topic Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse? in State & Local Government Questions

Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

JaredPilbeam1 — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 17:57:10 GMT

Hi,

I'm working with real estate data/parcels and building footprint feature classes. Each parcel has it's own PIN. The footprint layer is empty of attribute data. I want to be able to copy the PINs over to a building footprint layer without having to do one at a time.

There are a few other Fields that need populated and those I can copy easily enough a bunch at a time by selecting a large area in Editor (see image here). But the PINs cannot be copied this way because they are unique.

Is there a way to do this?

Thanks,

Jared

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

JakeSkinner — Thu, 17 Mar 2016 18:16:19 GMT

Hi Jared,

Take a look at the Spatial Join tool. You can use this to spatially join the parcel data to the building footprints. This will create a new output. You can then join the new output back to the building footprints using the OBJECTID field and calculate over the PIN.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

AdrianWelsh — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 15:26:01 GMT

Spatial join is a great tool. Though, out of curiosity, will the Transfer Attributes tool work for this?

Transfer Attributes—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

I have never used it so I just wondered...

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

JaredPilbeam1 — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 19:26:59 GMT

Jake,

Thanks for the reply. Here are the steps I've taken in reference to your suggestion:

Select the buildings you have drawn so far
Save that selection in a selection layer.
Open the toolbox and run the Feature to Point tool
Save the output (point) layer in a file geodatabase or shapefile
Then run a Spatial Join with the output (point) layer and the parcels (or select parcels first within municipality).
Save that output in the same file geodatabase or a shapefile
Join the Spatial Join output with the building footprints layer (I believe joining the OBJECTID).
Calculate the PIN in the building footprints layer equal to the PIN from the Spatial Join output

I ran into a snag at "Then run a Spatial Join...". I guess I’m still confused as to what to have as the Target Features and what to have as the Join Features in the Spatial Join tool. And then whether it’s join the Spatial Join to the Building_Footprints, or vice versa?

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

JaredPilbeam1 — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 19:41:21 GMT

Adrian,

Yes, that works as well in this case.

If you have an instance where you need to transfer attributes from one layer to another you can use the Spatial Adjustment toolbar.

Set the Attribute Transfer Mapping (menu item) with the relevant attribute Field of both layers
Then choose the Attribute Transfer Tool: choose parcel first and building footprint second to transfer PIN from parcel to building
Make sure your layers are made selectable in the Table of contents.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

ChrisDonohue__GISP — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 20:03:58 GMT

One caution - stay away from using the ObjectID as a field to join to, as while it is a unique key, it automatically gets renumbered when certain processes are done. For example, if you select several features and save them out to a new feature class, you will find that the ObjectIDs have changed in that new feature class compared to what they were originally for the same feature.

If there isn't already an appropriate aternative unique field already in your tables, one workaround is to create your own unique ID field from the ObjectID before making changes/processing. Make a new field, then use Field calculator to populate it with the ObjectID values. Note - If you add more features, be sure to remember to populate this field with appropriate new IDs, as it is static.

Chris Donohue, GISP

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

GIS-Cambria — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 15:55:29 GMT

Yet another way to skin the cat is using Attribute Assistant (AA). You can add a rule to spatially dip (intersecting feature) just about anything and pass attributes between features. Something to be careful of though; feature envelopes. For example, we tried a bulk PIN transfer between address points and parcel polygons using AA and found that address points outside of a large parcel were still picking up that PIN. My only suspicion is the AA method used an envelope to select the point/parcel match. We did the spatial join to fill in all the existing address point/PIN info and then use AA for the maintenance.

A spatial join will work more succinct in your case to get your foundation built, but then consider using AA for your ongoing maintenance. It's a fantastic tool!

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

BrianOevermann — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 17:24:20 GMT

Jared,

You may be making this more complicated than necessary, based upon your response to Jake with your list of actions thus far. All of the comments so far are useful, though offer up a few different approaches. The Spatial Join tool is your best bet for getting the PIN info into your building footprints.

You don't say whether your existing building footprint layer must stay or if you can simply remove and replace it with an updated version. Jake's comment regarding joining the Spatial Join result back to the original layer is operating on the assumption that the existing layer must stay. I will second Chris' warning about using the OBJECTID as a unique ID, as you have no control over the system reordering the IDs, so the suggestion for creating your own unique ID would be useful IF the existing layer must stay.

