Integrate Tool - XY Tolerance

Question

The instructions for the Integrate tool warn pretty strongly against using an XY tolerance larger than that associated with the input feature class.

In my case the input feature class has an XY tolerance of 0.003 feet.  This is about this width of a bacteria. It will have absolutely no effect whatsoever if I use it.

Is it really a bad thing to set the XY tolerance to something more rational (like, 0.5 ft or 1 ft) when using this tool?

Thank you,

Randy McGregor

RandyMcGregor_BMcD · Answer

Thank you. It sounds like it's intended as a very conservative equivalent of the arc/info 'clean' tool. I have a very sloppy data set that needs some pretty thorough cleaning so I think I'll try a couple of larger tolerances and take my chances.

DanPatterson · Answer

Integrate (Data Management Tools) | ArcGIS Pro documentation

to quote the 3.7 help files...

It is recommended that you do not provide a value for the XY Tolerance parameter. When no value is provided, the tool will check the input feature classes' spatial reference to determine the x,y tolerance to use during integration. Ensure that the spatial reference of the input data is set to its default x,y resolution and x,y tolerance.

Where they then say

The XY Tolerance parameter is not intended to be used to generalize geometry shapes. It is intended to integrate line work and boundaries within the context of a properly set input feature class spatial reference. Setting the XY Tolerance parameter to a value other than the default for the input spatial reference may cause features to move too much or too little, resulting in geometry issues. If the correct spatial reference properties are used, running the Integrate tool can minimize the amount of movement in the data during subsequent topological operations (such as overlay and dissolve).

So perhaps it is the potential for geometry errors