arcpy join field tool is not licensed

Question

I am using ArcGIS and arcpy to process some shapefiles. When I try to use the function

arcpy.JoinField_management()

the program stops and Python says that the tool is not licensed. This confuses me because the documentation for the tool does not ask for any special licenses.

http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#//001700000065000000

An extract of my code and the error follow (the code is quite long but I run it ineractively to check it as I go).

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = 'C:/Data/'
arcpy.CheckOutExtension('Spatial')
outZSaT = arcpy.sa.ZonalStatisticsAsTable('mb06.shp', 'MB_NUM', 'slope', 'sum_slope.dbf', 'DATA', 'SUM')
arcpy.JoinField_management('mb06.dbf', 'MB_NUM', 'sum_slope.dbf', 'MB_NUM')

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<pyshell#2>", line 2, in <module>
    workspace + '/sum_slope7.dbf', 'MB_NUM')
  File "c:\Program Files (x86)\ArcGIS\Desktop10.0\arcpy\arcpy\management.py", line 3667, in JoinField
    raise e
ExecuteError: Failed to execute. Parameters are not valid.
ERROR 000824: The tool is not licensed.
Failed to execute (JoinField).

Answer 1

This issue can be resolved by installing ArcGIS for Desktop SP3 (or the current SP4) http://files.eaglegis.co.nz/ArcGIS%2010/ArcGIS%2010%20Service%20Pack%204/ArcGIS%20For%20Desktop%20(Basic,%20Standard,%20Advanced)/

Answer 2

Alex, I edited my answer to remove the prior information, which was incorrect based on your input

---

I looked at the help file that you included in your question. It is for: Join Field (Data Management). The implementation code for that looks like the following:

import arcpy
from arcpy import env
env.workspace = "C:/data/data.gdb"
arcpy.JoinField_management("zion_park", "zonecode", "zion_zoning", "zonecode", ["land_use","land_cover"])

This permanently joins fields from the "Join Table", to the "Input Table".

Here is the code that you entered in your script: Add Join (Data Management)

arcpy.AddJoin_management('mb06.dbf', 'MB_NUM', 'sum_slope.dbf', 'MB_NUM')

This function works with an "Input Table" that is a feature layer or a table view. In other words, it only works on featureclasses or tables that are loaded into ArcMap already.

What I would try is to modify your code as follows:

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = 'C:/Data/'
arcpy.CheckOutExtension('Spatial')
outZSaT = arcpy.sa.ZonalStatisticsAsTable('mb06.shp', 'MB_NUM', 'slope', 'sum_slope.dbf', 'DATA', 'SUM')
arcpy.JoinField_management('mb06.dbf', 'MB_NUM', 'sum_slope.dbf', 'MB_NUM')

Give that a try when you get back in to work. Hopefully it will help. Sorry about the confusion earlier.

Answer 3

look this page

http://resources.esri.com/help/9.3/arcgisdesktop/com/gp_toolref/geoprocessing_tool_reference/licensing_for_geoprocessing_tools.htm

if you use arcview or arceditor the join field tool is not supported.

you can try add field tool and normal join tool and then use calculate field and finaly use remove join, you can do that using model builder and export to pyton script.

another thing that you must do is check your licence, you can have installed arcinfo but in the desktop administration already use arcview or arceditor.