I'm wondering if there is any method to preserve the original field names in ArcGIS when I join csv. tables to a Shapefile.
I ask, because sometimes I join tables with 10, 20 or even more columns and when exporting the joined data ArcGIS always renames them according to the name of the original table and the order of the column (e.g. table_xy_1,table_xy_2, etc.).
Since there is no easy way to rename the fields in the attribute table permanently (i.e. you have to create a new column and copy the old on into this new column AND delete the old column) this creates a bunch of work (despite from the fact that you have to orientate yourself in this mess of field names).
Answer
I think what you might be trying to do is NOT use "fully qualified table names".
To do so, in Environment Settings -> General Setting, uncheck "Maintain fully qualified name".
Take a look at this Esri support forum and this online help article.
Note this will work when joining DBF files but not when joining CSVs. (As a work-around you can convert CSVs to DBF and then join.)
how to do it in Arcpy?
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