idea Improve ArcPy List Functions Documentation: Explain Wildcard Position in Python Ideas

Improve ArcPy List Functions Documentation: Explain Wildcard Position

AliTalaat22 — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:57:59 GMT

The current ArcPy documentation for List functions (ListWorkspaces, ListFeatureClasses, etc.) only briefly mentions that the wildcard * represents “zero or more characters” and is case-insensitive. However, it does not explain how the position of the wildcard (start, end, or both) affects the results.

The example below demonstrates the difference between patterns '*.gdb', 'ALI_BIO*', and '*ALI*'. Adding such examples to the documentation would help users understand wildcard behavior and avoid confusion.

import arcpy # Set the workspace arcpy.env.workspace = r"C:\GIS\Projects" # Example 1: Any item ending with .gdb ending_gdb = arcpy.ListWorkspaces("*.gdb") print("Pattern '*.gdb' matches:", ending_gdb) # Example 2: Any item starting with ALI_BIO starting_ref = arcpy.ListWorkspaces("ALI_BIO*") print("Pattern 'ALI_BIO*' matches:", starting_ref) # Example 3: Any item containing ALI anywhere contains_tpt = arcpy.ListWorkspaces("*ALI*") print("Pattern '*ALI*' matches:", contains_tpt)

Re: Improve ArcPy List Functions Documentation: Explain Wildcard Position

JoshuaBixby — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 14:04:19 GMT

@AliTalaat22 , wildcard behavior is fairly standard across programming/scripting languages and commands. Is there specific wildcard behavior that you are finding unexpected? If so, can you provide an example?

Re: Improve ArcPy List Functions Documentation: Explain Wildcard Position

DanPatterson — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 14:19:40 GMT

many of the use cases are contained within the code samples, for example from

ListDatasets—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

# Print all the feature datasets in the workspace that start with the letter c # or f. datasets1 = list(set(arcpy.ListDatasets("c*", "Feature")) | set(arcpy.ListDatasets("f*", "Feature"))) print(datasets1)

# Print all the feature datasets in the workspace that contain both the letter c # and f. datasets3 = list(set(arcpy.ListDatasets("*c*", "Feature")) & set(arcpy.ListDatasets("*f*", "Feature"))) print(datasets3)

so yes, specific examples of unexpected behaviour would be useful