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Support snapping to line and polygon edges (segments)

339
4
03-26-2026 11:11 AM
Status: Open
Debert
by
Frequent Contributor

Summary:
Enable snapping to feature edges in addition to vertices to improve editing and measurement workflows.

Details:
Current snapping behavior is limited to vertices, requiring users to densify geometries to achieve acceptable accuracy. This introduces unnecessary complexity, increases maintenance, and can degrade performance. Supporting edge-based snapping would streamline workflows and reduce the need for excessive vertex creation.

Use Case:
Measuring perpendicular distance from a centerline point to a water line using the Measure Distance tool. Existing functionality only snaps to endpoints and vertices, limiting accuracy without modifying geometry.

Benefits:
-Improves editing efficiency
-Reduces geometry complexity
-Enhances measurement accuracy
-Supports cleaner, more maintainable datasets

I've logged the enhancement and hope you'll consider ENH-000168338. Cheers!

4 Comments
DavidSolari

I'm currently managing a project involving paths and sample holes, letting users snap their sample points to the path would greatly improve the presentation of the data without running costly backend snapping updates.

MErikReedAugusta

This looks to have glitched & double-posted.

The other copy is found here, so ESRI mods can merge the two: https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-online-ideas/support-snapping-to-line-and-polygon-edges/idi-p/1...

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In our databases and workflows, we'd generally end up with at least a vertex—if not a full asset/segment break—at the point where those two lines intersect.  But I often prefer to make that break after drawing the new line that's first going to need to snap to a line midpoint or other non-vertex edge.

I'd love to see something like this in Field Maps.

 

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EDIT: I see now that the two postings are in two different boards; missed that, at first.  It's a little unclear to me which board is the more appropriate place for the Idea, and/or whether separate Ideas are warranted.  I genuinely can't remember what the AGOL Map Viewer snapping currently allows, as I haven't used it in a while.

Debert
by

Thank you both for adding your use cases to support this enhancement @DavidSolari & @MErikReedAugusta 

PierreloupDucroix

This will be very useful for locating leaks in the pipes.

In a water distribution network, most pipes do not have intermediate vertices. Therefore, it is impossible to precisely locate leaks, resulting in inaccurate data collection.