ListFeatureClasses (arcpy)

Summary

Lists the feature classes in the workspace, limited by name, feature type, and optional feature dataset.

Discussion

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

Syntax

ListFeatureClasses ({wild_card}, {feature_type}, {feature_dataset})

Parameter	Explanation	Data 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 wild_card argument. Valid feature types are: Annotation —Only annotation feature classes are returned. Arc —Only arc (or line) feature classes are returned. Dimension —Only dimension feature classes are returned. Edge —Only edge feature classes are returned. Junction —Only junction feature classes are returned. Label — Only label feature classes are returned. Line —Only line (or arc) feature classes are returned. Multipatch —Only multipatch feature classes are returned. Node —Only node feature classes are returned. Point —Only point feature classes are returned. Polygon —Only polygon feature classes are returned. Polyline —Only line (or arc) feature classes are returned. Region —Only region feature classes are returned. Route —Only route feature classes are returned. Tic —Only tic feature classes are returned. All — All datasets in the workspace. This is the default value. (The default value is All)	String
feature_dataset	Limits the feature classes returned to the feature dataset, if specified. If blank, only stand-alone feature classes will be returned in the workspace.	String

Return Value

Data Type	Explanation
String	The list containing feature class names is returned from the function, limited by the optional wild_card, feature_type, and feature_dataset arguments.

Code Sample

ListFeatureClasses example

Copy shapefiles to a geodatabase.

import os
import arcpy

# Set the workspace for ListFeatureClasses
arcpy.env.workspace = "c:/base"

# Use the ListFeatureClasses function to return a list of
#  shapefiles.
featureclasses = arcpy.ListFeatureClasses()

# Copy shapefiles to a file geodatabase
for fc in featureclasses:
    arcpy.CopyFeatures_management(
        fc, os.path.join("c:/base/output.gdb",
                         os.path.splitext(fc)[0]))

ListFeatureClasses example 1

List all feature classes in a geodatabase, including any within feature datasets.

import arcpy
import os

arcpy.env.workspace = "c:/base/gdb.gdb"

datasets = arcpy.ListDatasets(feature_type='feature')
datasets = [''] + datasets if datasets is not None else []

for ds in datasets:
    for fc in arcpy.ListFeatureClasses(feature_dataset=ds):
        path = os.path.join(arcpy.env.workspace, ds, fc)
        print path