The Feature Class To Shapefile tool fails to execute when the input feature class is in a group layer

Description

In ArcMap, when a feature class is within a group layer, the Feature Class To Shapefile tool fails to convert the feature class to a shapefile with the following error:

Error:   
Failed to convert: [Group_Layer]\[Feature_Class]. ERROR 000210: Cannot create output [File_Path\Group_Layer\Shapefile.shp]
Failed to execute (CopyFeatures).

Cause

If a group layer is used as the input feature class, the Feature Class To Shapefile tool fails to create the output shapefile because the folder used to store the shapefile is not created.

By design, the tool appends the group layer name to the file path of the output folder specified by users. As seen in the screenshot of the error message above, the file path of the output shapefile is:

C:\Users\Username\Documents\ArcGIS\Data\New Group Layer

Note:
The defect logged for this issue is NIM087577.

Solution or Workaround

• Manually create the group layer folder to store the output shapefile.

1. In the Catalog window, right-click the desired output folder, and select New > Folder.
2. Rename the folder to have the same name as the group layer.
3. Run the Feature Class To Shapefile tool, using the same output location used in Step 1 for the Output Folder field in the Feature Class To Shapefile (multiple) dialog box.

• In the Feature Class To Shapefile (multiple) dialog, instead of selecting the input feature class from the drop-down list, select the feature class directly from the stored location using the folder icon.

• Ungroup the layers, and run the tool again.
• Use other tools available, such as the Feature Class To Feature Class tool or the Copy Features tool, in batch mode. 

Note:
Unlike the Feature Class To Shapefile tool, each output shapefile created from the group layers must be named individually with the .shp extension when using the Feature Class To Feature Class or Copy Features tool.