ArcGIS Raster Calculator output raster has one band but cannot build attribute table?

Question

I built a raster using the raster calculator of ArcGIS 10.1 for Desktop.

The properties of the output raster ("usle_1") indicate that this raster has one band.

There is no attribute table but I want to reclassify the values in the raster, so I open the "Build attribute table" tool.

When I input "usle_1", it gives me an error:

Only single band integer raster dataset is a valid input.

I tried saving the raster as a .tif, to no avail.

Any ideas for how I can reclassify this raster in order to use it in another raster calculator equation?

Answer 1

Here's something I have done many times in the past. You can use the Raster Calculator and Convert your values to Integer. However, before doing so, I strongly recommend looking a bit deeper into your raster values.

For example, if you know how many significant digits you want your data in, then you can just multiply the current rasters by a factor then convert that value to Integer.

To illustrate, say I a raster type float, and I determine that the data values are only necessary up to 4 decimal points, I can use the Raster Calculator to do:

Int(raster * 10000)

This will multiply all of my raster values by 10,000 (moving the decimal 4 places to the right) then convert the number to an integer.

After you create your raster attribute table, add a field to it, and you can divide the raster value by 10,000 if you need a field to show a more accurate value for each raster pixel.