SetParameterAsText (arcpy)

Summary

Sets a specified parameter property by index using a string value. This is used when passing values from a script to a script tool. If you need to pass an object, such as a spatial reference to a script tool, use SetParameter.

Syntax

SetParameterAsText (index, text)

Parameter	Explanation	Data Type
index	The specified parameter's index position in the parameter list.	Integer
text	The string value that will set the specified parameter's property.	String

Code Sample

SetParameterAsText example

Pass text string to specified tool parameter.

import arcpy

# Get the feature class from the tool.
#
fc = arcpy.GetParameterAsText(0)

# Determine the shape type of the feature class.
# 
dscFC = arcpy.Describe(fc)

# Set tool output parameters based on shape type.
# 
if dscFC.ShapeType.lower() == "polygon":
    arcpy.AddMessage("Feature Type is polygon")
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(1, "true")  # Is polygon
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(2, "false") # Is not line
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(3, "false") # Is not point

elif dscFC.ShapeType.lower() == "polyline":
    arcpy.AddMessage("Feature Type is polyline")
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(1, "false") # Is not polygon
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(2, "true")  # Is line
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(3, "false") # Is not point

elif dscFC.ShapeType.lower() == "point":
    arcpy.AddMessage("Feature Type is point")
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(1, "false") # Is not polygon
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(2, "false") # Is not line
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(3, "true")  # Is point

else:
    arcpy.AddMessage("Unknown feature type")
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(1, "false") # Is not polygon
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(2, "false") # Is not line
    arcpy.SetParameterAsText(3, "false") # Is not point