Why is the dynamic text on data driven pages not displaying a value from the grid attribute table?

Question

I am using ArcMap 10.0.

Relating to Adding dynamic text to layout from attribute table with Data Driven Pages, I've been trying to return a value from the attribute table using the following code:

<dyn type="page" property="lu1p"/>

However, even if I try to use a different attribute heading (i.e. lu2p), it only displays "[empty]". Is there something which I'm missing?

The grid index page is actually a set of irregular study areas (i.e. not perfectly square), but it hasn't effected the use of Data Driven Pages. I have looked at the help files for this but have not found any solution.

Here is a screenshot: enter image description here (https://i.sstatic.net/fPnU0.jpg) available here also

I tried again in a new mxd and it worked once but then it stopped worked when I re-opened it.

• Mapperz: so this is a duplicate question you are asking?
• Emily: No, it isn't a duplicate question, it's related.
• Mapperz: Data Driven Page Name corresponds to the current value of the attribute field set as the name field in the Setup Data Driven Pages dialog box.
• Emily: I'm not trying to get the page name or number, I'm trying to return a value from the attribute table. It has been done before, but I'm having a problem with it.
• Mapperz: can you post a screenshot please of the setup? attributes are pulled by associated pages.

Answer 1

I finally figured it out. The problem was that the shapefile was joined with a table and therefore would not display any dynamic text.

I thought that a join wouldn't impact the dynamic text but apparently it does.

• Mapperz: Export the shapefile with the join and the new shapefile can be used as will export the joined data attribution.
• Emily: I realise actually now that the join is useless and I have to somehow make the rows in the table I want to join it to into the columns of the table I'm using for data driven pages... But thanks, it will be useful in future. :)
• Craig Williams: Did you try fully qualifying the name. Join tables need fully qualified field names such as tablename.fieldname
• Emily: No, they don't work with dynamic text at all, any join on the grid features and the text will display [empty] or nothing. I'm migrating over the text with cursors today (hopefully).

Answer 2

So assuming 'SApeelfinal' is defined in the setup and the dynamic text is Label_1

Any field in the DataDrivenPages index layer table can be used as dynamic text. Use the format:

<dyn type="page" property="Field_Name_Goes_Here"/>
<dyn type="page" property="Label_1"/>

So you could have different text boxes with the following dynamic text but only from SApeelfinal Table :

<dyn type="page" property="Label_1"/>
<dyn type="page" property="SUM_COL9"/>
<dyn type="page" property="SUM_COL10"/>
<dyn type="page" property="SUM_COL11"/>

If you want fields from another table, then you would need to use Python scripting.