CreateUniqueName

Summary

Creates a unique name for the specified workspace by appending a number to the input name. This number is incremented until the name is unique. If no workspace is specified, the current workspace is used.

Syntax

CreateUniqueName (base_name, {workspace})

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
base_name	The base name used to create the unique name.	String
workspace	The workspace used for creation of the unique name.	String

Return Value

Data Type	Explanation
String	A full file path with the unique name.

Code sample

CreateUniqueName example

Creates a unique name for use with the geoprocessing tools.

import arcpy

# Set workspace
arcpy.env.workspace = "c:/data"

# Create a unique name for the Buffer tool's derived output.
unique_name = arcpy.CreateUniqueName("temp.shp")

# Use unique name for Buffer Tool output dataset name.
arcpy.Buffer_analysis("roads.shp", unique_name, "100 feet")

# Clip output from Buffer tool with County Boundary to obtain buffered roads
# in county.
arcpy.Clip_analysis(unique_name, "county.shp", "clipped_roads.shp")