Problems with "Add Field"

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02-17-2016 01:53 PM
BrunaCavalcante
New Contributor

Hello everyone!

I'm having problems to add a field on my shape's attribute table. When i try to add a Double column, it should show the options "scale" and "precision" for me to fill, but it keeps showing the options "alias", "allow null values" and "default value". How can i change that?

Thank you for the help!

P.S.: I'm using ArcGIS 10.

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DanPatterson_Retired
MVP Emeritus

shapefiles don't support alias

Add Field—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

other readings

Working with fields in shapefiles by adding a field in ArcCatalog—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

in geodatabase you can only change properties when the table is empty,

Alter Field—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

and shapefiles would be the same

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12 Replies
AdrianWelsh
MVP Honored Contributor

Make sure you're not in an edit session. I presume you changed the dropdown box to Double (or float or whatever the option is).

If it still persists, close all ArcMap sessions and try it again after reopening your map.

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BrunaCavalcante
New Contributor

Hello Adrian.

I already tried that and it didn't work...

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AdrianWelsh
MVP Honored Contributor

Can you paste a screen shot of what you're seeing exactly?

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BrunaCavalcante
New Contributor

d646bfe0-6a69-4737-88e5-26665c4b9aad.png

Here... This happens with all column types...

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KyleBalke__GISP
Occasional Contributor III

Interesting...I have the same issues (running 10.2 and 10.3).

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BrunaCavalcante
New Contributor

Yeah, it's the exact same thing! But i need it to show "precision" and "scale"

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DanPatterson_Retired
MVP Emeritus

see my link below... precision and scale will vanish once the field is created but it is still visible in the properties of the table

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AdrianWelsh
MVP Honored Contributor

Ok, this is weird. I am seeing the same things too (running ArcMap 10.3.1 on a Basic license).

However, these was happening with a File Geodatabase.

When I tried with a plain ole shapefile, it worked like it was supposed to...

Maybe setting precision and scale are not necessary within geodatabases? (but that doesn't sound right...)

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DanPatterson_Retired
MVP Emeritus

I thought that was one of the magical things about geodatabases... there is no need to set them since they are controlled by the gdb themselves.. and from my link

  • When you create a float, double, or integer field and specify 0 for precision and scale, the tool will attempt to create a binary type field if the underlying database supports it. Personal and file geodatabases support only binary type fields, and precision and scale are ignored.