Merge all features in a feature class that have same attribute value

[JamieBennett]

I am working with a feature class that contains over 3500 polygons.  The polygons have been spliced and diced for data analysis needed by one person.  I want to merge all polygons that have the same attribute in one of the fields (field number--they are open land fields).  Currently doing this by sorting in the field to group features by number and then selecting by hand those with same value and then merging them is getting old very fast.  Does anyone have a better way, maybe a script I could run that would go through the entire feature class table and automatically merge those with the same values?

[JoeBorgione]

Doesn't the dissolve tool do that for you?

[JamieBennett]

Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Dissolve almost works but not quite.  It does help.  I need several of the fields in the feature class table in addition to the field I need merged (field # as it turns out) but if I choose the ones I need, they become part of the decision and they are not always the same so I still end up with multiple polygons with same field # because they may have different treatments or usage or whatever other fields I want to include in final feature class. 

The problem is that two decisions have to made: when polygons have same field #, dissolve those where treatment = riparian into the polygon where treatment does not = riparian.  And I have no clue how to write the commands (or make a model) to do this.  Hoping I could get a clue here.

If I dissolve based only on field #, I get my polygons nicely merged but I don't get any of the other fields in the original feature class table and  I still need them.  And yes I could do a join or relate but not the way I want to keep this data or share it with others in my work group.  Unless I am left with no other options.

[DineshTuladhar]

Not sure if the answer will still be relevant to Jamie. But, if I have understood the issue correctly (i.e. to merge set of features based on common values in a set of fields), this can be done using Dissolve tool. In the dissolve dialogue box just select all the fields that needs to be preserved (the fields leading to the unique set of records) in the 'Dissolve fields (optional)' list.

Regards

[JoeBorgione]

I almost feel like the chicken farmer in Napolean Dynamite who so famously says " I don't understand a word you just said..."

All seriousness aside; perhaps you could do a series of selections to isolate those polygons that have the correct 'decisions' and export them into their own feature class.  Dissolve them as such and then merge the dissolved features back together into one feature class...

Hope this helps-