Replace the text in multiple fields within an attribute table using the Find and Replace tool

Summary

An attribute table is a database entity that contains nonspatial information about a set of geographic features in a geographic information system (GIS). The information is arranged so that each row represents a feature and each column represents one feature attribute. In ArcGIS, rows are known as records and columns are fields. Each field stores a specific type of data, such as a number, date, or piece of text.

The instructions provided describe how to use the 'Find and Replace' tool to replace the text in multiple fields within an attribute table without editing every record.

Procedure

To replace the values in an attribute table:

1. Open the feature class or the shapefile in ArcMap.
2. Open the attribute table of the layer.
3. Click the Editor menu on the Editor toolbar, and select Start Editing.
4. On the attribute table, select the field to be edited. This is to ensure only the selected field is amended.

5. Click the Table Options icon at the top left corner of the table and select the Find and Replace command.
   
6. Click the Replace tab in the Find and Replace dialog box.
7. In the Find what box, type the character or string to be edited.
8. In the Replace with box, input the character or string to be replaced with and ensure the Search Only Selected Field(s) is checked.

9. Click the Replace All button to replace all the values at once, and close the dialog box.
10. On the Editor toolbar, go to the Editor menu.
11. Select Save Edits, and click Stop Editing.