Selection tool doesn't highlight all corresponding records in attribute table, no definition query set.

[JonHoch]

Hello, Pro 2.9.3 user here,

I have a shapefile used to store polygons of prescribed fire polygons and an associate brought to my attention that the selection tool wasn't returning all records for a unit and they thought data was missing (it only returned 4 when it should have been 12). I checked my associate's project to ensure they had no def query, then went into the table and found the additional records for the unit in question but when I double clicked a record it would pan and flash the center point but not highlight the polygon perimeter. And again, if using the selection tool, it would not highlight these additional records.

I opened my project that included the shapefile in question and noticed the same issue. Then I opened an exported copy of the shapefile from a few months ago and it had no problem selecting all 12 records for the unit in question.

I reckon I will just add the most recent burns that aren't in my older copy to get me back to a functional shapefile; but I am interested in how and why this happens. Any insights?

[JonHoch]

I probably should have clarified that the issue is not localized to the burn unit in question but seemingly randomly affected across the whole shapefile.

[JohannesLindner]

Hard to say without knowing the data. Can you post the shapefile?

[JonHoch]

I have attached the current file which exhibits the selection issue as well as a prior export that selects properly minus the 23 records that occurred since the export. See the screen shot which details the non-selection of records. If you search the table for the records that are shown in the prior export file, you can see that they are there but fail to select.

 

[BarryNorthey]

The shapefile has overlapping features, which might explain your situation.

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/mapping/navigation/select-from-overlapping-features.ht...

Also consider running Repair Geometry.

[JohannesLindner · Accepted solution]

It's probably your symbology.

Let's take BC_1 = 'CI20' as example. 

The pink areas are polygons from the shapefile that aren't covered by your symbology:

These features are still in the layer, you can select them in the table and with Select Layer by Attribute, but they are not drawn on the map, so you can't select them with the selection tool and you can't see the selection outline and flash.

If you load the shapefile (not the layers) into the map, you can select normally. This compares selecting in your layers and the "pure" shapefile. Without symbology, all 30 features are selected:

The problem are the GS seasons. The old shapefile lists these seasons as "GS 01", "GS 02", etc. You changed that to be consistent with the DS seasons. Now, they are called "GS_01", "GS_02", etc. You forgot to change the symbology. It doesn't draw the GS seasons earlier than GS_20, because it looks for spaces, but they are now stored with underscores:

[JonHoch]

The symbology issue was the culprit! I was not aware that an unsymbolized record would not be selectable.