Accessing shapefiles/dbfs within a geodatabase with python

[ThomasCaruso]

Hi folks,

I feel like there's a very simple answer to this because no matter how much I searched I couldn't find one, however I'm pretty much brand new to gdb's, have mostly just used shapefiles up until now and I'm having trouble getting python to access the table of/a shapefile within a geodatabase. Here is the script I'm writing currently, can someone give me some direction here?

import arcpy
# Set workspace
arcpy.env.workspace = "C:\Users\tmc18\Desktop\comp_orps\NYS_Wells.gdb"

# Define input feature layer & wells
orps09 = "C:\Users\tmc18\Desktop\comp_orps\centroids\madirps_point_Layer.lyr"
wells = "C:\Users\tmc18\Desktop\comp_orps\NYS_Wells.gdb\Madison_DEC_Well_Logs_3_14_14_MASTER_COPY.dbf"
wellshp = "C:\Users\tmc18\Desktop\comp_orps\NYS_Wells.gdb\Madison_DEC_Well_Logs_3_14_14_MASTER_COPY.shp"

# Define fields cursors will require
county = "County"

# Create search cursor
with arcpy.da.SearchCursor(wells, [county]) as cursor:
        for row in cursor:
                if county == "MADISON":
                        arcpy.SelectLayerByLocation_management(orps09, [within_a_distance, "1 km", add_to_selection])
                        cursor.next(row)
                else:
                        continue

I'm getting errors because within the gdb, the dbf and shapefiles don't exist. Since I see them there in ArcCatalog I thought it might work anyways, but obviously that is not the case.

Many thanks in advance for your help,

Tom

[JoeFlannery · Accepted solution]

Do you need an r in front of your file paths?

Like this:

wells = r"C:\Users\tmc18\Desktop\comp_orps\NYS_Wells.gdb\Madison_DEC_Well.dbf" 

[ThomasCaruso]

This did it. Thank you.

[VinceAngelo]

Shapefiles are NOT stored within file geodatabases.  Each is a different format.  Data copied from a shapefile is manifested as a table in an FGDB.

You should not use a filesystem utility to place a shapefile in the ".gdb" directory of a file geodatabase. To copy the data into the FGDB, use ArcGIS or an application with the FGDB API access library enabled to create a new feature class table in the FGDB workspace. If you want to retain shapefile format, create a directory parallel to the .gdb (e.g., "NYS_Wells-shp"), and place the shapefiles there.

- V

[JoeFlannery]

Thomas:

For future readers of your posted question.

From the great book Python Scripting for ArcGIS, by Paul Zandbergen, Chapter 4.14 - Working with Paths:

There are three correct ways to specify a path in Python:

Use a forward slash

  “C:/EsriPress/Python/Data”

Use two backslashes

  “C:\\EsriPress\\Python\\Data”

Use a string literal by placing the letter r before the string

  r“C:\EsriPress\Python\Data”

[curtvprice]

There's also a nice article in the ArcGIS Desktop help.

Paths explained: Absolute, relative, UNC, and URL

[XanderBakker]

Dear Thomas Caruso ‌,

Although Joe Flannery‌ may have answered your question and you are able to access your shapefile stored in the .gdb folder. this is not (and I repeat) *NOT* they way to solve your problem. As Vince Angelo‌ indicates, you should NOT store shapefiles in the .gdb folder. It may corrupt the other data in the file geodatabase, Please, please, *PLEASE*, remove the files from the .gdb folder and store them elsewhere.

For a list of file extensions you will want to move to another folder, see: Shapefile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia  or this old documentation: ArcGIS Desktop Help 9.2 - Shapefile file extensions