Transferring attributes between features
Overview
There are two capabilities in the ArcGIS Pro Editor for transferring attributes between features. You can interactively click source and target features in the map using the Transfer Attribute tool or you can select features and Copy Attributes and Paste Attributes in the Attributes pane. Both methods rely on Field Mapping which is a configurable map setting to match attributes between source and target features. Another capability, copying features and pasting to another layer using Paste Special, also uses Field Mapping. These three capabilities, along with Field Mapping, will be described in this blog.
There are additional methods and capabilities, such as copying and pasting cell values, Calculate Field, and Attributes Rules, that can be used to transfer attributes between features that are not included in this blog. This blog focuses on Field Mapping and the three capabilities that rely on it.
And, as a reminder for all ArcGIS Pro editing workflows, to prevent editing features in certain layers, set visibility, selectability, or editability in the Contents pane, and consider Single Workspace Editing. To learn more, refer to the Configure settings for editing help topic.
A productivity tip for working with features in the Attributes pane and the Modify tools is to set a display expression in the layer's Properties. To learn more, refer to the Set the layer display field help topic.
Field Mapping
Matching source and target fields is necessary when transferring attributes from one feature to another. You can figure out how to match fields yourself when copying and pasting an attribute value from one feature to another, but the editing tools need to rely on field mapping to define which fields go together. Field Mapping is an Editor Setting for each map and is used to map source fields and target fields. To open the Field Mapping dialog, go to the Edit ribbon tab, Manage Edits group, and click the Settings command. Once the dialog opens, choose Field Mapping.
By default, there is an auto-match capability which is sufficient for some workflows. Auto-matching is done for all source and target field pairings, regardless of what is currently chosen in the source and target dropdowns. Even though you can’t see the field mapping, there is field mapping for all layer combinations in the map that will be used by the tools.
When should you review and update Field Mapping? You’ll want to update Field Mapping when
1. Transferring geometry
Map shape fields from source to target.
To transfer geometries, match the Shape field
2. Field names vary and do not auto-match
Choose source and target from the dropdowns, for each target field on the left, choose the source field from the dropdown on the right. The dropdown only shows fields of the same data type.
Matching fields when the field names do not auto-match.3. Using an Arcade expression.
Switch to Expression and compose an Arcade expression. New at ArcGIS Pro 3.6, the Fields list includes fields from both the source and targets.
For more complex field matching, write an Arcade expression.4. Prevent attributes from being overwritten. Clear field mapping to prevent attributes from being incorrectly modified in the target. Click the Clear command to clear all field mapping or clear mapping for a specific field by choosing the empty entry in the dropdown.
5. Different tools require different field mapping
Field Mapping is used by Copy and Paste Special, Copy Attributes and Paste Attributes, and Transfer Attributes. Each of these may have different field mapping requirements.
To learn more, refer to the Configure field mapping help topic.
Copy Attributes and Paste Attributes
Copying attributes from one feature and pasting to one or more other features is easy to do in the Attributes pane. Select the feature with the attributes to copy as well as the feature or features to paste the attributes to. Right click on the source feature’s identifier and choose Copy Attributes. To paste, right click on the target feature’s identifier and choose Paste Attributes. Attributes will be moved from the source to the target per the field mapping for the layers. To learn more, refer to the Copy and paste attributes using the clipboard help topic.
To paste the attributes to multiple features at once, either right click on the layer node or highlight a subset of the selected features and right click.
Transfer Attributes Tool
Transfer Attributes is a tool to interactively transfer attributes in the map from a source feature to one or more target features. The tool does not use selection sets, rather, it uses clicked locations to find features to work with. The target feature must be selectable, editable and visible, whereas the source feature must be selectable and visible, it does not need to be editable.
In its simplest use, transferring from one feature to another, follow these steps
- Verify Field Mapping configuration for source layers and target layers. If transferring geometry, remember to map the Shape field.
- From the Modify Features pane, activate the Transfer Attributes tool
- In the map, click the source feature. The cursor will update to show the source feature’s Display Expression. In the map, click the target feature. Attributes are transferred from the source to the target and the tool is reset
- Repeat steps 2 and 3, as needed, to transfer attributes between features.
To transfer from one source feature to multiple target features, after clicking the source feature, hold down the Shift key until all target features have been clicked. Attributes are transferred with each click. Once the Shift key is released, the tool is reset and can be used again.
Overlapping Features
What if there are overlapping features? Overlapping features can and do happen; for these situations, the Transfer Attributes tool has a chip for you to specify the right features to use. If there are overlapping features, the tool will prompt the chip for input. Choosing from overlapping sources is optional whereas choosing from overlapping targets is not optional. Specifying multiple targets is still possible with a little know-how that is described below.
ArcGIS Pro 3.5 introduced the chip to choose source and target features. ArcGIS Pro 3.6 extended Transfer Attributes to include: cursor feedback; improved sorting within the chip, selecting multiple target features in the chip.
Selecting one overlapping source feature
Just like in the basic scenario, activate the tool and click the source feature. If there are overlapping features, you will see the chip in a collapsed state. Interacting with the chip is optional; if you do not expand the chip and choose a feature, the tool will default to the topmost feature. To choose a different feature, click the chip to expand and show the grid, highlight the row of the feature you want and click the checkmark (or double click the row). You will also notice the cursor greeting showing the feature identifier of the source feature.
Selecting from overlapping target features
Once a source feature is known, click on the target feature. If there is more than one potential target feature, the chip will show expanded. For the tool to finish successfully, at least one target feature must be chosen. To choose one target feature, highlight the row and click the checkmark (or double-click). To choose more than one target feature, use the Shift and Ctrl key modifiers to select multiple rows and click the checkmark. As with the basic scenario, the tool will reset.
It is possible to combine the Shift key to transfer to multiple targets with the chip to choose from overlapping features. To accomplish this, click the source feature, then hold the Shift key and click target features. To choose one or more target in the chip, you can release the Shift key temporarily to interact with the chip but be sure to hold the Shift key when clicking the check mark.
Copy and Paste Special
Finally, copying selected features and pasting to another layer or template. Paste Special relies on Field Mapping when setting attribute for the new features if ‘Keep Source Attribute’s is checked. For this workflow,
- Verify Field Mapping configuration for source layers and target layers. The shape fields do not need to be set in Field Mapping.
- Select the features to copy using whatever feature selection method you choose.
- Ensure the map has focus – map name tab is dark blue when it has focus
- From the Edit tab, choose Copy
- From the Edit tab, choose Paste Special from the Paste dropdown.
The Paste Special command is enabled when the map has focus as shown in dark blue.
- In the Paste Special dialog either specify a feature template in the same layer or a different layer or choose the layer to paste into. New with ArcGIS Pro 3.6 is the ability to paste into non visible layers with the 'Visible layers only' option unchecked.
- Ensure ‘Keep source attributes’ is checked so field mapping is used
- Click OK to paste
- Pasted features will be in Move mode if the Editor option is set to activate move. If Move activates and that is not what you want, simply hit ESC to deactivate the tool or activate the Selection tool on the Edit tab. The Editor option is called "Activate Move tool after all paste operations.' When unchecked, the Move tool will not activate after paste.
Summary
This blog includes a description of ArcGIS Pro Editor's Field Mapping and the three capabilities that rely on it: Copy Attributes and Paste Attributes; Transfer Attributes tool; Copy and Paste Special. Also highlighted were Transfer Attribute tool enhancements released in ArcGIS Pro 3.5 and ArcGIS Pro 3.6. The ArcGIS Pro Editing team is aware of additional enhancement requests, such as different Field Mapping scenarios, and are regularly considering when and how to address these ideas.