topic Re: Auto-complete polygon problem in Data Management Questions

Auto-complete polygon problem

Anride_Waal — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 03:55:23 GMT

I'm really struggling with this function, because after I've drawn the polygon and clicked 'finish sketch', the new polygon 'dissappears', as if I've never drawn it! The new polygon does cross the existing polygon twice, but 9 out of ten times it is gone after I've finished the sketch. Not sure if there is a specific way it should cross the existing polygon? Can you use the auto-complete polygon function for different and adjacent layers? Or only for the same layer? Thanks 🙂

Re: Auto-complete polygon problem

HardolphWasteneys — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 23:21:22 GMT

Anri,

must be the same layer, but multiple intersecting features. Also check that you haven't set up symbology that leaves the new feature blank.
Hardolph

Re: Auto-complete polygon problem

JohnSobetzer — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:00:17 GMT

There are three things that come to mind immediately. First, what Hardolph mentioned - your symbology. For instance, if you are using categories make sure the all other values box is checked. Second, you have a definition query on your layer being edited. If you do any new poly will disappear. Even after years of experience I still find myself getting caught by these every once in a while.

Third, and I haven't tested it recently, but it was a long standing issue that you had to be able to see the entire polygon being created via auto-complete in your visible extent; if you zoomed in too far to finish it off it could fail.

Re: Auto-complete polygon problem

JasonEdwards1 — Tue, 17 Dec 2013 02:34:27 GMT

Hi, just had this same problem show up today. It was weird because I spend the entire day with autocomplete working normally, then it just stopped working. Stopped working means, whenever I pressed F2 or otherwise tried to autocomplete the polygon just vanished. After some experimenting I found that "crossing the lines" worked to complete the poly (as I found in another thread). A second fix was to start and end the auto-complete poly INSIDE another poly - the autocomplete then finishes off the auto-poly with a shared boundary of the "host".

Note, this problem started when I was trying to use autocomplete to draw one poly on top of another using autocomplete. In my case there was also a shared boundary. I think this may have triggered the bug.

Re: Auto-complete polygon problem

AhmedBoussabeh — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 09:30:52 GMT

The main reason about the auto complete polygon problem is an existing joint table or related one ; that acts like a filter . Thus ; it is preferred to uncheck existing filters before .

If not ; main commun causes are to be investigated and followed such as ( coordinate system of the layer - Geodatabase - layer style and more )

Great Day 🙂