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I am having an issue with a very simple Model, both in ArcGIS 9.3 and ArcGIS 10.0. The part of the Model that is causing trouble is shown below, along with ModelBuilder's error message (in ArcGIS 9.3):

Screenshot of the ArcGIS model in question

Let me summarise (from left to right):

  1. I have a feature layer and a table view, which I joined using the Add Join tool. This happens via a field pair named ID / FKID (which both have type LONG).

  2. I am then exporting ("materialising") the result of the join as a new shapefile (Joined Feature Layer.shp) using the Copy Features tool.

  3. Right afterwards, I am removing the join via Remove Join, because I know from experience that joins in ModelBuilder easily cause all sorts of trouble.

  4. At the same time, I am trying to delete a field from the exported shapefile via Delete Field… but ModelBuilder won't let me connect the tool to the input shapefile, instead giving me above error message.

This doesn't make sense.

I've been able to track the problem down. This issue seems to be caused by the join between the originating table view and feature layer. But I cannot see how this join is still relevant to the exported shapefile, which by all means should no longer be connected to its originating dataset at all, or be influenced by it! My thinking is that connecting the Delete Field tool to a feature class or shapefile should not be a problem.

A workmate has found the following workaround which involves an additional Copy:

Screenshot of a possible workaround

Is there something wrong in my first Model, or is this a bug in ModelBuilder? Perhaps even a documented one?

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In your original model it may have been worth making Feature Layer (2) a Precondition of the Delete Field. No guarantee it would work but it is the first thing that I would have tried. – PolyGeo Oct 2 '12 at 21:58
@PolyGeo: I did try that; no difference. So for simplicity's sake I removed that precondition from the model. – stakx Oct 19 '12 at 17:48

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