Splitting Only Selected Features

Question

Is it possible to split a selected feature by an overlapping feature without interfering the non-selected features of the original feature class?

My feature class has overlapped polygons and I need to split some of them by the shape of some other overlapped polygons from another feature class.

My idea is:

- Select the polygon that I want to split and create a layer from the selected feature

- Select the features I want to use to split

- Use the Split Polygon on the Advance Editing Toolbar selecting the layer I just made in the first step

But, unfortuantely it doesn't work. Andd the Split Polygon tool also split the overlapping polygons non selected, that is, the tool split the original layer, so I don't have any advantage on creating the new layer with the selected feature.

Any ideas to solve this easy task?

ipmAGOLPareja · Answer

What I am trying to do is splitting one polygon belonging to feature class #1 using another polygon or polyline (belonging to a feature class #2). The point here is that the polygon from fc#1 to be split overlaps with some others elements from fc#1, so when I am using the element from fc#2 the splitting process splits all the fc#1's  overlapping polygons, not only the selected one.

At some point I thought that selecting the item I want to split and creating a new layer (let us say fc#1-selected), the splitting process would only apply to the  fc#1-selected, but that is not true. The splitting process applies to the whole fc#1. I think this method should work properly as I am not acting over the whole fc#1, but only over the selected feature.

Let's imagine a tollway with some travel lanes areas on ground level and some travel lanes areas on a bridge, both overlapping (all of them belonging to polygon fc#1), and some pavement marking (polyline fc#2) which we need to use as elements to split the original travel lanes areas in order to obtain the individual lanes. In this scenario, we need to split the travel lane area on the brigde by using certain polylines from fc#2, and the travel lane area on the ground using another polylines from fc#2.

I think your proposal is useful but I would need to delete the original item from the original feature class (fc#1) and then copy the result from the splitting process from the "local" feature class (fc#3) to the original one. That is certainly a method, but I was trying to do something more direct, without the need of copying and erasing items from a layer to another.

Thanks for your help!

DonKuehne · Answer

I can't say I fully understand the operation  you are  attempting, but it sounds like you are  using two feature service layers to do the  work.  You  might  try copying your data to  a  local feature  class for the purpose of your splitting operation, and then just delete the working local feature class when your done.  That way your original feature  service layers editing status would not be changed because it wouldn't even be  involved in the editing.  I apologize in advance if  I miss understand your question.  Perhaps you  could clarify.