Using Python to replicate the Export Data command

[philbennison]

Complete newbie here looking for some assistance. I need to convert a shapefile into a KML file and as i do this often was looking at Python to automate it. The shapefile has a join to another database to keep it dynamic so i am having to use the "export data" to make a shapefile which i then amend the field name (alias's) and convert to KML. I have tried the featureclasstofeatureclass_conversion command but this renames the fieldnames? I have then tried makefeaturelayermanagement command but this doesnt bring across the joined fields?

[DanPatterson_Retired]

did you try

Copy Features—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

Feature Class to Feature Class—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop but look again at (fixed link I hope)

but you can control field mapping with the options in FC2FC

FieldMappings—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop

[philbennison]

Thanks Dan,

I did try to use the help before asking but to be honest as my first bit of python code, it was a bit above me 😞

[DanPatterson_Retired]

if you get stuck, it is easier to comment on your code, so feel free to post it

[philbennison]

I have just taken bits from archelp so its probably all wrong

import arcpy

arcpy.env.workspace="C:\Users\ME\Docume~1\ArcGIS\Default.gdb"

arcpy.SelectLayerByAttribute_management ("Areamap","NEW_SELECTION"," [Type_Of_area] = 'busy')

This does say that it works but nothing is selected

[XanderBakker]

Probably using a Shapefile as the intermediate format is not the best choice... Have a look a the example below:

I have a featureclass in a fgdb called "Building_lines" with the following field names:

>>> for fld in arcpy.ListFields("Building_lines"):
...    print fld.name

OBJECTID
Shape
LEFT_FID
RIGHT_FID
Shape_Length
Left_Height
Right_Height
Left_Parcel
Right_Parcel
Height_dif
Wall_Surface
Wall_Situation
Final_Parcel

If I create a join in the session of ArcMap to another featureclass called "Building_height_sel" and list the fields again, it will show the joined fields too identified by the featureclass name prefix. If I list the fields again it will show:

>>> for fld in arcpy.ListFields("Building_lines"):
...    print fld.name

Building_lines.OBJECTID
Building_lines.Shape
Building_lines.LEFT_FID
Building_lines.RIGHT_FID
Building_lines.Shape_Length
Building_lines.Left_Height
Building_lines.Right_Height
Building_lines.Left_Parcel
Building_lines.Right_Parcel
Building_lines.Height_dif
Building_lines.Wall_Surface
Building_lines.Wall_Situation
Building_lines.Final_Parcel
Building_height_sel.OBJECTID_1
Building_height_sel.OBJECTID
Building_height_sel.HEIGHT
Building_height_sel.Shape_Length
Building_height_sel.Shape_Area
Building_height_sel.BuildingID

As Dan Patterson​ mentioned you can use the Copy Features tool to export the result and it will honor the joined fields.

>>> arcpy.CopyFeatures_management("Building_lines", r'D:\Temp\test.shp')
<Result 'D:\\Temp\\test.shp'>

Listing the fields of this result:

>>> for fld in arcpy.ListFields("D:\\Temp\\test.shp"):
...    print fld.name

Will reveal this beautiful list of (not very useful) field names:

FID
Shape
Building_l
Building_1
Building_2
Building_3
Building_4
Building_5
Building_6
Building_7
Building_8
Building_9
Buildin_10
Building_h
Buildin_11
Buildin_12
Buildin_13
Buildin_14
Buildin_15

However, if you copy the features to a featureclass in a file geodatabase.

>>> arcpy.CopyFeatures_management("Building_lines", r'D:\Temp\Test.gdb\test')
<Result 'D:\\Temp\\Test.gdb\\test'>

... and list the fields of the result:

>>> for fld in arcpy.ListFields("D:\\Temp\\Test.gdb\\test"):
...    print fld.name

It will have more useful names:

OBJECTID
Shape
Building_lines_LEFT_FID
Building_lines_RIGHT_FID
Building_lines_Left_Height
Building_lines_Right_Height
Building_lines_Left_Parcel
Building_lines_Right_Parcel
Building_lines_Height_dif
Building_lines_Wall_Surface
Building_lines_Wall_Situation
Building_lines_Final_Parcel
Building_height_sel_OBJECTID_1
Building_height_sel_OBJECTID
Building_height_sel_HEIGHT
Building_height_sel_BuildingID
Shape_Length

[philbennison]

Xander,

Thanks for you comprehensive response. I have tried what you suggested but i am still coming up with errors

It is coming up with

Runtime error  Traceback (most recent call last):   File "<string>", line 1, in <module>   File "c:\program files (x86)\arcgis\desktop10.4\arcpy\arcpy\management.py", line 2335, in CopyFeatures     raise e ExecuteError: ERROR 000210: Cannot create output C:\Users\Phiben\Documents\ArcGIS

esti.shp Failed to execute (CopyFeatures).

I really am starting to feel out of my depth !

btw what tool have you used to run your code.

I am just using the python window

😕

[XanderBakker]

This particular error is due to the file naming. In my code examples I used two forms of the paths to featureclass.

One is using the paths with single slashes like:

 r'D:\Temp\test.shp'

Please note the "r" in front of the path. This is to create a raw notation. Python will interpret a string and convert a "\t" into a <TAB>. Hence the error message you received:

"Cannot create output C:\Users\Phiben\Documents\ArcGIS<TAB>esti.shp Failed to execute..."

...when you probably specified "C:\Users\Phiben\Documents\ArcGIS\testi.shp"

The other I used is the double slashes like  "D:\\Temp\\Test.gdb\\test"

You may be interested in reading this blog: Filenames and file paths in Python  by Dan Patterson.

The code I wrote in my Python windows, inside a session of ArcMap 10.4.

[DanPatterson_Retired]

yes...paths can be bad... how many people use r"c:\temp\" or r"c:\temp" as paths

>>> print("c:\temp")
c: emp
>>> print(r"c:\temp\")
Traceback (  File "<interactive input>", line 1
    print(r"c:\temp\")
                     ^
SyntaxError: EOL while scanning string literal
>>> print(r"c:\temp")
c:\temp
>>>

more surprises lurk

[RebeccaStrauch__GISP]

Dan, your Feature Class to Feature Class—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop   is a bad link.