Using Find identical tool does not always allow me to use Shape

[wilwaters]

I have a file .GDB with a feature class of topographic survey points. It's projected to Zone 38N. There are 108,278 points. The easting field is called EASTING, northing is NORTHING, elevation field is called PostExcZ and when I use the Add Z Information tool it adds the elevation values from PostExcZ. In the properties of the feature class it is listed as having Z values. Why then, does the Shape checkbox not appear in the list of fields to find duplicates in the Find Identical tool? I just ran this tool on my initial topographic survey feature class (1.4m points) and the Shape checkbox appeared.

Without the Shape checkbox I am not sure what to do to find the duplicates. I selected the EASTING, NORTHING and PostExcZ fields but the resulting duplicates table had the same number of records as the input. This is wrong.

Thanks,

Wil

[LukeSturtevant]

This is definitely a point feature class and not a table you are working with? I'm not sure why the Shape field would not be showing. Are you positive that there are duplicate points with X,Y,Z data? Have you tried running the tool with only the X and Y fields checked?

[DanPatterson_Retired]

and it is this tool Find Identical—Help | ArcGIS for Desktop  and you do have then advanced license?

[wilwaters]

yes and yes. See response to Luke

[DanPatterson_Retired]

if the shape field is not in its appropriate secondo spot, then the file is not a featureclass or shapefile, it is joined to another table, making the shapefield useless or it is completely fouled up.  I would suggest removing the file from the project, adding a new data frame, add that single file removing any joins and relate and then see what you have

[wilwaters]

Hi Dan,

Thanks for responding. Yes I don't know what happened. I did try joining it to the table output of the 'find duplicates' tool but it was taking too long so I cancelled the operation. There is currently no join therefore. Perhaps cancelling it caused the problem though. I have also been copying the whole file gdb from my network drive to a local drive a couple of times as I've been testing and performing things on a copy rather than the master version. If successful on the copy, I am then deleting the master and putting the copy back on my network drive. Perhaps amongst all of these cancelled joins and copying back and forth it became corrupted. Well, the order of the fields became mixed up. The points still display fine. The check geometry tool returns no errors.

Wil

[wilwaters]

Hi Luke,

I made a stupid mistake. The shape field was halfway down the list. Usually it is the first field, for some reason in this feature class it was somewhere in the middle of all the fields.

Thanks for trying though.

Wil

[LukeSturtevant]

Did the find identical work once you found the Shape field then?

[wilwaters]

yep, all good now. thanks for asking friendly internet stranger!

[DanielReynolds4]

I ran into this same issue running ArcGIS Pro 3.3.2 and found that the field selection is dependent on field visibility. In other words, I had to go into the Fields view and check the 'Visible' box next to Shape.