Keep track of the file path of attachments added to feature classes in ArcGIS Pro

Summary

When adding attachments to a feature class in ArcGIS Pro, the names of the attachments are added as records to the feature class's attachments table's ATT_NAME field. However, there is no field in the table that contains the file path of the attachment, as shown in the screenshot below.

The instructions below describe how to add a file paths field to the attachments table and calculate the values in the newly added file paths field to accurately return the file paths for each attachment.

Procedure

1. Open the Calculate Field geoprocessing tool.
2. Set the Input Table parameter as the attachment table. In this example, the attachment table is FeatureWAttachments_ATTACH.
3. Set the Field Name (Existing or New) parameter as the name of the new file paths field. In this example, the new file paths field name is FilePath.
4. Set Field Type to Text.
5. Under Expression, ensure that the expression for the new field includes the file path for the attachments referenced in the attachment table and the names of the attachments from the ATT_Name field. In this example, the expression uses Python and works under the assumption that all attachments are stored in the same location, within the C drive's attachments folder.

FilePath = r"C:\attachments" + "\\" + str(!ATT_NAME!)

6. Click Run.

Once the Calculate Field tool finishes running, a new file path field, which contains the file paths for the attachments, is added to the attachment table.

Please note that if more records are added to the attachment table after completing this workflow, the file path field for the new records will not automatically populate. The Calculate Field tool must be run again for those new records.