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How to prepare a table for use in ArcGIS
How to prepare a table for use in ArcGIS
Tables need to be in a specific format and follow these specific guidelines to be correctly imported into ArcGIS Pro. Copy and paste these guidelines into your Learning Journal under “Class How To’s.” You will want them in the future when your supervisors ask you what’s wrong with the table, they are trying to import into ArcGIS Pro, and you save the day.
· Keep a backup copy of the original table.
· The table cannot contain merged rows or columns.
· The table cannot contain any calculated cells. If you used a calculation, copy the column and paste it as “Values” into a new column. This creates a column that contains calculation results.
· Tables must have one and only one “Header Row” (see figure below). It is at the top of the table.
· The row just below the header must be a data row or “record.” It cannot be empty.
· There should not be a non-data row below the last record (for example, general text or info, a blank row is okay).
· Each field must have a header, and the header text must follow these rules:
o Header text cannot contain any spaces. (For example, FireDist is okay but Fire Dist is not.)
o Header text cannot contain dashes, periods, or commas or any other special characters such as % $ # * !. An underscore _ is okay. (For example, Pop_2015 or Pop2015 are okay, but Pop%2015, Pop.2015 and Pop-2015 are not.)
o Header text must not start with a number. (For example, Pop2015 is okay, but 2015Pop is not.)
o Header text must be fewer than 30 characters.
§ Hints: To make the names short, but meaningful use capital letters to delimit words and abbreviate longer words (for example: FireDist not Fire_District).
· Records (data rows) do not need to follow the rules for headers–the record cells can contain numbers, text, special characters, spaces, and/or be blank. They just can’t contain calculations.
· If the data in a field is quantitative, ensure it is designated to be “Number” not “General” or another format.
o Hint: Select the column, then use the pulldown arrow next to “General” to select “Number.” Give the data the appropriate number of decimal places–which for location data could be 8 or 10 significant figures.
· Save the file in *.csv format. (Some people use *.xls, but I have fewer problems with *.csv)
o To do this: Select “Save as,” navigate to the folder where you want to save the file, then use the pulldown menu to select: “CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv)” as shown below.
· Close the file before you import it into ArcGIS Pro. If it fails for some reason, correct the file, rename it and try again.
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