[GIS] Keeping OID field when exporting to CSV

arcgis-desktopcsvexport

I imported a csv file and converted it to gdb format, and now I want to export it back to csv.

The file will be the exact same as before I imported it, except I want to keep the ArcMap generated OID.

However, when I export the file to csv, the OID field is lost, and contains null values only.

I understand why this is the case, because the OID is a temporary variable I guess.

Is there anything I can do to keep it though? Perhaps duplicate the field, but I am not sure how to do that in ArcMap.

Best Answer

If I understand you correctly, you want to keep the OID field. That should be simple, open attribute table, click on Add Field, name this new field for example OID_1, choose type (short integer or long integer for many features), and then use Field calculator.

The equation will be OID_1 = [OID]. After you click OK, it will copy OID values into OID_1. When the export is done, the field should be accessible.

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[GIS] Exporting only certain columns to CSV file in ArcGIS for Desktop

I have simplified your code and corrected the error by using the da module introduced in 10.1. It greatly streamlines the reading of data using cursors, and used in conjunction with the with command this code should be more stable than if it used the the older method of file access.

It works by making a list of all the fields and then removing the fields you do not want from the list. This could be done within the list comprehension, but it would be pretty messy and un-pythonic. Once the list of desired fields has been created it is used with the da module to read all of the data in these fields into the cursor. This can then be looped through and written to the file using another list comprehension to join all the fields. This has the benefit of working for any number of fields greater than 0.

import arcpy

fc = 'C:\\antenna_shp\\cables.shp'
CSVFile = 'C:\\antenna_shp\\FinalOutput.csv'

fields = [f.name for f in arcpy.ListFields(fc)]

for i,f in enumerate(fields):
    if f == 'Shape' or f == 'Shape_Length' or f == 'OBJECTID':
        del fields[i]

with open(CSVFile, 'w') as f:
    f.write(','.join(fields)+'\n') #csv headers
    with arcpy.da.SearchCursor(fc, fields) as cursor:
        for row in cursor:
            f.write(','.join([str(r) for r in row])+'\n')

[GIS] Null values coerced to zero (0) when exporting to csv or txt

So far, the best workaround I've found is to convert null values to to values, such as -999.99 using the field calculator. Then when I export export the attribute table I can identify these values (-999.99) as being "NULL" in my analysis.

Best Answer

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[GIS] Exporting only certain columns to CSV file in ArcGIS for Desktop

[GIS] Null values coerced to zero (0) when exporting to csv or txt

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