Delete records from a table or layer using ArcMap

Summary

This article provides two methods for deleting records from tables or the attribute table of a layer. Deleting records does not affect the schema of the table.

Procedure

Manual deletion

1. From the Editor toolbar, click the Editor drop-down menu > Start Editing.
2. Right-click the layer and open the Attribute Table.
   • If it is a standalone table, right-click it and click Open.
3. Select the records to delete.
4. Click the Delete button.
   • To undo any changes applied, click the Undo button located in the Standard toolbar. If the Edit session is finished, the changes cannot be reverted.

Using the Delete Rows tool

1. Open the Delete Rows tool from the Data Management toolbox > Table toolset.
2. Select the input table/layer.
   • For deleting records from multiple layers, Batch processing can be performed: right-click the tool and click Batch, then select all the layers required
3. Click OK and all records will be deleted.
   • If a selection is applied, the tool deletes the records selected only.