ArcMap Attribute Transfer tool doesn't work?

This is exactly the problem with the Attribute Transfer tool I remember from days long gone by (a tool misleadingly and inappropriately located by default in the Spatial Adjustment toolbar; I added it to my Advanced Editing toolbar which is where it makes more sense, since transferring attributes has nothing to do with spatial adjustment that I can see):

• Both datasets involved are selectable (line and/or poly) and turned on in the TOC
• Nothing is selected
• Editing session is open on one dataset
• Click one feature with the Attribute Transfer tool (and the feature flashes), click the target feature, and nothing happens. The Attribute Transfer tool's thin line and end point are still floating there, acting as though they are still waiting for you to click a target feature to transfer attributes to.

The answer is you first need to use the entirely separate Attribute Transfer Mapping tool (also bizarrely located in the Spatial Adjustment toolbar; I relocated it to my Advanced Editing toolbar too) to set up which fields map to which from one data layer to the other.

The problem: when nothing happens, it should be a cue for a helpful (ha!) error message, or even better, a prompt from the separate Attribute Transfer Mapping tool (why are they even separate?) asking you which layers and fields you want to work with.

Posted by Charles on July 1, 2009 09:04 PM

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