Adding shapefile name to attribute table?

[DaniMazzotta]

Hi,

I have a dataset with about 300 different shapefiles. I want to Merge all the shapefiles into one, but I need to keep the shapefile name. I have added a field to each of these shapefiles, but can't figure out how to populate the table with the name of the shapefile. I tried to download the Arc Toolbox "AddFieldName", but it didn't work. I also tried some of the Python codes and they also didn't work.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

[MitchHolley1]

This could be done in Python.  Try running this before you run the merge. 

import arcpy
import os

SHPfolder = r'...path to folder where .shps are kept...'

for x in os.listdir(SHPfolder):
    with arcpy.da.UpdateCursor(SHPfolder + '/' + x, ['shpName']) as cursor: #Change field name if necessary
        for row in cursor:
            row[0] = str(x)
            cursor.updateRow(row)
    del cursor‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

[TedKowal]

These links may assist you ... I believe %name% is reserved for model use....

arcgis desktop - How do you add file name to an attribute field? - Geographic Information Systems St... 

Batch add field, calculate field as filename 

This model may help you as well (I have no personal experience with it)....

ArcGIS Tool: Inserts file name into attribute table - Data.gov 

[FilipKrál]

To extend Mitch's answer, if your data is in a geodatabase rather than a folder, try the code below.

import arcpy
file_name_field = 'FNAME'
input_gdb_or_folder = r'c:\my.gdb'

arcpy.env.workspace = input_gdb_or_folder

feature_classes = arcpy.ListFeatureClasses()

for fc in feature_classes:
    print(fc) # just so you know what the script is processing
    
    # add field to hold the file name if it does not exist
    existing_fields = [f.name for f in arcpy.ListFields(fc)]
    if file_name_field not in existing_fields:
        arcpy.management.AddField(fc, file_name_field, 'TEXT', field_length=200)
    
    # write the file name into each row of the file name filed
    with arcpy.da.UpdateCursor(fc, [file_name_field]) as uc:
        for row in uc:
            uc.updateRow([str(fc)])
    del row, uc‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

Filip.

[David_Kimball]

For anyone coming across this question (4 years later), this functionality is now available in the ArcGIS Pro Merge tool: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/tool-reference/data-management/merge.htm

The tool has an "Add source information to output" checkbox - if you check it, it'll add a field named MERGE_SRC to the output:

The values in the MERGE_SRC field will indicate the input dataset path or layer name that is the source of each record in the output.

When I used it, I added layers to the tool from my Map, and the values in the resulting MERGE_SRC field looked like "GroupName\LayerName" (as named in the Map's Contents list). I haven't tried it with data added to the tool directly from browsing - maybe it puts the full pathname if you do it that way.