You are viewing an old version of this page. View the current version.

Compare with Current View Page History

« Previous Version 12 Next »

For Data Values (numbers, percentages, etc.)

  1. Be sure that there are no spaces before or after your values.  ArcMap tries to read these as part of the value field.
  2. All null/empty fields must be converted to 0. 
  3. ID numbers must be in General format - no numbers or text
  4. make sure all values for quantities are formatted as numbers.  You must preserve leading zeros.
  5. if error message for number stored as text, change so that this error message no longer occurs.
  6. Everything formatted as general shows up in ArcCatalog as Double

For Long Strings of Numbers - Census Data

When Excel detects long number strings in any format other than Text or Number, it automatically displays them in Scientific format.  ArcMap will not import columns formatted as anything but General for the purposes of creating spatial joins.  Because of the DISPLAY of long number strings in General format as Scientific, ArcMap cannot read them.  This is especially problematic in data files downloaded from the Census Bureau.  Census Geographic Identifiers (Geo 2 field) - crucial to joining Census data to TIGER shapefiles - always download in General format when imported to Excel. 

To resolve this problem, do the following:

  1. Create a new, empty column next to the Geo 2 field.
  2. Format the new column as General.  Name it Geo 3
  3. Type in the formula =Left(cell# of cell in Geo 2 field, #of digits of number)  This will convert the number to a regular, General format.
  4. Copy/paste the formula into every cell adjacent to a Geo 2 cell you need to convert
  5. Copy the entire newly formatted set of fields in the new column
  6. In same column, with all fields still highlighted, right-click and choose Paste Special.  Choose Values from the available menu.
  7. Click OK.  This should paste the actual Value of the Geo 2 field in General format into the new column and display it normally, rather than as a Scientific format.
  8. Use the Geo 3 field in your Spatial Join.
  9. This procedure will save you the effort of having to copy/paste the value of hundreds of Geo 2 cells.

For Addresses (Geocoding)

  1. Be sure that there are no spaces before or after the end of your address, city, zip code, or other letter and number strings.  ArcMap tries to read these as part of the name, etc..
  2. Make sure that addresses are split into different fields for street address, city, and postal code. 
  3. Street addresses should have no periods in them, even for abbreviated terms like Ave, W, E, or St.
  4. Use common abbreviations like Ave, W or St.  You may also spell the words out, ie: Lane or Circle.
  5. Double check the spelling for streets and cities. Be sure that your spelling and abbreviations match exactly the official street name.  Is it "Mount Carmel Ave" or "Mt Carmel Ave?"  Database entries are matched exactly, so your entries for upload should match as exactly as possible.

If there are mistakes in your data for geocoding, there are ways to rectify them.  See the tutorial information on reconciling unmatched and tied addresses for help.

  • No labels