The following steps will allow you to update the stream names in your new basins_all shapefile with those you have added or modified in your xxxx_aggr_basins shapefile.
This procedure should result in a direct transfer of most of the customized stream names to the basins_all shapefile. Approximately 15% of the transferred names will require additional post-transfer verification to ensure that they are the desired names for that basin. An example of this situation is an aggregated basin that may have been named "Little Run Tributary to Stony Creek". When this name is transferred to the native format basins, the aggregated basin is automatically associated with its most downstream component basin or "outlet" basin. Thus, this name will be assigned to a portion of Stony Creek that does not actually include the Little Run Tributary. Unfortunately, this cannot be avoided when transferring names between aggregated and native basins. Through this procedure, we will maximize the number of directly transferred names and flag those transferred names that should be checked.
Add the two layers (xxxx_aggr_basins and basins_all) to the Data Frame.
Right-click the basins_all layer and select Open Attribute Table. In the Table window, click Options and select Add Field. Enter Cust_name for the name, Text for the type, and Length of at least 20. Click OK and close the table.
Right-click the basins_all layer again, select Joins and Relates, and then select Join.
In the Join Data box that appears, make the following selections:
Click OK. The attributes from the second layer (xxxx_aggr_basins) should be appended to the attribute table of the first layer.
Click the Editor and select Start Editing. In the box that appears, select the basins_all layer to edit and click the Start Editing button. This puts the basins_all layer (including its attribute table) in edit mode.
We will now do a series of three queries to select the basins for which names will be transferred.
In the basins_all table, click the Options button and choose Select by Attributes.
In the Select by Attributes window that appears, make sure the “Method” at the top is “Create a new selection”. Double-click the attribute names in the Fields list and the operand buttons to create the following query:
"xxxx_aggr_basins.PFAF_ID" <> '' (NOTE: These are two single-quotes after the <>.)
Click Apply. This will select the basins with Pfaf_id values that correspond to those in xxxx_aggr_basins.
In the same Select by Attributes window, change the “Method” to “Select from current selection”. Create the following query:
"basins_all.STREAMNAME" <> "xxxx_aggr_basins.STREAMNAME"
Click Apply. This will select all of the basins that have different names in the old and new basins.
In the same Select by Attributes window, make sure the “Method” is still “Select from current selection”. Create the following query:
"xxxx_aggr_basins.STREAMNAME" <> '' (NOTE: These are two single-quotes after the <>.)
Click Apply. This will select only the basins that have a name in xxxx_aggr_basins to avoid copying over blank values.
Right-click the basins_all.STREAMNAME field in the table and select Field Calculator. In the Field Calculator box that appears, double-click "xxxx_aggr_basins.STREAMNAME" so it appears in the calculation box. Click OK. The names from xxxx_aggr_basins.STREAMNAME should be copied to the basins_all.STREAMNAME field for the selected basins only.
Right-click the basins_all.CUST_NAME field in the table and select Field Calculator. In the box that appears type “yes” in the calculation box. Click OK. This “yes” flag in the Cust_name field will indicate that the names of these basins have been transferred from the xxxx_aggr_basins shapefile.
We will now flag the transferred names that should be re-checked.
Go back to the Select by Attributes window. Make sure “Method” is still “Select from current selection” and then create the following query:
"basins_all.AREA_SQ_MI" <> "xxxx_aggr_basins.AREA_SQ_MI"
Click OK.
Right-click the basins_all.CUST_NAME field in the table and select Field Calculator. In the box that appears type “yes/need to check” in the calculation box. Click OK. This flag in the Cust_name field will indicate that the names of these basins have been transferred from the xxxx_aggr_basins shapefile.
After verifying that the above edits are what you want, Click the Editor button and select Stop Editing. Click Yes to save the edits.
Right-click the basins_all layer and select Joins and Relates. Select Remove Join(s), then select xxxx_aggr_basins.
You are now ready to prepare the shapefiles for localization.