But, let's keep things simple and assume that you can simply replace the existing buildings layer with the end result new buildings layer once you've finished processing.

Set up your attribute fields in your buildings layer however you want or need them. This presumably includes a Parcel PIN field. I suspect this is already done.
Fire up the Spatial Join tool from ArcToolbox. From your original post, you want to attach the PIN TO the building footprint. That's the "clue" for deciding, in Spatial Join, which is the Target layer and which is the Join layer. Set your output feature class (this will be your new buildings layer). Keep all Target features (because you set up your buildings layer in step 1 the way you want it. In the Field Map of Join Features box, delete any fields from your parcel layer (Join features layer) that you don't need (don't delete any of the buildings layer fields!). If you are only transferring the PIN, delete all of the parcel layer fields except the PIN field. This will save you from having to delete the extra fields later. The Intersect match option usually works well. I'm assuming that your building footprints don't straddle multiple parcels and are fully within a single parcel. Click OK and run the tool. Your new feature class will be created.
In ArcMap, open the attribute table for the new feature class, right click the PIN field you created in your buildings layer (the empty field) and select Field Calculator. Find your parcel layer PIN field and double-click it to put it into the query box. The query effectively is 'BuildingLayerPINfield = ParcelLayerPINfield'. Click OK and whatever value is in the ParcelLayerPINfield will be transferred over to the BuildingLayerPINfield. If you had other info from the parcel layer that you wanted to transfer, perform a similar operation on those fields.
Delete the ParcelLayerPINfield from your layer, as you don't need it any longer now that the info has been transferred. Delete any other parcel layer fields you may have kept. The end result should be a buildings layer that contains only the attributes you originally created.
This buildings layer is now your new buildings layer. You can get rid of the old one.

That takes care of the PIN field. It sounds like you can do some group selects to populate other fields. Adrian mentioned the Transfer Attributes tool. I use it in certain workflows, but keep in mind that the tool is used in a one-to-one fashion. After setting up the fields you want to transfer, you select a source feature and then a target feature and the mapped fields' attributes are transferred. You could use this for the parcel PIN but you stated you didn't want to do them one at a time. That makes it the "wrong" tool for your current purpose. I only have a cursory knowledge of the Attribute Assistant tool, so I can't comment regarding its usefulness in this context.

Brian

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

AdrianWelsh — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 22:45:33 GMT

Steve, Attribute Assistant seems like a good idea. If Jared were to use this, which download package would you recommend? I see that there are quite a few different ones and there doesn't seem to be an obvious one for updating parcels and/or building footprints.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

GIS-Cambria — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 18:18:12 GMT

Any of the downloads for Attribute Assistant (AA) would be useful. The trick is to create the correct rules in your DynamicValue table and, if using generate ID functions, also add the ID columns one would like to use into the GenerateID table. The combination of AA and the two tables mentioned can be modified to work within your own environment and doesn't require your data to be completely within the LGIM as the samples have. Below are a few quick examples of the rules for the DynamicValue table with the columns separated by |:

The |C| is a value to use centroids

The |6| will pad the numeric generated ID to 6 characters from left. The GenerateID table is used to manage your numeric sequence. You would add a record to GenerateID with the field that your method will look for, in this example the attribute is |BuildingID|. The result would be BLDGID = BFID-000001 etc.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

RuthBowers — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 18:32:19 GMT

If you have an advanced license, my personal favorite for this type of task is the Identity tool from the Analysis Tools. It is similar to spatial join. It saves you steps since the output already has the identified attributes attached to the features of the input feature class.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

ChristopherThomas — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 20:44:43 GMT

Another approach that has the benefit of working with the existing feature classes without creating additional feature classes like spatial join: Use the Generate Near Table tool. This produces an output table with the feature IDs of both feature classes. If the building resides within that parcel it will include the distance of 0. In this case you are not interested in the distance but the IN_FID(building OID) and NEAR_FID(parcel OID). Next you can join the NearTable output to the building feature class using IN_FID then join the parcels to the buildings using NEAR_FID. Next calculate the building.PIN over from parcel.PIN through the joined tables. Keep in mind if the feature classes are large, you might want to add indexes to the fields involved in the join to do the calculation with better performance.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

JaredPilbeam1 — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 14:17:12 GMT

Brian (et al.),

Thanks for the responses. Yes, the existing Building Footprints layer must stay. I'm working in an SDE and there are a couple other people who are also editing child versions of the Footprints layer. The Footprints are of the entire county. All versions will all eventually be added to the main feature class. So, I'm just working in blocks or larger areas at a time, basically.

