3

I can't get my maps to work because of an issue I'm having with my CSV files. I'm trying to import coordinates and heights of wind turbines, and radius for a viewshed analysis and it works on the original file but whenever I edit the file at all, such as changing the radius column figures from 30000m to 5000m and try and display my XY coordinates in the new file, ArcMap 10.2.1 isn't recognising my columns and instead gives me the option of lots of 'fields' to use instead. It starts from 'field 7' so I've worked out that it's not recognising my text but I have no idea why, especially when I haven't changed my text from what it is in the original file which works fine! Can anyone help me out?

PolyGeo
  • 65,136
  • 29
  • 109
  • 338
Ross
  • 63
  • 1
  • 3
  • 1
    Can you provide the header row from your CSV? Several things could be wrong, and this would make it easier to track down. And what are you using to edit? Excel or a text editor like notepad++ or sublime? – blord-castillo Mar 17 '14 at 17:51
  • Hi, thanks for your fast reply! My header row is "ID, X, Y, OFFSETA, OFFSETB, RADIUS2" I'm using Excel to edit my file. I could email a copy of the Excel file if it would be easier! Thanks again for the quick reply, I'm starting to panic now lol – Ross Mar 17 '14 at 17:56
  • Have you tried just saving your CSV's as excel files and importing those in? I know older versions of ArcMap had problems with them but newer ones (10 and later) seem to be better. You could also try saving your CSV with a different program like Open Office Calc which you can download for free from here link. Lastly make sure the file path for where your files are located is short, this is normally more for rasters but I know sometimes issues occur. So basically place your files at C:\Stuff, not C:\Stuff\Cool Stuff\March Stuff\SuperDooper... etc – The Silent Cartographer Mar 17 '14 at 18:12
  • 1
    Thanks for your answer! I've tried pretty much every format available to no avail. I have been saving my files onto a memory stick so its D:\here. I'll give another program a go and hope I have some luck! Thanks again for your reply I'll let you know if it works. – Ross Mar 17 '14 at 18:22
  • Have you visually compared the original file with one edited in Excel? – Chad Cooper Mar 17 '14 at 18:34
  • I assume Excel saves the csv data in a different formatting compared to your original data. Probably the easiest way to re-import your data is to manually adapt the schema.ini file (located in the working directory), which is parsed during ArcGIS import. There are some GIS.SE questions about schema.ini. For more help you could provide your current schema.ini (csv also helps). – lavarider Mar 17 '14 at 20:10
  • Also note that as a workaround, ArcGIS does support the import of Excel files. – lavarider Mar 17 '14 at 20:14
  • Thanks for the help folks, it's working again! Managed to get it all finished. I downloaded and used Openoffice and saved the files as CSV in that and it worked no problem, there must have been some sort of issue with Microsoft Excel. Thanks again everyone, much appreciated! – Ross Mar 17 '14 at 21:31
  • are these comma or tab delimited? – Geoffrey West Mar 17 '14 at 21:38
  • I'm having this same problem. Never had it before but now ArcMap adds a row of headers named 'Field10'; 'Field11'... Very confused by this sudden change. I tried the change to file extension mentioned above. This did not work for me. Anyone have a fix? Many Thanks – Chris Apr 25 '18 at 15:16
  • So I found the problem. Went back to this article: https://support.esri.com/en/technical-article/000008591 Headings have to start with a letter. I'm surprised I never ran into that problem before. Thanks ESRI! – Chris Apr 25 '18 at 15:27
  • Chris, the OP posted his field names and none started with a number. Are you now talking about a problem you're having with some different data? – Dan_h_b Apr 25 '18 at 15:39

1 Answers1

5

Have you tried converting your csv table to a txt file instead? I have trouble with the csv format on occasion even in 10.2 so I always start first with a txt file, if possible. As for why it happens, I am not sure.

MapHound
  • 1,252
  • 10
  • 16