3

I'm trying to reorder the TABLES in my ArcMap layer list. I can't find a way to do it. I can reorder normal layers since they appear in the "List by Drawing Order" tab of the "Table of Contents".

The reason why the order is important for the tables is that when I publish this to an ArcGIS Server as a map service the tables get an ID based on their order. If their ID changes in any way then code which looks them up based on that ID will break.

The question is, in ArcMap, can I reorder my TABLES in my layer list at all?

ArcMap 10.2 Oracle 10g

8
  • 2
    It seems that in a mxd the tables are ordered by their order of inclusion. You would need to remove the ones that are out of order and then re-add them in descending order... it's that or re-write the tool to obtain the table ID by table name. Commented Nov 18, 2014 at 2:23
  • Would you be able to edit your question to provide more details about how you are trying to read your layer/table list, please? A code snippet to illustrate that and where you are stuck would be most helpful.
    – PolyGeo
    Commented Nov 18, 2014 at 3:13
  • @MichaelMiles-Stimson Thanks for your comment. I thought this might be the case and I will make changes to have all code work with layer names. For today I am just removing and reconfiguring some layers to get the correct order. Just a band aid :) Commented Nov 18, 2014 at 3:29
  • @PolyGeo There is no help required for code on this one. The question was about finding out if this was possible or not so I could stop wasting my time reading documentation. Commented Nov 18, 2014 at 3:31
  • 1
    Instead of removing the tables and re-adding them how about repointing the tables to a new table? Go to the source tab of the table properties and hit 'set data source' button to change the reference to the new table... Order then wont change but will now reference the new location. Commented Nov 18, 2014 at 3:39

1 Answer 1

1

There is no equivalent to the AddLayer, MoveLayer, InsertLayer functions that apply to table views. But from version 10.3, reordering layers/table views so that you can access them in a service won't be necessary anymore, since you are able to assign them an immutable ID.

Extract from this What's new in 10.3 document:

In ArcGIS 10.2.2 for Server and earlier, the layer and table IDs of a map and feature services were not preserved after altering the source map document. This required you to update any client applications consuming the service to use the updated layer and table IDs.

In ArcGIS 10.3 for Server, you can now preserve the IDs of layers and tables in map and feature services. When you create or alter a map document, an option is now available that automatically generates immutable IDs for each layer and table in the map document. If you select this option, the layer and table IDs are preserved after publishing or republishing; you are no longer required to alter client applications that consume the map service. If desired, you can replace the auto-generated IDs with your own custom IDs.

ArcGIS 10.3 will normally be released the week of December 9, and it's already available as prerelease for customers with a valid maintenance contract.

1
  • if you also answer the question in your response I would be happy to mark it as the answer. It is both informative and helpful and for the first paragraph I really want any other reader to see a direct answer "No you cannot do this in ArcMap versions 10.2.2 or earlier" Commented Nov 24, 2014 at 9:37

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.