How to sequence points for GPS collection?

Question

I have a large number of points representing assets that I need to field verify. Their unique IDs reflect when they were created, which is not a good indicator of how close they are to each other. How can I sequence these points in a logical order for exporting to a shapefile that will be transferred and updated on a Trimble GeoXH unit? I am using ArcGIS Desktop 10.3.1 with an Advanced License and have access to the following extensions: 3D, ArcScan, Geostatistical, Network, Publisher, Schematics, and Spatial Analyst.

I do not have a geometric network in place, and haven't had any success using the "Find Route" tool, probably because the points aren't addresses on a street.

My thinking is some kind of model that calculates the closest point from a defined starting point (Near tool), writes an n+1 integer to a sequence field, then iterates to select that next closest point and repeat the process.

I have very limited coding experience and am hoping there is an easy tool or small set of tools to use instead of having to code a large, complex model.

Answer 1

There are a number of ways to accomplish a spatial sort of a collection of points, but the easiest would be to use Sort (Data Management) with a spatial_sort_method (this requires an Advanced license - formerly known as "ArcInfo").

If you don't have the Advanced license, you could still use Sort, but you might need to populate columns where a grid_x and grid_y exist, then use the grid columns, with a Y or X value to sort in row- or column-major order (and within the grid by one dimension).