Output the scale value for each data driven page (DDP)

Question

I'm using data driven pages (DDP) in ArcMap 10.3. The index layer is a polygon feature class and I would like to know the scale that each data driven page exports at. Ideally there would be a way to append an attribute to this layer that indicates the scale for each page (200+ pages). (I know DDP can be set on previously existing scale attribute value, but when its based on the various sizes of each polygon, I want to know what the numeric value is.

While that is my primary question, the ultimate goal is to be able to apply a different size label to corresponding features in each map. If I know the scale of each page, I can then adjust label size accordingly by page.

Answer 1

This method requires using python code to add the map scale values to each index feature which you may then hook to a Data Driven Page Attribute dynamic text:

1. Add index layer to map and create empty scale field in table
2. Use da update cursor to cursor through each feature
3. For each feature (within the nested for loop) use Select Layer by Attribute method to select the current feature row
4. While feature is selected use the data frame zoom to selected feature method, df.zoomToSelectedFeatures()
5. Next, write the data frame scale property value, df.scale, to the selected feature scale field
6. Finally, once all feature have a scale value defined use the Data Driven Page Attribute dynamic text to reference the index layer scale field