Add Fields (multiple) could import from existing table or feature class template

[TimMinter]

I'm building a ModelBuilder model and I want to re-use the fields in an existing geodatabase table to populate and then edit the "Add Fields (multiple)" GP tool.  I will craftily move those fields around to change their order ;-), change the definitions on a couple of them, remove some, and add some.  Do I want to manually enter all 79 (or worse) of those fields and risk going over the limit of however many clicks I have left in my carpal tunnels?  No, I do not.  Nope.  What I want is to import the fields from my template table to populate the "Add Fields (multiple)" GP tool and then burn some clicks on the arguably valuable changes.  Can I do it?  Nope, not yet in ArcGIS Pro 2.8.2 (2.8.3 is out, but release notes don't suggest an update would help me with this idea).  Would love to be able to do it soon.

Stringing up those two GP tools does not populate the "Add Fields (multiple)" field list.  Tried, failed.

tim

[BillFox]

Will a join and export help you?

or maybe create new with import from

[TimMinter]

HI Bill,

Unfortunately, no.  I need a way to inject changed table schemas, including field order, into a relatively static enterprise geodatabase schema that uses db views to ETL data from an incoming spreadsheet that occults the source system schema (it shall forever be unknown to me/us) to a product set of enterprise geodatabase feature classes and tables that staff and various apps/systems use.  When the source system has schema changes that impact my ETL, I have to go and jiggle the staging tables that receive the spreadsheet content, ArcGIS-friendly tables with curated field definitions (and order), and the db views so that I don't have to change the schema for the product feature classes and views and bust a bunch of stuff.  Whew.

My idea above would help because I could pop open the Add Fields (multiple) GP tool in a model, adjust the field definitions (and order), generate a schema that matches the source system changes, and carry on with the change.  As it stands, I can do that, but it takes days and thousands of clicks to set it up the first time.  When there are major source system changes, a fresh setup helps avoid errors.  If I could point the tool at the staging tables when setting up, then far fewer clicks would be involved and the opportunities for errors decrease.

tim

[DrewFlater]

This will be available in ArcGIS Pro 3.0.

[KoryKramer]

This functionality has been added in ArcGIS Pro 3.0. See Ideas in ArcGIS Pro 3.0  to see this and all of the other ideas you can look forward to when you upgrade.

Also be sure to check out the What's New documentation: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/get-started/whats-new-in-arcgis-pro.htm 

[TimMinter]

Nice!  Thanks @KoryKramer!

[Michele_Hosking]

Yes - nice that this has been implemented but....  If a field from the template table already exists in the input table it just errors and does nothing.  And there doesn't seem to be a way to say import all the fields except field1, field2 and field3.  Which seems like a slight oversight...  Is there a way?  If not I would like there to be. Now I have to manually input 38 fields.... still. 😑

[TimMinter]

@Michele_Hosking, @KoryKramer - sounds like a requirement that didn't ship with this capability the first go-round.  Maybe soon?  Maybe some day?

[Michele_Hosking]

Dreams are free.... 🙂

[TimMinter]

"Coming in with the golden light
In the morning"

-KB

[DrewFlater]

@Michele_Hosking  thanks for your feedback. I observed the same error you described when one of the fields in the template table already exists in the input table. This is a defect, which has been logged with Esri Support as BUG-000166581. 

This bug does not cover your feedback that you'd like to selectively choose which fields to add. If you are looking for that capability I think it might be better to use scripting. For example, you can specify the a list of fields to exclude (my list is Name and Type), while adding the remainder of fields to the input based on fields from the target. 

exclusion_list = ["Name", "Type"] #Update with your field names to exclude
field_list = []
for field in arcpy.ListFields('Template_Table'): #Update with your template table name or path
    if not field.required:
        if not field.name in exclusion_list:
            if field.type=="String":
                field_type = "TEXT"
            elif field.type=="Integer":
                field_type = "LONG"
            elif field.type=="SmallInteger":
                field_type = "SHORT"
            elif field.type=="Single":
                field_type = "FLOAT"
            else:
                field_type = field.type    
            field_list.append([field.name, field_type, field.aliasName, field.length, field.defaultValue, field.domain])
arcpy.management.AddFields('Input_Table', field_list) #Update with your Input Table name or path