FieldMappings

Summary

The FieldMappings object is a collection of FieldMap objects and it is used as the parameter value for tools that perform field mapping such as Merge.

Discussion

The FieldMappings object is a collection of FieldMap objects, and it is used as the parameter value for tools that perform field mapping, such as Merge. The easiest way to work with these objects is to first create a FieldMappings object, then initialize its FieldMap objects by adding the input feature classes or tables that are to be combined. Once all inputs are provided, the FieldMappings object will contain one FieldMap object, or output field, for each unique field name from all the inputs. This list can be modified by adding new fields, altering the properties and/or contents of an output field, or removing any unwanted output fields.

The properties of the FieldMap object include the start and end position of an input text value, so a new output value can be created using a slice of an input value. If a FieldMap object contains multiple input fields from the same table or feature class, each record's values are merged using the mergeRule property. This is a convenient way to join values, such as a street name that is held in one field and a street type that is held in another, for example, Eureka and Street. The joinDelimiter property of FieldMap is used if the mergeRule value Join is specified. Any set of characters, such as a space, can be used as a delimiter. In the above example, this would create a value of Eureka Street.

Syntax

FieldMappings ()

Properties

Property	Explanation	Data Type
fieldCount (Read Only)	The number of output fields.	Integer
fieldValidationWorkspace (Read and Write)	The workspace type that defines the rules for attribute field naming. These rules are used when determining the output field names, which are based on the names of the input fields. For example, setting the fieldValidationWorkspace property to the path of a folder on disk containing the input shapefiles will result in the output field names being truncated to 10 characters. Setting the fieldValidationWorkspace property to the path of a file geodatabase will allow for much longer field names. The fieldValidationWorkspace property should be set with a consideration for the output format.	String
fields (Read Only)	A Python List that contains a list of field objects. Each field object represents the properties of each output field.	Field

Method Overview

Method	Explanation
addFieldMap (field_map)	Add a field map to the field mappings.
addTable (table_dataset)	Adds a table to the field mappings object.
exportToString ()	Exports the object to its string representation.
findFieldMapIndex (field_map_name)	Find a field map within the field mappings by name.
getFieldMap (index)	Gets a field map from the field mappings.
loadFromString (string)	Restore the object using its string representation. The exportToString method can be used to create a string representation.
removeAll ()	Removes all values and creates an empty object.
removeFieldMap (index)	Removes a field map from the field mappings.
replaceFieldMap (index, value)	Replace a field map within the field mappings.

Methods

addFieldMap (field_map)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
field_map	The field map to add to the field mappings	FieldMap

addTable (table_dataset)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
table_dataset	The table to add to the field mappings object.	String

exportToString ()

Return Value

Data Type	Explanation
String	The string representation of the object.

findFieldMapIndex (field_map_name)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
field_map_name	Find the field map by name.	String

Return Value

Data Type	Explanation
Integer	The index position of the field map.

getFieldMap (index)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
index	The index position of the field map.	Integer

Return Value

Data Type	Explanation
FieldMap	The field map from the field mappings.

loadFromString (string)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
string	The string representation of the object.	String

removeAll ()

removeFieldMap (index)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
index	The index position of the field map.	Integer

replaceFieldMap (index, value)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
index	The index position of the field map to be replaced.	Integer
value	The replacement field map.	FieldMap

Code Sample

FieldMappings example

import arcpy
from arcpy import env

# Input feature classes contain a PID field that is a composite of
#   the Township, Range, Section, QuarterSection, Block, Lot, and SubLot values.
#   We need to define how to break the PID field into two fields: TWNSHIP and BLOCK,
#   then run the Merge tool.
#   PID field and field map. 
#                    1 1 1 1 1 1 1
#  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
# +-------------------------------+
# |2|0|3|0|8|2|1|0|0|1|0|0|5|0|0|0|
# +-------------------------------+
# +---TWNSHIP---+-------BLOCK-----+

infc1 = "C:/Data/NewParcels.shp"
infc2 = "Parcels"
outfc = "Parcels_Merge"

# Create a fieldmappings object and two fieldmap objects
#
fieldmappings = arcpy.FieldMappings()
fldmap_TWNSHIP = arcpy.FieldMap()
fldmap_BLOCK = arcpy.FieldMap()

# Create a value table to hold names of input feature classes for Merge tool.
#
vt = arcpy.ValueTable()

# Add all fields from first input feature class to fieldmappings object
#   AddTable is the most efficient way.
#
fieldmappings.addTable(infc1)

# Add the TWNSHIP and BLOCK field from the first input feature class 
#   to fieldmap object.
#
fldmap_TWNSHIP.addInputField(infc1)
fldmap_BLOCK.addInputField(infc1)
vt.addRow(infc1)

# Add all fields from second input feature class to fieldmappings object
#
env.workspace = "C:/Data/Boulder.gdb"
fieldmappings.addTable(infc2)

# Add the TWNSHIP and BLOCK field from the second input feature class 
#   to fieldmap object.
#
fldmap_TWNSHIP.addInputField(infc2)
fldmap_BLOCK.addInputField(infc2)
vt.addRow(infc2)

# Set the starting and ending positions of the input field in the fieldmap.
#   This is for TWNSHIP
for x in range(0, fldmap_TWNSHIP.inputFieldCount):
    fldmap_TWNSHIP.setStartTextPosition(x, 0)
    fldmap_TWNSHIP.setEndFieldPosition(x, 6)

# Set the starting and ending positions of the input field in the fieldmap.
#   This is for BLOCK
for x in range(0, fldmap_BLOCK.inputFieldCount):
    fldmap_BLOCK.setStartTextPosition(x, 7)
    fldmap_BLOCK.setEndFieldPosition(x, 15)

# Get the new field object from fieldmap, set field name, place back in fieldmap.
#
fld_TWNSHIP = fldmap_TWNSHIP.outputField
fld_TWNSHIP.name = "TWNSHIP"
fldmap_TWNSHIP.outputField = fld_TWNSHIP
fld_BLOCK = fldmap_BLOCK.outputField
fld_BLOCK.name = "BLOCK"
fldmap_BLOCK.outputField = fld_BLOCK

# Add the new fieldmap object to fieldmappings object.
fieldmappings.addFieldMap(fldmap_TWNSHIP)
fieldmappings.addFieldMap(fldmap_BLOCK)

#Run the Merge tool
arcpy.Merge_management(vt, outfc, fieldmappings)