How can i split by attribute in ArcGIS 10?

Question

I'd like to split a single shapefile to multiple shapefile by attribute. I found ET Geowizard to do this but it's not free . I arcscripts.esri.com i found a tool named "SplitLayerByAttributes" but it does not work in ArcMap . Do you know any tools or solution to split by attribute ?

Answer 1

Here are some more free third-party tools that split by attribute:

• 1.2.3 Separate By Attribute tool from ACCRU Tools and
• Split Dataset from GME.

Answer 2

did you see Split Layer By Attributes tool updated for ArcMap 10 here. if it doesnt work you can use Split (Analysis) for your needs.

Splitting the Input Features creates a subset of multiple output feature classes. The Split Field's unique values form the names of the output feature classes. These are saved in the target workspace.

Example Code:

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = "c:/data"
arcpy.Split_analysis("Habitat_Analysis.gdb/vegtype", "climate.shp", "Zone",
                     "C:/output/Output.gdb", "1 Meters")

i hope it helps you...

Answer 3

I do not have access to ArcMap 10, only 9.3, but I expect that it won't be very different from this.

You can create a simple script in Python, that checks your attribute field for different values, and then, for each of them runs a SELECT operation to your original Shapefile.

If you are not familiar with python scripting, all you need to do is open you IDLE (the python GUI) create a new file, and copy the code below. After adapting the code for your my_shapefile, outputdir and my_attribute it should work.

# Script created to separate one shapefile in multiple ones by one specific
# attribute

# Example for a Inputfile called "my_shapefile" and a field called "my_attribute"
import arcgisscripting

# Starts Geoprocessing
gp = arcgisscripting.create(9.3)
gp.OverWriteOutput = 1

#Set Input Output variables
inputFile = u"C:\\GISTemp\\My_Shapefile.shp" #<-- CHANGE
outDir = u"C:\\GISTemp\\" #<-- CHANGE

# Reads My_shapefile for different values in the attribute
rows = gp.searchcursor(inputFile)
row = rows.next()
attribute_types = set([])

while row:
    attribute_types.add(row.my_attribute) #<-- CHANGE my_attribute to the name of your attribute
    row = rows.next()

# Output a Shapefile for each different attribute
for each_attribute in atribute_types:
    outSHP = outDir + each_attribute + u".shp"
    print outSHP
    gp.Select_analysis (inputFile, outSHP, "\"my_attribute\" = '" + each_attribute + "'") #<-- CHANGE my_attribute to the name of your attribute

del rows, row, attribute_types, gp

#END