Transferring selections and filters

Objective: Transfer functions between ArcMap and Excel

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Prerequisite

A connection between an ArcGIS feature-class or table and an Excel table must be available.

If you have not yet applied a connection, you have the following three possibilities for doing so:

The same workflows to establish a connection are available from

the Excel side, too:

With the "Selection and filter" group of the GISconnector tab you can transfer functions between ArcGIS and Excel.

The corresponding functions with the same symbols can be found in the ArcGIS toolbar of the GISconnector.

In order to use the functions of "Transfer selections and filters" it is not necessary that columns are activated or managed by the GISconnector for Excel.

Selections in ArcMap and Excel

1. Select one or several features in ArcGIS and transfer the selection to Excel by clicking the button "Transfer selection"

2. Select one or several cells in Excel and transfer the selection to ArcGIS by activating the button "Transfer selection"

Tip

To transfer the selection of a data set (row) from Excel to ArcGIS, it is sufficient to select one cell of this data set. If, for example, you wish to transfer the respective data sets of rows 2 -10 of your Excel table to ArcGIS as a selection, it is sufficient, for example, to mark the cells B2-B10 – provided, of course, that the column B belongs to your data area

Filters resp. definition queries in ArcMap and Excel

1. Filter your data with Excel as usual and then activate in Excel the button "Transfer filter"

. By doing this, in the associated layer in ArcGIS, the GISconnector produces a definition query that corresponds to the criteria of the Excel filter. This definition query always refers to the GCEX_ID column.

You can remove the filter in Excel or the definition query in ArcGIS again by activating the button "Remove filter"

. The filter resp. the defintion query will only be removed in the program where you click the button.

2. If a definition query is entered into the associated ArcGIS layer, it can be transferred to Excel as a filter by activating the button "Transfer definition query"

in the ArcGIS Toolbar. The filter is always applied in Excel to the GCEX_ID column. As outlined in point 1, the Excel filter or the definition query can be removed again by activating the button "Remove filter" independently of each other

Transferring selections as filters and vice versa

1. Select several features, f.e. by performing a "Selection by location", in ArcGIS and transfer the selection to Excel as a filter by activating the button

in the ArcGIS toolbar.

This is particularly useful, for example, for creating a new column in Excel and filling it with particular attributes which apply only to those features, which are selected location based.

2. In the reverse sense, you can, for example, place a filter on several columns in Excel in order to show only those data that are relevant for you in ArcGIS. You can transfer this Excel filter with the GISconnector as a selection to ArcGIS by clicking on the button "Transfer filter as selection"

in the submenu of the button "Transfer filter"

. Alternatively, you can also transfer the filter in Excel, as just described above, as a definition query to ArcGIS by activating the button "Transfer filter"

in the Excel toolbar.

Tipp

By using this function you can convert the selection of features in a layer into a definition query:

1. Select the features and tansfer the selection as a filter to Excel.

2. Once the GISconnector for Excel has produced the Excel-filter, click on "Transfer filter" in the Excel Ribbon of the GISconnector.
(The correct connection and the identical layer must be correctly selected)

3. The GISconnector for Excel now generates a definition query in ArcGIS from the Excel filter. (in this case also, it the primary key column that is used for the production of the definition query).

Tipp: Videos with exercises and examples can be found on our Website.