Can arc.write be used for R data frame made from excel?

[KentaOkuyama]

Hello, I've just started using "arcgisbinding" package in R.

I'm trying some basic data transfer between R and ArcGIS Pro, and I have one question.

Can I write R data.frame (which I read from excel) to ArcGIS? 

After I have seen some resources, looks like only the object I read in R from ArcGIS object can be transferred back. 

But if there is a way to transfer my R data frame object (which are originally made from excel, csv, etc.) to Arc GIS, this would be great.

*** R data frame object I want to transfer to Arc GIS does not have any spatial information. It has two columns "ID" and "address" as string. So I want to transfer it to ArcGIS gdb table not as feature class. 

I would greatly appreciate if anyone can help out with this!

My code I attempted in R:

df <- read_excel("G:/AllData/Kyuson_Aza/Kyuson_AzaListFinal.xlsx")

df2 <- df[2,4]
# export this data frame to Arc GIS
arc.write(path = "C:/Users/kenta/Documents/ArcGIS/Projects/MyProject2/MyProject2.gdb", data = df2)

The error I got:

Error in .call_proxy("arc_export2dataset", path, pairlist(data = data, : dataset already exists

[MarjeanPobuda]

Hi Kenta,

You can transfer your R data frame object to ArcGIS as a table like you describe. Based on your code, it looks like you might just need a minor modification or two. 

One problem might be the subset you have created. 

df <- read_excel("G:/AllData/Kyuson_Aza/Kyuson_AzaListFinal.xlsx")

df2 <- df[2,4]

In this case, you are asking for object df2 to contains the element in the second row and fourth column. This means this new object would no longer be a data frame but rather, the type of element contained in that location. In which case, the arc.write() function would not recognize it as a valid object to write. 

However, if you made a larger subset that still was a data frame:

df <- read_excel("G:/AllData/Kyuson_Aza/Kyuson_AzaListFinal.xlsx")

df2 <- df[2:3,4:6]

You could write it back using the following line:

arc.write(path = "C:/Users/kenta/Documents/ArcGIS/Projects/MyProject2/MyProject2.gdb", data = df2, overwrite = TRUE)

That last parameter is key. Based on the error you provide, it seems you may have already written a table but, are now trying to overwrite it and are currently being prevented from doing so. 

I hope this helps!

-Marjean

[KentaOkuyama]

Hi Marijean, 

Thank you so much for your comments. That was really helpful.

I made sure to create R data frame by following code.

df <- read_excel("G:/AllData/Kyuson_Aza/Kyuson_AzaListFinal.xlsx")

df2 <- df[c("year","address")]

Then I have attempted this code:

arc.write(path = "C:/Users/kenta/Documents/ArcGIS/Projects/MyProject/MyProject.gdb", data = df2, overwrite = TRUE)

It ran without errors. But I still could not get gdb table in my ArcGIS project database.

I'm sorry it's in Japanese, but I'm attaching the screen shots what happened before and after I ran my code.

Before I ran my R code:

After I ran my R code:

A new MyProject.gdb appeared, but nothing in those databases. 

I appreciate for your additional helps and suggestions.

Best, 

Kenta

[ShaunWalbridge · Accepted solution]

Hello Kenta,

It looks like you may be trying to create a new feature class, and if that's the case, you'll want to give a fully qualified name for the path. The first parameter right now is the path to the File Geodatabase, but you'll also want a feature class name, such as:

arc.write(path = "C:/Users/kenta/Documents/ArcGIS/Projects/MyProject2/MyProject2.gdb/Kyuson_Aza", data = df2, overwrite = TRUE)

There are more examples of paths that are valid for arc.write in the arc.write package documentation that may prove helpful.

Cheers,

Shaun

[KentaOkuyama]

Hi Shaun, 

It worked out when adding the name of new feature class as you suggested!

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

Best, 

Kenta

[ShaunWalbridge]

Hi Kenta,

Great! Glad Marjean and I were able to help you.

Best of luck working with ArcGIS and R,

Shaun

[KentaOkuyama]

Yes, thank you Shaun and Marjean!

Kenta