How to update element text in arcpy.mapping?

Question

I have a problem updating a map element text (named element1) in a map document using the following code:

a1 = '"' + ("element" + str(1)) + '"'
for elm in arcpy.mapping.ListLayoutElements(mxd, "TEXT_ELEMENT"):
if elm.name  == a1:
    elm.text = str("new text")
    elm.elementPositionX = 0.6046
    elm.elementPositionY = 6.4636

The code above does not update the element1 with the new text value.

It looks like the following part does not work:

if elm.name  == a1:

Because when using the below hard coded approach:

if elm.name  == "element1":

It worked, but I need to have it as variable.

What am I doing wrong here?

replace <<a1 = '"' + ("element" + str(1)) + '"'>> by a1 = "element" + str(1) , should work — geogeek, Feb 24 '13 at 23:13
many thanks for your help - the geogeek's hint worked a trick for me! and thanks Mike - all understood :) — meryloo, Feb 25 '13 at 08:15

score 2 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:34

2

You don't need to wrap the element name in quotes like you are doing.

You can use string formatting to do this slightly more cleanly:

a1 = "element{0}".format(1)

See also my suggestions on general Python tips in this answer.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:34

Community

1

answered Feb 25 '13 at 00:22

blah238

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How to update element text in arcpy.mapping?

1 Answers1