ArcMap

AddFieldDelimiters

Summary

Adds field delimiters to a field name to allow for use in SQL expressions.

The field delimiters used in an SQL expression differ depending on the format of the queried data. For instance, file geodatabases and shapefiles use double quotation marks (" "), personal geodatabases use square brackets ([ ]), and enterprise geodatabases don't use field delimiters. The function can take away the guess work in ensuring that the field delimiters used with your SQL expression are the correct ones.

Syntax

AddFieldDelimiters (datasource, field)
ParameterExplanationData Type
datasource

The field delimiters are based on the data source used.

String
field

The field name to which delimiters will be added. The field does not have to currently exist.

String

Return Value

Data TypeExplanation
String

Returns a delimited field name.

Code sample

AddFieldDelimiters example
import arcpy

field_name = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(0)
arcpy.env.workspace = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(1)
in_features = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(2)
out_feat_class = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(3)
state_value = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(4)

# AddFieldDelimiters will return a field name with the proper
#  field delimiters for the workspace specified.
#
sql_exp = """{0} = '{1}'""".format(
    arcpy.AddFieldDelimiters('c:/data', field_name),
    state_value)

# Use delimited field for Select tool SQL expression
#
arcpy.Select_analysis(in_features, out_feat_class, sql_exp)

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