It that has numerous functions to load data including a number of “Find” functions that work by indexing the names of features in a feature class and then makes this available through a listbox from which users can select individual features.
One of these Finds indexes the ArcHydro feature class HydroEdge containing canal centerlines. Unfortunately, with over 210,000 features creating an index on the fly can take well over a minute and this can try a user’s patience.
A solution to this issue is to create a list of feature names ahead of time and then just load it into a listbox. In the example below, this is being done using Python and a XML file.
You can view CreateFindIndex.py code through Github.
Louis Artola has a good post on using Python to write XML on his blog louisartola|software.
Let us know if you have any comments,
By Juan Tobar, Supervisor – Geographers, Regulation GIS, SFWMD