Append operation in ArcGIS

Question

I have 250 road shapefiles, I have to append all the 250 shapefile into one single file. I have used ArcGIS append tool for combine layers (if number of shapefiles are minimum), but these 250 shapefiles take time as well as confuse me while selecting in ArcGIS append window.

Is there any other method in which I can append these 250 shapefiles easily?

Answer 1

I would use a python script to do this.

Start by putting all of the files into a single directory and then in python call the ListFeatureClasses() function and use that as the list of your data sources.

This is assuming the attribute tables are identical so you can use the No_Test option. If they are not you will have to build the field map if you need the attributes to transfer over as well which can be a pain.

I do not remember if the ArcView or Editor level of ArcGIS limits the number of inputs on this function. If it does and you need to process the files individually, comment out the first append and uncomment the loop.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = "C:\\Temp\\MyRoads"
OutputLayer = "C:\\Temp\\MyShape.shp"
FCS = arcpy.ListFeatureClasses("*")
print "Append..."
arcpy.Append_management(FCS, OutputLayer, "NO_TEST", "", "")

##Or if you need to do one at a time...
#for fc in FCS:
#    print "Append " + fc
#    arcpy.Append_management(fc, OutputLayer, "NO_TEST", "", "")

print "Finished"

(I tested this on a 10.1 ArcInfo, but it should work with 10.0 ArcView too)

Answer 2

You can use the merge tool. The merge window is pretty straight forward requiring your 250 shape files as inputs and a single file as an output.

Answer 3

Batch processing is a core functionality in geoprocessing. Many geoprocessing workflows include running the same tool against a large number of datasets—for example, converting shapefiles into file geodatabase feature classes or clipping a number of thematic layers to a study area. To eliminate the repetition, each geoprocessing tool has a batch mode.

Answer 4

You may or may not already be aware of this but, if your shapefiles are all in the same folder, I would use the Contents pane of the Catalog window to multiple select them to drag and drop onto the Append tool dialog in one action.