Listing field name aliases in one shapefile/layer using ArcPy?

Question

I want to use arcpy/python to print out a list of all the field name aliases for a specified shapefile. So far I have been able to hack a script I found to list all the field name aliases associated with every layer file on my map, but I wish for it to reference one specific shapefile. Here's what I have so far:

Code:

import arcpy
mxd = arcpy.mapping.MapDocument("CURRENT")
for lyr in arcpy.mapping.ListLayers(mxd):
    desc = arcpy.Describe(lyr)
    print lyr.name
    fields =  desc.fields
    for field in fields:
        print field.aliasName

The above returns a list of all field alias names for ALL of the layers in the map. I want to return just a list for ONE shapefile.

How would I go about referencing just one shapefile/layer in a map document?

Answer 1

Instead of iterating over the whole list returned by ListLayers, pass in the wildcard parameter using your layer name and just process the first item, e.g.

import arcpy
mxd = arcpy.mapping.MapDocument("CURRENT")
lyr = arcpy.mapping.ListLayers(mxd, "layer_name")[0]
desc = arcpy.Describe(lyr)
print lyr.name
fields =  desc.fields
for field in fields:
    print field.aliasName