Some bookmarks created from the Find Features tool are not named

Description

Bookmarks can be created in ArcMap, based on results of the Find Features tool, by selecting a feature from the results list, right-clicking it, and selecting Set Bookmark from the popup menu. In some cases, bookmarks created through this method are unnamed.

Cause

There are two causes:

• The new bookmark derives its name from the value of the layer's primary display field for the selected feature. If the layer does not have a primary display field, or if the primary display field contains a null value, the new bookmark will be unnamed.

• If there is a table joined to any layer, and a bookmark is created for one of its features from the Find Features results, the bookmark will always be unnamed. This only occurs with ArcGIS 8.1.

Workaround

• To avoid creating unnamed bookmarks:
  
  Before using the Find Features tool, set the primary display field, or change the primary display field to a field with no null values.
  
  For layers with joined tables, export as a new shapefile or geodatabase feature class and add the new data to the map. The new layer will contain all the attribute data of the original but without the table join. Create a bookmark using this new layer.
• To assign a name to an unnamed bookmark:
  
  Use the Spatial Bookmarks dialog from the Bookmarks option under the View menu.