Automate the generation of a number for a new attribute on creation

778
5
02-06-2013 07:16 PM
Status: Open
BenVan_Kesteren1
Occasional Contributor III
When creating a new feature like a sewer manhole I am having to sort my attributes by a field i have called "GIS_NUMBER", then find the last used number, than manually enter the next sequential number for my new attribute.

I think the GIS should be able to automatically enter a number in a field based on some simple inputs in the create feature template.

I am having to do this same thing for many many feature classes, and think it could be easily fixed.

Cheers
5 Comments
JurajKrumpolec
Yes for smart editing. ArcGIS should get some intelligence, because now it's really a dumb piece of software.
KarlHennermann1
Field type 'auto-increment' - good idea!
RonnieRichards
You might consider the Atteribute Assistant Add-In it has an ID Generator function which is quite flexible. The Attribute Assistant is not the easiest add-in to find... typically it is bundled with the LocalGovernment sample templates. 

I wish we could have unique indexes on columns in our versioned data because what prevents you or another user duplicating the ID using the existing workflow? However this is another issue that has been around for a while and also exists as an arcgis idea... 
AdamForknall
you could calculate the value using python
AdamForknall
the FID auto increments....