I've taken Chris' caution into consideration and attempted to create a new ID in the Footprints layer in the beginning of my original process explained to Jake above. Before I run the Feature to Point tool I select a small area of Footprints, then Create Layer From Selected Layer, then attempt to Add Field to the table:

But I get this error:

I then tried exporting the selected Footprints to a new layer, but this led to OBJECTIDs to be regenerated:

I need the original OBJECTIDs intact in order to do a join back to the Footprints layer at the end of my process? This is where I'm stuck now.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

JaredPilbeam1 — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 14:26:52 GMT

Sorry, forgot to mention something. I had editor off while trying to Add Field. I also unselected the features after Create Layer from Selected Features (*typo above) and before trying to Add Field.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

BrianOevermann — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 15:02:52 GMT

Jared,

A couple of comments regarding the lock/in use message you received when attempting to add a field:

You must add the field when connected as the data owner. It will then appear in all versions (may need to refresh the version).
It appears that this feature class may also be utilized in one or more map services (just a guess given the 'IMS' user indicated in the lock message)? Also, users of other child versions could also be working with the feature class at the time (though your lock message doesn't seem to indicate that). That complicates things because, as the message indicates, you cannot make schema changes when the layer is in use or otherwise locked.

I run into this occasionally. At those times I must briefly stop my map service(s) that contain the relevant feature class, add the field (as the data owner), the start the map service(s) back up. It helps that I manage all of the data, have the ability to connect to the database as the data owner, and can usually plan the brief 'blip' in map service availability by doing it at an off-peak moment of the day.

Christopher's suggestion to use the Generate Near Table sounds like a great solution for you--if you have an Advanced license. Sadly, many of us do not so we must resort to other methods.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

RuthBowers — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 16:04:13 GMT

I agree that you are making this more complicated than it needs to be.

Also, it is highly unlikely that you will be allowed to add a field to a table in a versioned database. So, you will need to do something that creates an additional output table, like Spatial Join.

I would change your workflow as follows:

Select the buildings you have drawn so far.
If your parcel feature class is very large, do a spatial selection on it based on the selected buildings. It can take an extremely long time to do a spatial selection on a large dataset. Doing the selection on a selected set trims the time down significantly.
Then run a Spatial Join with the point layer and the parcels (Spatial join operates on selections, so you don't need to make another layer). For the Match Option, choose HAVE_THEIR_CENTER_IN so that you don't need to create centroids.
Save that output in the same file geodatabase or a shapefile
Join the Spatial Join output with the building footprints layer (I believe joining the OBJECTID). If ObjectId is the only unique identifier you have, it will have to do. As long no records are added or subtracted between this step and the next, you are okay. The reason not to use ObjectId as a unique identifier is because it is not a static number. If someone adds or removes a record, the numbers may change and your records won't match up any more. ArcGIS considers itself to be the owner of ObjectId, and the user has no control over the column.
Calculate the PIN in the building footprints layer equal to the PIN from the Spatial Join output.

You might want to discuss adding a unique identifier column to the footprint feature class with your SDE DBA . It would be convenient to be able to build relationship classes that go both ways between the parcels and the buildings. When you are finished with this task, if I understand you correctly, you'll be able to relate what parcel goes with a building, but not what building(s) go with a parcel.

Re: Copy Parcel PINs to Building Footprint Tables en masse?

JaredPilbeam1 — Tue, 29 Mar 2016 18:26:02 GMT

Brian,

Thanks a lot. I'm not the data owner (i.e. only a GIS Tech I), so that basically rules out my original method I guess. But, you're right. Christopher's method is what I'm looking for. Christopher Thomas

Here’s what I did:

Select any number of Ref_Building_Footprints and create a layer
Select the corresponding Parcels and create a layer
Generate Near Table using Footprints selection as input and Parcels selection as Near Features. If Footprint resides within that Parcel it will include the distance of 0.
Join Near Table output to Ref_Building_Footprints using IN_FID (Footprints selection)
Join Parcels to Ref_Building_Footprints using NEAR_FID (Parcels selection)
In table, Calculate Ref_Building_Footprints PIN from Parcel PIN

This worked very well. So, thank you all!

-Jared