Using concatenated route identifiers
Route identifiers (IDs) for an LRS Network can be composed of a single field or multiple fields. Many users will have a routeID created by combining a variety of other attribute fields for the route, such as county, section, region, number, direction, and type. These fields could be combined together to create a unique routeID for each route in the network. In the example below, the routeID is composed of three fields: State, County, and Section. Combining these fields together creates a unique routeID for each record in the network.
Because the Roads and Highways editing tools must insert values into fields in the route table to create a new route record, there are certain rules you must follow when creating concatenated routeID fields.
- Concatenated routeIDs can either use a field separator or not, but all routeIDs within a network must follow the same convention.
- Some LRS Networks may have concatenated fields with separators, and other LRS Networks may have concatenated fields without.
- If you do not use field separators, your field can be either fixed or variable length. If your field is variable length and you have records utilizing less than the maximum number of characters for that field, you will need to add padding.
- The total length of your routeIDs—with separators and empty spaces—in fields composing your concatenated routeID may not exceed the field used to store routeIDs in your calibration point feature class.
The fields available when creating the routeID for a network come from the fields in the route table. Any text, short integer, or long integer in the route table will appear when creating a routeID. The fields that compose the routeID can also have coded value domains and subtypes assigned to them. For more information on subtypes and coded value domains in Roads and Highways, see Coded value domains and subtypes.
When creating an ALRS, you have the option to also create the minimum schema items (centerline feature class, centerline sequence table, route table, calibration point feature class, and redline feature class). The route table created will not have the fields contained in your source routes composing the routeID you will use for data loading. This workflow below shows an example how a user would add the three fields that compose the routeID (State, County, and Section) in their source route feature class to the route table in order to create a concatenated routeID during LRS Network creation and data loading.
![Note Note](rsrc/note.png)
These steps should be completed before creating your first LRS Network in your ALRS.
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In the Catalog window in ArcMap, right-click your source routes feature class (or shapefile) and click Properties.
- Click the Fields tab and note the name, data type, and properties of the fields that will make up your concatenated routeID. In this example, the State, County, and Section fields will create the concatenated routeID.
Note:
Your source routes feature class should also contain a text field with all the fields that will be part of the network routeID already concatenated. This field will be used when loading routes.
- In the Catalog window in ArcMap, right-click the route table and click Properties.
- Click the Fields tab, select the first empty field, and type the name of the first field in your concatenated routeID. In this example, the field will be State.
- Click the Data Type cell to the right of the field name and select the type of field.
- Change any field properties to match those in the source routes feature class.
Note:
If your field has a coded value domain in the source data, make sure to select the same coded value domain in your field in the route table.
- Repeat steps 4 through 6 for the other fields that will compose your concatenated routeID. In this example, the additional fields would be County and Section.
- Click OK.
Now that your route table has all the fields that will compose the concatenated routeID in your LRS Network, create your network. See Creating an LRS network for more information.