HOW TO

Recover a corrupted feature class in ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap

Last Published: January 25, 2022

Summary

A feature class may be corrupted through either one or all of the following instances:

  • When the edits of a feature class are not saved during an edit session
  • When the session is interrupted by the application crashing
  • When a feature class is saved on a network drive and there is a connection fluctuation to the drive

The corrupted feature class is partially or wholly recovered using a model in ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap.

Procedure

The steps below describe how to recover a corrupted feature class.

  1. Create a new feature class. Refer to ArcMap: About creating feature classes for steps to create feature classes in ArcMap, and ArcGIS Pro: Create a feature class for steps to create feature classes in ArcGIS Pro.
  2. Import the coordinate system and the table schema of the corrupted feature class into the new feature class. For more information on importing the schema, see How To: Import the schema from one feature class to another feature class .
  3. Create a model with the following steps:
    1. Add the Iterate Feature Selection tool and the Append tool.
    2. Set the corrupted feature class as the input for the Iterate Feature Selection tool. 
    3. Set the output of the Iterate Feature Selection tool as the input of the Append tool.
    4. Set the new feature class, from step 2, as the target dataset for the Append tool. The final model is represented in the image below.
    5. Validate and run the model. The model selects each record of the corrupted feature class and appends it to the new feature class.
Image showing the feature class model

Article ID: 000021330

Software:
  • ArcMap
  • ArcGIS Pro

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