topic Re: create points along line varying distances in ArcGIS Pro Questions

create points along line varying distances

HaakonJørlo_Haugerud — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 12:19:40 GMT

Hi,

I am trying to make a python script that will do the equivalent to that of selecting a point feature editing this and creating "Points along line" with "Varying Distances".

This will give a menu like this one:

Where you will have to plot the distances manually. The next row will indicate the distance relative to the previous point.

I have a lot of points I'd like to plot in and therefore I want the stuff to go automatically.

So far I've had a look into using something like this:

>>> arcpy.GeneratePointsAlongLines_management(line2choose,"pntsAlongLine","DISTANCE",[10,20,10])

The list i've made at the end obviously won't work.

I've also had a look to the possibility of importing an excel file with the ID and Distance columns and creating points from this. If arcpy has a function to add a single point along a line with a specific distance from start I could do a loop and generate all the points from the imported table. So far I haven't found such a function.

Br,

Haakon Haugerud

Re: create points along line varying distances

Scott_Harris — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 15:50:10 GMT

Hi,

It would be a neat enhancement for the Create Points Along Lines and the Offset editing tools (both found on the Edit ribbon > Modify features pane) to be able to import distance values from a file - currently not possible. However, have you tried the Linear Referencing toolbox (Analysis tab > Tools > look for Linear Referencing Tools). I think the only two geoprocessing tools you would need are Create Routes and Make Route Event Layer.

An overview of the Linear Referencing toolbox—Help | ArcGIS Desktop

These two tutorials are written for ArcMap, but show how to use the above geoprocessing tools:

Exercise 2: Creating and calibrating route data—Help | ArcGIS Desktop

Exercise 4: Displaying and querying route events—Help | ArcGIS Desktop

Hope this helps!

Scott

Re: create points along line varying distances

HaakonJørlo_Haugerud — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 08:23:58 GMT

Thanks Scott.

I am trying to use the Linear Referencing tools now, but have a question.

Right now I am trying to make a Route Event Layer with my Route and an input event table. But I got the error that "ERROR 000840 The value is not a Route Measure Event properties". Trying to find a way to choose that the Field is a route event field, but I am having problems.

Re: create points along line varying distances

Scott_Harris — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 16:19:11 GMT

I'm not sure about why that could be, but a quick search on Geonet reveals someone who found a solution for their specific case:

https://community.esri.com/thread/101652#comment-658022

If that doesn't work, maybe a quick call to Esri Technical Support will help? - Esri Support Contact Support

Re: create points along line varying distances

HumaTariq — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 20:55:21 GMT

Hi,

I am wondering, you had any luck in figuring that out? I also need to create thousands of points along the line at varying (known) distances but unable to find any way of doing that.

Re: create points along line varying distances

tari — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 23:04:04 GMT

Hi all:

I am in the same position as well.

I need to make a point feature class along a line with varying and known distances but unable to find a way to do that. I have also tried using similar approach mentioned a the beginning of this thread and did not make any progress.

Any suggestions please?

Re: create points along line varying distances

fresi09 — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 05:04:00 GMT

Hi,

did you got a solution?

Thanks

Re: create points along line varying distances

JohnFenton — Sat, 05 Nov 2022 23:03:30 GMT

Looks like your Route Identifier Field was pointed at a Distance value in attributes of the original polyline used to create the route. It needs to point to a unique route ID that is common to the entire polyline *and* the table of distances you'll use when you display route events. So if you add routeID as an attribute of the polyline before you turn it into a route, and then use that same routeID as an attribute of your table of distances, the two will work together nicely.

If you have a table with the distances down the line in it, you don't need to enter them manually using Create Points Along Line tool.

Create a route from your polyline - https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/2.9/tool-reference/linear-referencing/create-routes.htm (you'll need to add an attribute for route identifier)

Then add events to your route using that table of distances down the line - https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/2.9/help/data/linear-referencing/display-route-events.htm (you'll need to include the same attribute value for route identifier that your used on the polyline that you turned into a route in the previous step)

You can take the resulting events layer and export them as points along the polyline.

I know this is a really late response, but I searched for a long time trying to find out how to do this in a way other than entering each point distance one at a time...

Re: create points along line varying distances

drami139 — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 16:05:20 GMT

import arcpy

# Set up environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = r"C:\Your\Workspace" # Set your workspace path here
arcpy.env.overwriteOutput = True

# Input polyline feature class
input_polyline = "your_polyline.shp" # Change to your input polyline shapefile

# Output point feature class
output_points = "points_along_polyline.shp" # Change to your desired output point shapefile

# Table containing distances along the line
distance_table = "distance_table.dbf" # Change to the path of your distance table

# Field in the distance table containing the distances
distance_field = "Distance" # Change to the name of your distance field

# Create an empty list to hold point geometries
point_geometries = []

# Iterate through the table and create points at the specified distances
with arcpy.da.SearchCursor(distance_table, [distance_field]) as cursor:
for row in cursor:
distance = row[0]
with arcpy.da.SearchCursor(input_polyline, ["SHAPE@"]) as polyline_cursor:
for polyline_row in polyline_cursor:
polyline = polyline_row[0]
if distance <= polyline.length:
point = polyline.positionAlongLine(distance)
point_geometries.append(point)

# Create a new point feature class and add point geometries
arcpy.CopyFeatures_management(point_geometries, output_points)

print("Points created along the polyline using distances from the table.")

This should work if you want to add points along a polyline by referencing an existing table with all of your distance values. If not, you can copy and paste your values in the following:

import arcpy

# Set up environment settings
arcpy.env.workspace = r"C:\Your\Workspace" # Set your workspace path here
arcpy.env.overwriteOutput = True

# Input polyline feature class
input_polyline = "your_polyline.shp" # Change to your input polyline shapefile

# Output point feature class
output_points = "points_along_polyline.shp" # Change to your desired output point shapefile

# List of distances along the line where you want to place points
distances = [50, 100, 200, 300, 500] # Modify as needed

# Create an empty list to hold point geometries
point_geometries = []

# Iterate through the vertices of the polyline and create points at the specified distances
with arcpy.da.SearchCursor(input_polyline, ["SHAPE@"]) as cursor:
for row in cursor:
polyline = row[0]
for distance in distances:
if distance <= polyline.length:
point = polyline.positionAlongLine(distance)
point_geometries.append(point)

# Create a new point feature class and add point geometries
arcpy.CopyFeatures_management(point_geometries, output_points)

print("Points created along the polyline at varying distances.")

I hope this helps!

Re: create points along line varying distances

MelanieM — Tue, 03 Jun 2025 23:05:17 GMT

Hello,

I realize this is a late response, but I had a similar issue recently in ArcGIS Pro 3.4 and 3.3.

I realized that once I added the 'Measure Field' parameter in, the warning about the Route Identifier Field was removed.

However, the tool would run and fail with the error "000211: Cannot create route event source."
I was able to resolve the error after I realized the input for the 'Measure Field' parameter I was using was a text field and the tool requires the parameter use a numeric field as indicated here -> https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/tool-reference/linear-referencing/make-route-event-layer.htm#:~:text=From%2DMeasure%20Field%E2%80%94A%20field%20containing%20measure%20values.%20This%20field%20must%20be%20numeric%20and%20is%20required%20when%20the%20event%20type%20is%20Point%20or%20Line.

After creating a new numeric field and populating with the information from the original text field, the tool ran successfully and created the points along my route.

Hope this helps!