ArcMap

ListDatasets

Summary

Lists all of the datasets in a workspace. Search conditions can be specified for the dataset name and dataset type to limit the list that is returned.

Discussion

The workspace environment must be set first before using several of the List functions, including ListDatasets, ListFeatureClasses, ListFiles, ListRasters, ListTables, and ListWorkspaces.

Syntax

ListDatasets ({wild_card}, {feature_type})
ParameterExplanationData Type
wild_card

The wild_card limits the results returned. If no wild_card is specified, all values are returned.

String
feature_type

The feature type to limit the results returned by the wildcard argument. Valid dataset types are:

  • Coverage —Only coverages.
  • Feature —Coverage or geodatabase dataset, depending on the workspace.
  • GeometricNetwork —Only geometric network datasets.
  • Mosaic —Only mosaic datasets.
  • Network —Only network datasets.
  • ParcelFabric —Only parcel fabric datasets.
  • Raster —Only raster datasets.
  • RasterCatalog —Only raster catalog datasets.
  • Schematic —Only schematic datasets.
  • Terrain —Only terrain datasets.
  • Tin —Only TIN datasets.
  • Topology —Only topology datasets.
  • All —All datasets in the workspace. This is the default value.

(The default value is All)

String

Return Value

Data TypeExplanation
String

A list containing dataset names returned from the function, limited by the wildcard and feature type arguments.

Code sample

ListDatasets example

List Feature Dataset names that start with C.

import arcpy

arcpy.env.workspace = "c:/data"

# Print to the Interactive window all the feature datasets in the
#   workspace that start with the letter C.
datasets = arcpy.ListDatasets("C*", "Feature")

for dataset in datasets:
    print(dataset)
ListDatasets example 2

List Feature Dataset names that start with c or f, start with letters except c, or contain both c and f.

import arcpy
arcpy.env.workspace = 'c:/data'
# Print to the Interactive window all the feature datasets in the
#   workspaces that start with the letter c or f.
datasets1 = list(set(arcpy.ListDatasets("c*", "Feature")) |
                 set(arcpy.ListDatasets("f*", "Feature")))
print(datasets1)

#   workspaces that start with the letters except c
datasets2 = list(set(arcpy.ListDatasets("*", "Feature")) -
                 set(arcpy.ListDatasets("c*", "Feature")))
print(datasets2)

#   workspaces that contain both the letter c and f
datasets3 = list(set(arcpy.ListDatasets("*c*", "Feature")) &
                 set(arcpy.ListDatasets("*f*", "Feature")))
print(datasets3)

Related topics