You have already been
faced with the problem of a field name that does not satisfy
you . But as soon
as data has been entered in the table it is no longer possible to modify the characteristics
of a field. The solution used is to create a new field with the desired characteristics, copy with the field calculator the contents of the old one
and then delete the old field from the table.
Not very elegant
or practical, several
solutions have been introduced in the latest
versions of ArcGis. The problem it is now to choose when changing the version.
Therefore, let’s discuss how to proceed according to
the version you are using.
We will discuss
how to modify the
characteristics of a field in a geodatabase file; the other
formats are not designed to evolve.
Up to version 10.1, we will remain using the method
creation of a new field, calculation of values ,
deletion of the old field.
Version 10.2
A new feature of
version 10.2 is the ability to change the name of a field in a geodatabase file and,
similarly, even if no records have been, yet, created, to change the type of the field.
Therefore,
just open the entities class properties window, by going to
the tab «“Champs”
and type
the new name of the desired field.
Version 10.3
The
property management interface and, in particular, that of the fields
of the entities class has been modified, and … the novelty of version 10.2 disappeared!
However,
a specific tool is available in the toolbox: Edit a
field
You can always change the name and the
alias, and if there are no records yet in the table, the type as well.
ArcGis Pro 1.0
In
ArcGis Pro you access the parameters of the fields in right by clicking on a layer
to open the context menu, then Design -> Fields
A properties window of
the fields opens:
You can change the name and
the alias directly in
this table. Once finished,
you must save the
changes by clicking SAVE in the ribbon.
