Description
This problem is addressed in ArcGIS 8.1 Service Pack 1. See Related Information section below.
The INFODBASE and ARCSHAPE commands are adding a null character at the end of each value in text fields. This shows up as a box in Excel, and as a vertical line in Foxpro . For example:
OID TXTFIELD
101 Blue|
102 Green|
Cause
This is a known issue at version 8.1.
Solution or Workaround
The following two methods have multiple options for removing the null characters or avoiding them when converting a coverage to a shapfile.
- Remove the null characters from the output dBase file:
- Manually remove the null characters from all output text fields.
- In Access, import the dBASE table, then export it back.
- In Excel, use the following formula in a new column:
=left, B1,((len(B1)-1)
Where B is the text column which contains the null values.
- Avoid the creation of the null characters when exporting a coverage to a shapefile:
- Use the LAYERDEFINE and LAYEREXPORT commands in ArcInfo Workstation to export the coverage to a shapefile.
- Use the Coverage to Shapefile tool in ArcCatalog or ArcToolbox. These tools execute the LAYERDEFINE and LAYEREXPORT commands.