topic Re: Suitability Modeler -No Data in ArcGIS Spatial Analyst Questions

Suitability Modeler -No Data

Dkumar18 — Fri, 23 May 2025 20:02:59 GMT

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a suitability model and incorporating floodplain data as part of the analysis. I’ve converted the floodplain layer from vector to raster using area values.

What I want to achieve is this: areas within the floodplain should not have any suitability value at all—essentially, they should be excluded from the model output entirely.

However, I'm running into issues:

Applying an inverse function still assigns a value to the floodplain areas, which I don’t want.
I also tried using the "Identify Restricted Locations" tool, but that only creates a separate restricted layer and doesn’t actually exclude those areas from the final suitability output.

Has anyone successfully excluded floodplain (or similar constraint) areas from a suitability model so that they show up as null or no data in the result? Any suggestions or best practices would be appreciated.

Re: Suitability Modeler -No Data

DanPatterson — Fri, 23 May 2025 20:39:36 GMT

use

Set Null (Spatial Analyst)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

to convert the floodplain value to nodata

Re: Suitability Modeler -No Data

BrendanNewell — Mon, 26 May 2025 00:36:57 GMT

hi @Dkumar18,

Identify restricted locations should work in your above use case.

Once you have specified your clause, select apply (this will create a layer), then select apply restricted (you will now see the floodplain areas excluded from your model.

https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/3.3/help/analysis/spatial-analyst/suitability-modeler/exclude-restricted-locations.htm

Re: Suitability Modeler -No Data

Dkumar18 — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 19:20:18 GMT

Thanks it worked, Also do you know if there is any possibility to show individual scores of the data layers in the final suitability score?

Re: Suitability Modeler -No Data

BrendanNewell — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 23:31:15 GMT

would we want this information in a separate rasters or as a single raster?

On a side note this information is also shown in the suitability report

Re: Suitability Modeler -No Data

ShareUser — Thu, 04 Dec 2025 18:25:37 GMT

You can explore individual data layers in several ways within Suitability Modeler:

1. View layers in the Suitability Modeler group layer

All original and transformed criteria layers are added under the Suitability Modeler group layer in the Contents pane.
Keep in mind that the transformed layers shown here do not include weights—they reflect only the transformed criteria.

2. Use the Two Maps view

The Two Maps view allows you to compare a criterion map and a suitability map side-by-side.
When you launch the Two Maps view, a second map frame is created that contains the Suitability Modeler group layer.
You can then turn on only the specific criterion layer you want to explore for direct comparison. Note the layer does not include weights.

3. Use the Evaluate environment

The Evaluate function provides a mathematical approach to examine how each criterion contributes to the model.

The Overview tab helps you explore the influence of each criterion.
The Criteria tab lets you examine the weighted transformed criterion, and compared with the leftside suitability map.

More details can be found here: https://pro.arcgis.com/en/pro-app/latest/help/analysis/spatial-analyst/suitability-modeler/evaluate-environment-in-suitability-modeler.htm#ESRI_SECTION1_78681160937D47559BB9833A4EC2FEFC