ArcGIS Pro using field aliases and not field names when calculating fields

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07-18-2019 10:29 AM
NickKenczka2
New Contributor

So it seems that in the most recent update to ArcGIS Pro, when attempting to calculate a field you are forced to chose from the list of field aliases rather than the actual field name when doing any sort of calculation.  Is anyone else noticing this?  It makes it difficult when you are trying to perform any type of field calculation after an analysis such as a union when you are combining multiple feature classes into one.  Particularly if those feature classes have common (or the same fields) that share the same field alias.  Is there a way to toggle in between how you view those field choices (alias vs field name)? Thanks in advance! Kory Kramer

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DrewFlater
Esri Regular Contributor

Calculate Field and all other geoprocessing tools that have a field choice-list have displayed field aliases since Pro 1.0, there hasn't been any recent change to this effect unless I am misunderstanding your comment. 

You are right, in certain situations it's better to view the field name. However, field aliases are the defacto choice for listing fields across the app, so there is no setting for geoprocessing that will switch all field lists to display field names. 

For calculate field there are two things that might help you -- 

1. In the choice-list for selecting a field, you can hover over the entries to see a popup that states the field name and alias.

2. In the expression builder Field Options you can toggle between field name and alias.

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3 Replies
DrewFlater
Esri Regular Contributor

Calculate Field and all other geoprocessing tools that have a field choice-list have displayed field aliases since Pro 1.0, there hasn't been any recent change to this effect unless I am misunderstanding your comment. 

You are right, in certain situations it's better to view the field name. However, field aliases are the defacto choice for listing fields across the app, so there is no setting for geoprocessing that will switch all field lists to display field names. 

For calculate field there are two things that might help you -- 

1. In the choice-list for selecting a field, you can hover over the entries to see a popup that states the field name and alias.

2. In the expression builder Field Options you can toggle between field name and alias.

NickKenczka2
New Contributor

Boom, there's the answer I was looking for.  I didn't know you could do that in the expression builder.  That helps immensely!  Thanks for the response!

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AnthonyJonesRSK
Occasional Contributor II

Hi, I'm still seeing a slight issue with field aliases in the calculate field tool in Pro. If I have two fields with the same alias, as is the case for a lot of surveys I create in S123, when selecting the second of these fields from the Field Name drop down list it seems to select the first field for the calculation.

In the example below I have two fields with the alias Completion Date:. The first is a date field called PlantingRecommendDate and the second is a text version of this date field (for displaying in a table) called PlantingRecommendDateText. If I select the text version from the drop down (first image) the calculation at the bottom is still trying to run against the other field, see second image. This could potentially result in me calculating against the wrong field. Is this expected behaviour?

Thanks

Anthony

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