Limit on the alphabets of name in the add field table

[AdrianWong75]

I am currently using ARCGIS 10.6.1. I wanted to type in the name Diameter of Ducts but the system does not allow me to and suggest I change the name to Diameter o. Has anybody encountered this before? Also, can KMZ files be converted to shape files?

Many Thanks and Best Regards,

Adrian Wong

[DanPatterson]

spaces aren't allowed, you can use an underscore if needed.

Also, keep the field names relatively short, because if you want a shapefile output, long field names  will get truncated to 13ish (If memory serves) characters.  You can use an alias for the field, which is longer, but not the field name

PS

moved the question to geoprocessing-questions rather than member introductions

[AdrianWong75]

Thanks for the info Dan, Would I be correct to say that that is no way to get around that? Can we go into the system and amend it?

[DanPatterson]

No, you can just set an alias as I indicated.  ArcGIS Pro allows for longer field names, but only for geodatabase featureclasses, not shapefiles.  Shapefiles can be used for exchange with other programs, but should not be used as your main source of database management.  

[JayantaPoddar]

That's a limitation of shapefile. Field Name can be upto 10 characters long. You may keep Field Name as "Dia_Duct", and alias name as "Diameter of Ducts". 

Alternatively, you may export the shapefile to a File Geodatabase Feature Class.

KMZ files can also be converted to Feature Class, which can then be exported to Shapefile, if required.

[AdrianWong75]

Thanks Jayanta, meaning that there is no way to go into the system and amend it if we wanted to?

[JayantaPoddar]

Nothing to change the integral property of shapefile.

I have already mentioned the workarounds. Working with short FieldName (<=10 characters; No space or special characters except underscore) and descriptive AliasName would be the easiest option, in case you want to keep working on shapefiles.