XY Table To Point (Data Management)

Summary

Creates a 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.

  • Attribute fields from the Input Table parameter value will be transferred to the Output Feature Class parameter value.

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

  • X Field and Y Field parameter field values of 0 or Null are considered valid and will be included in the output. Coordinates of 0 will have output point features placed at that location, while coordinates that are null will have an empty geometry.

  • X Field and Y Field parameter field values in a geographic coordinate system are considered invalid if they are less than -400 and greater than 400. An output record will not be created and a warning message will be included in the tool messages to indicate the invalid record ID.

Parameters

LabelExplanationData Type
Input Table

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

Table View
Output 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

arcpy.management.XYTableToPoint(in_table, out_feature_class, x_field, y_field, {z_field}, {coordinate_system})
NameExplanationData 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 function.

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 function.

# 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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