You try to do something simple in ArcMap, like copy the values from one field to another with Field Calculator. All you are trying to do is calculate [Field1] = [Field2]. But, instead of getting what you want so you can proceed with all the rest of the actual work you have to do, you instead get the unhelpful and grammatically incorrect error message: "There was a failure during processing, check the Geoprocessing window for details." (Side note to software engineers and their tech editors: the comma splice is easy to avoid. Look it up, figure it out, and stop doing it.)
So, here is the answer, sometimes: if the data layer in question is listed in your ArcMap Table of Contents with a slash in the name (like, "Site Centroids with Lat/Long Coordinates"), the slash is what is causing the error. Remove it.
You are welcome.
Posted by Charles on January 24, 2012 03:45 PM