tool ArcPy SQL expression in Data Management Questions

Select tool ArcPy SQL expression

BergstromGIS — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 18:57:03 GMT

I am trying to write a script using the select tool to select only those rows with the field description "Seaplane Base". I can get the other value, "Airport" to work, but when I run the script, it gives me an empty table in the new file when selecting "Seaplane Base".

import arcpy arcpy.env.workspace = "###" infc = "airports.shp" outfc = "airports_sea.shp" delim_field = arcpy.AddFieldDelimiters(infc, "FEATURE") sql_exp = delim_field + " = 'Seaplane Base'" arcpy.Select_analysis(infc, outfc, sql_exp)

Please help

Re: Select tool ArcPy SQL expression

VinceAngelo — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 21:05:13 GMT

Best practice is to use str.format() (or f"") to layout your expression (and avoid error-prone string math). If you're having difficulty, you should always print the resulting parameters. And test the resulting statement from the UI. Without seeing the contents of the table or the resulting expression, there isn't much we can do to help.

- V

Re: Select tool ArcPy SQL expression

RobertKrisher — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 13:39:14 GMT

Agree with @VinceAngelo, I've been burnt many times by not testing my expressions in the application first and realizing I've made a mistake in my expression or pointed the tool at the wrong dataset. For reference, using a f"" to set your expression would look like the following:

sql_exp = f"{delim_field} = 'Seaplane Base'"