Best way to change object-class?

[Peter2_1]

Simple, fictitious example (sorry that I don't know the right English terminology):

I'm working with "Water"-data, based on Oracle database. I have already 100 objects in object-class "fire-hydrant". Now we found an error - 30 objects are not "hydrants", they are "public fountains".

No we have to change the 30 wrong hydrants to fountains. They are similar - same pipe, same owner, ... - but the have to be "moved / changed" to another object-class. The have no single area to select them with a "window", they have no clear FID to select them with queries, .....

My idea is to start "fountains: digitize from existing objects with form" and to select them one by one, but that sounds not very funny ...

Is there a better, efficient way to do jobs like this?

Predefine some selections in drawing area?

Define and use selections / filters / bookmarks from the data-table?

...

(yeah, maybe someone will say now: "clicking 30 elements is less work than to write this posting " - but it is to find a way for more and similar jobs ..)

Thanks in advance for advices!

[fieldguy]

>>Is there a better, efficient way to do jobs like this?<<

More accurate "field" data.  Where did the Oracle database come from (I assume it's field data)?  It should know the difference between a hydrant and a fountain.

[ChicagoLooper]

Issue: You found 30 entities in object class fire-hydrant that are really public fountains, not hydrants.

Question: What distinguishes the 30 fountains from the fire hydrants? Is there data, or an attribute, that describes which points are hydrants and which are fountains? How do you know which are which?                  

Theoretically, there could be five more, or 35 fountains, not 30. Or maybe there are only 4, not 30 as you originally guesstimated. Your post doesn’t provide the pertinent info which can be used to formulate a viable work flow.

Surely there is some rationale which allowed you to identify the mistake in the object class. What is that rationale?   

[Peter2_1]

Thanks for remarks.

@fieldguy 

yes, there "could" be an object-class called "water-stuff" and this could have attribute for "hydrant / fountain / ..." and so on, but in my (example-)case they are different object-classes.

@ChicagoLooper 

Let assume:

"I see the difference on a map. A guy digitized the objects, based on an old plan, and he misunderstood the symbols. While controlling the result out in the nature we found that 30 objects are wrong. So we have the graphic data of it."

(To make it more clear we can also take as example: Someone mixed up manholes and trees and now we have 30 trees, digitized as manholes)

[fieldguy]

if you are digitizing from plans you are creating the database.  there should be examples on creating spatial databases - specifically "digitizing features".  you define class1, class2, etc.  and add features to the class.  it "should" be easy to change a class1 feature to class2.  there are "interactive" options in drawing cleanup, but i don't think object class qualifies.

check these links if you haven't already

>>create<<

>>edit<<

[Peter2_1 · Accepted solution]

Thanks to all.

In the meantime I played around - it is not that simple because some of the attribute should be kept, some should be deleted. it is a kind of "selective data transformation", and at the moment I see no way for a quick, half automated solution.