XY Table To Point (Data Management)

Summary

Creates a new point feature class based on x-, y-, and z-coordinates from a table.

Usage

  • The standard delimiter for tabular text files with extensions .csv or .txt is a comma, and for files with a .tab extension, a tab. To use an input table with a nonstandard delimiter, you must first specify the correct delimiter used in the table using a schema.ini file.

  • The coordinate system specified in the Coordinate System parameter will be applied to the output. This coordinate system determines how the x-, y-, and z-coordinates in the input table are interpreted. As this tool is commonly used with tables that contain longitude and latitude values, the default coordinate system is the geographic coordinate system WGS 1984. If the x- and y-coordinates in the input table contain projected coordinates, specify the appropriate projected coordinate system.

    If the Output Coordinate System environment has been set, the output feature class will be reprojected to this coordinate system from the coordinate system specified in the Coordinate System parameter.

  • When a Z Field parameter is specified, the default coordinate system also includes the vertical coordinate system WGS 1984. If the z-values are not in meters, modify the coordinate system to use the correct elevation unit.

  • If any of the input x- or y- (or z- if specified) coordinates for a feature are null or nonnumeric values, the corresponding feature will be a null geometry. The Check Geometry tool can be used to check for null geometries in the output.

  • The tool will create point features for all valid records in the input table, even when the table has a selection. If only a subset of records should be used, use the Copy Rows tool to copy the selected records to a new table, and use the new table as input.

Syntax

arcpy.management.XYTableToPoint(in_table, out_feature_class, x_field, y_field, {z_field}, {coordinate_system})
ParameterExplanationData Type
in_table

The table containing the x- and y-coordinates that define the locations of the point features to create.

Table View
out_feature_class

The feature class containing the output point features.

Feature Class
x_field

The field in the input table that contains the x-coordinates (or longitude).

Field
y_field

The field in the input table that contains the y-coordinates (or latitude).

Field
z_field
(Optional)

The field in the input table that contains the z-coordinates.

Field
coordinate_system
(Optional)

The coordinate system of the x- and y-coordinates. This will be the coordinate system of the output feature class.

Spatial Reference

Code sample

XYTableToPoint example (Python window)

The following Python window script demonstrates how to use the XYTableToPoint tool.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = r"c:\output.gdb"
arcpy.management.XYTableToPoint(r"c:\data\tree.csv", "tree_points",
                                "longitude", "latitude", "elevation",
                                arcpy.SpatialReference(4759, 115700))
XYTableToPoint example 2 (stand-alone script)

The following stand-alone Python script demonstrates how to use the XYTableToPoint tool.

# XYTableToPoint.py
# Description: Creates a point feature class from input table

# import system modules 
import arcpy

# Set environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = r"c:\output.gdb"

# Set the local variables
in_table = r"c:\data\tree.csv"
out_feature_class = "tree_points"
x_coords = "longitude"
y_coords = "latitude"
z_coords = "elevation"

# Make the XY event layer...
arcpy.management.XYTableToPoint(in_table, out_feature_class,
                                x_coords, y_coords, z_coords,
                                arcpy.SpatialReference(4759, 115700))

# Print the total rows
print(arcpy.GetCount_management(out_feature_class))

Licensing information

  • Basic: Yes
  • Standard: Yes
  • Advanced: Yes

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