Mapping and GIS Solutions Community

Currently, there is no way to select what field to use to identify waypoinT id's.  The tool simply uses shapefile name and the ObjectID (not helpful).

Trimble, mapping (maybe PFO group) invented per requests the Shape2Wpt, which this tool in positions is not close to its capability.

I've attached it  You run the tool, and you will see the ability to crosswalk a field.  Most notably, it has a slot for Select a "shapfile field for waypoint names".

Please, provide this in the next version.   Waypoints in TerraSync are a key factor in setting that software apart.  allow the user to select one field to assign waypoint name too.

tx.

Hi Joel...

This is actually somewhat possible in the released version. If you set a label for that layer in ArcMap and use a single field (i.e., not an expression), we'll take the value of the field and append it to the feature class alias name in creating the waypoint name.

For example, if I had a layer whose feature class alias name was "Tree" and an attribute called "CommonName" that I used to label the features, I would end up with waypoint names like:

• Tree Oak
• Tree Maple
• Tree Cedar

I should add that labeling does need to be turned on for the layer as it's not enough to just set the labeling properties.

I realize that that may not be sufficient for your requirements. If we did keep it tied to the layer's Label settings (or perhaps more simply, the Display settings), would it help if we also gave you the ability to turn off the inclusion of the layer name (technically, the alias name of the feature class)? Then you'd largely end up with the same as what you get with shp2wpt...which ironically, yes, came from the Trimble Positions team.

Hi Matt,

We use the shape2wpt alot.  

I'm not a huge fan of the layer approach with label.  Thats simply not everyday practice to label items in Arc, and even if we do, expressions are used alot more than we think.  Not everyone uses alias's either.  Generating a layer file and creating a label from NONE, then making an alias on a field in the table is way too much work when its simply a value in an attribute that you use waypoints for.

Why not simply use the attribute table?.  Interrogate the table and allow the user to pick which attribute.  Simple.  Across all features, regardless of shape, geodatabase FC, every dataset has a table.  The table drives what you want to "navigate too".  Maybe I'm missing something - did ESRI do something that prevents interrogating the table?

Fair points. None of this is hard - it's just building new UI as we have to present a list of fields for each layer in which you've selected features. If you select features in 10 different layers, you'd need to pick that field for each of the layers. The next logical question is then - if you're doing this repeatedly, you'd probably want a way to persist or remember your selection - to pick the same field in a layer each time you export waypoints. I think that's what led us down the road of using the label settings from the layer - it's already persisted in the map document. This is part of the design approach with Positions - if we can leverage something that already exists in ArcMap, then we won't build our own UI to do it.

If Positions picking up the Labels settings is problematic (and I agree that it can be) what about the Display settings? How much are those used by your users? Are users generally constructing map documents specifically for field workflows (e.g., setting aliasing, hiding fields, etc.) or are they sticking with an existing map document authored for a different purpose and then adding a field data collection workflow to it? 

The underlying code to enumerate fields in a feature class is well known - we use it to display the fields you can pick for metadata after all.