Support multiple geometries for one feature class

[GregLaymon]

Add functionality that allows users to define multiple geometries for one feature.

This could be configured within ArcCatalog by creating additional Shape fields on a feature class, and only make one shape field the feature's primary (required) geometry.

Examples of use for this functionality could include:

• storing a map location and a seperate gps location geometry for one feature.
• storing a point geometry for a feature like a building or substation and a polygon geometry for the walls or fence
• creating a seperate geometry (or more than one) for the feature's label.  This would enhance rendering performance with labeling and remove the need for feature linked annotation.
   

[AndreeaGutu]

This is practically going back to Autocad.

[OwenGeo]

 I think this would be very useful for capturing volunteered geographical information (VGI).

[JohnStreeb]

This may make some of the behind the scenes management a bit dificult, however, what I think may resolve your issue somewhat would be to have a system set up, potentially using the new feature templates of ArcGIS10, where, for example, adding a point feature that represents a tree would add a user defind feature to another feature class.  What I mean is that, this point added for the tree could autotomatically be set up to also add a circular polygon with a 30 ft radius to the "shaded_areas" feature class with the circle's center point being the point added to the tree feature class.  The new polygon created could then be modified by the user to meet the specific situation.  In addition, such a tool should involve the use of a relationship class and when the point was added and the polygon automatically added, when the Join field of the point feature is added, it auto-populates (and thus relates) the corresponding polygon to that point feature.  Similarly, an example would be where a line is added to represent a water line.  This feature could auto create a point feature in the "water_valves" feature class a the end-point of the line and auto-relate the two features per a pre-established relationship class.
The functionality of this tool could be further enhanced by allow the defaults for related feature creation to be set up at the "subtype" level so in the first example adding a "Pine Tree" would create a default polygon radius of maybe 15 ft where as an "Oak Tree" would create a default polygon with a radius of 25 ft.

[NathanielRoth1]

This is a capability that PostGIS has had for a long time. The ability to configure alternate geometry fields for the same feature class needs to make it into the geodatabase. It must have the capability to automatically update geometries based on changes to one. This might be a primary geometry with a set of secondary or child geometries. We should be able to do this from within standard desktop tools (i.e. we don't have to start building views in the database console). 

Edit: I think this is particularly important with the move towards ArcGIS Enterprise/Web GIS and the centralization of data. 

Some examples:

1. Maintain geometries in multiple projections with appropriate spatial indexing. One geometry field in a local projection, another in one for publication to web services.

2. Geometries of different types: one geometry is a polygon (eg. a parcel), a second is the centroid.

3. Alternate versions of geometries. A full detail geometry, and another one that has been generalized automatically for display or confidentiality purposes.

4. Combining multiple of these: i.e. a generalized polygon maintained automatically in a web projection for use in services.