Problem of "null" values added for fields with no data when appending data or adding new features to file geodatabase

Question

I am working with a bicycle and pedestrian facility file geodatabase where I am continually appending new records to feature class attribute tables. When I append new records, if there is no data for a certain field, ArcMap will automatically populate the records as "null" for that field.

Is there any way to prevent the records from being populated as null? I am afraid that it will send the signal that there are errors in the database for database users. I am considering using "Find and Replace" or possibly a script to replace the "null" values but wanted to see if there was a way to prevent this since I don't want to constantly have to delete the null records every time I append data or add features.

Answer 1

In the field definitions you can set default values for each field. You do this in catalog by right clicking on the feature class, selecting properties and going to the field tab.

Answer 2

You don't say which version of ArcGIS you are using (you should always mention that).

If you are using ArcGIS 10.0/10.2 then there is an alternative approach to HeyOverThere if you are unable to change the field definitions (e.g. you have no admin rights for changing the schema of the FeatureClass).

In edit mode you can set default values in the Template. So when you come to digitize your geometry these are auto-populated with your default values. Changes to the Template are stored in the current mxd.