Changed FieldName in Attribute Table, Lost Features on Map

[WilliamCole]

In a fit of OCD I changed the field name for one of the fields [from PlaceName to Place_Name] in the attribute table associated with a feature class [so that it matched the field names in other feature classes].  This caused ArcGIS to message me: "FDO Error: 0 [Failed to label layer Marker for class Default.]".  Since the only feature class that had had one of its field names changed was "Marker", a dead giveaway.

So (a) the table is still there [right-click on the feature class in the Table of Contents, select Attribute Table] but (b) only newly added [newly as in: since I screwed the table up] features in this class now show on the map.  How do I bring the whole table back, please?  Oh, I went back to the Attribute Table [catalog right-click on the feature class in the geodatabase, selected properties and then selected the fields tab] and restored the field name to its original.  Didn't seem to resolve anything.

Many thanks, indeed ...

Bill Cole

[Zeke]

Did you go into the Labels tab and check which field(s) are being used for labelling?  You could try removing labelling, then adding it back. Was the field indexed? Even though you restored the original field name, maybe Arc uses some kind of internal ID to reference it, so doesn't 'see' the old fieldname (just a guess). You could add a new field and calculate the values into that if needed, then use that for labelling.

[WilliamCole]

Thanks for the idea.  I opened the classes' attribute table and see that the field name is as it should be.  Then, in the table, I double-clicked on one of the features which was added before I made the mistake.  This brought up all of the features, highlighting the one I had double-clicked, but against a white background; there was no map.  However, the features appear to be arrayed properly in space.

Then, from the same attribute table, I double-clicked on one of the features that I had added after I had made the mistake.  Doing this displayed the feature, highlighted, in its proper place but with the correct map as the background.

Somehow some of these features have been uncoupled from their associated map but I don't see a place to reattach them.

[Zeke]

Yes, what I was thinking is that maybe the field name is correct, but Arc is only associating it internally with the new features. There could be a corrupt table in the gdb, but I wouldn't play with those.Try removing the layer and adding it back. Or add it to a new map and see if it works. You could also try running MXD Doctor against the mxd. If none of those work, try exporting the file to a shapefile or new feature class and exporting it back (or just add it back in if that works for you).

[WilliamCole]

I did MXD Doctor which came up clean.

I removed the layer and added it back to the same map.  No result.

I added the layer to a new map.  No result.

I exported the layer to a Shapefile and then added that new feature class back to the original map.  No result.

I keep a backup of my map files that goes back 30 days.   Would this feature class be a separate file?  and, if so, what is its nominal path and extension, please?  Maybe there's an outside chance I can restore one of my old one of these files.

Thanks again, very much.

[Zeke]

By 'backup map file' do you mean the mxd? You could try opening one, but I doubt that's the problem, since it appears to be in the feature class itself. Whatever mxd references it would presumably have the same problem.

Did you try adding a new field and using Field Calculator to populate it with values from the old field? If that works, you could then delete the original field. Another possible option, if you have Arc 10.2 or above, is to rename the field with the Alter Field tool, although it may be too late for that to help.

If none of that works, if you want to zip up your feature class and post it here, I'll take a look at it. Also post what you want the label to show. Good luck.