Error message(s) in SAMPLE module - Service Pack broke it?

[StephenBan]

I just upgraded to ArcGIS 10 from 9.3, and I was quite happy that the new SAMPLE feature in Spatial Analyst keeps the layer names (or at least, most of the layer name) in the resulting output file.

However, I'm getting two error messages when running SAMPLE: Error 010328 (Syntax error at or near symbol), and 010267 (Syntax error in parsing grid expression). This happens whether I want to sample one layer or multiple layers.

At first, I thought it might be a long filename problem, but I've tried it with short (5 character) filenames with the same result. It's also not an IDRISI-format specific problem, as I've tried it with ARC grids with the same result. In fact, I'm now unable to get SAMPLE to work at all, no matter what layers I feed it.

Strangely, it seems that the service pack for ArcGIS 10 is what broke SAMPLE. I know for sure that it worked before installing the service pack.

[StephenBan]

Update: SAMPLE is working again - I'm not sure whether it was quitting/reloading ArcGIS, restarting the computer, or something else, but everything is back to normal.

😄

[JamieKass]

Yes, any ideas why this happens? I just had the same experience, and the error was telling me there was a syntax error resulting from a ",". Obviously, since I ran the tool from the Toolbox, I cannot be responsible for tool syntax errors, and there shouldn't be any besides the inputs I give.

[StephenBan]

Three years later, and SAMPLE is giving me headaches again.

I have seven raster layers with varying cell sizes, and I'm trying to extract the values from them. When I use a raster sampling file, SAMPLE crashes ArcMap completely before the progress indicator even gets to 1%, and there's no helpful warning message. If I use a point sampling file, SAMPLE crashes ArcMap when the progress bar gets to about 30%. If I try to sample from only one raster layer instead of all 7, SAMPLE completes successfully with no error messages but produces a blank output (lots of LOCK files, though).

What the heck is going on? Has SAMPLE really been this broken since 10.0?

[StephenBan]

Update: So the exact same procedure works fine in ArcGIS 10.0, but not 10.1.

Two steps forward, one step back, I guess.

[curtvprice]

Since the inputs are different cell sizes, etc., I suggest trying the Extract Multi-Value to Points tool instead of Sample.

This tool basically does the same thing. I don't know why these three tools (Extract Values to Point, Extract MultiValues to Point, and Sample) have so many problems, but often I have found one to work when one of the others failed.

[StephenBan]

Yay, more fun with SAMPLE!

Now running 10.1 SP1. If I run SAMPLE on multiple raster layers using a point shapefile, it randomly stops filling in values partway through one of the rasters. It appears to work fine if I only use it with one raster layer at a time.

Even though I don't see it on the list of addressed issues, please tell me they've fixed this in 10.2!