Selection to Definition Query

[PatrickMoulden]

Add a tool (w/ gui preferably) to get the attribute values for a set of selected features and use them in an interactive definition query dialog box which would allow the user to select which attributes to use for the querry and how to use them.  If this is set up in gui it could also be used to visually analyse for trends within the selected data.

[MarinaFaber]

After selecting records manually or by location it would be great to click on a button which automatically populates these records to the definition query to either hide or show them. Often this is a tedious process.

[DavidKnudsen]

I think that's the purpose served by right-clicking on the layer with selected features and choosing Selection->Make layer from selected. Of necessity, since the selected could be arbitrary (not expressed by a simple SQL query), the "memory" of the selection is based on the object ID. It would be nice, however, if there were an interface for modifying the list of OIDs once a layer based on them has been created. Currently, the definition query tab just shows an asterisked comment that the layer is based on a selection, but offers no access to the list.

[ColmO_Kane]

Very similar ideas but sometimes there are no attributes to define the selection as a definition query i.e. after manually selecting an area of interest. In this instance it should also be possible to display or hide the selection but it won't be  possible to define it as a definition query. The point of this facility for me is that I could create maps just showing the slection with the necessity to create a new layer.

[ChrisFox]

@colmokane, I completely agree, i merged these ideas all together because I believe the point of all the ideas is to be able to display only the selected records. At Def Query shouldn't be required, I think this was just seen as an intermediate step to the ultimate goal of only displaying the selected records.

[PeterWain]

I'd also like to see this happen. Just logged into Ideas @ ArcGIS to log the same request!

[CoryWilliams]

I had one of my users request this functionality this morning. This would be extremely useful to show just a subset of information, which is relevant to the party which the map is being created for!

In recent times I've had to do this by using Excel to generate the Definition Query. But if we could do it within ArcMap, this would be fantastic!!

[GarimaVyas4]

Has there been any movement on this idea?

[JavadSalimi]

I can't explain how many times I have wished to be able to take a feature selection (using "Select Features") and have it converted to a definition query. 

[BruceHarold]

Very old script tool:

http://arcscripts.esri.com/details.asp?dbid=16324

[EnriqueMaglanque]

It would be great if ESRI could do this.

But as I understand all the features that will be included in the Definition Query are only those objects whose attribute satisfy the query definition.
In contrast, using "Select Features or Elements" select features by eye-balling them (or based on their location on the computer screen), and without any regard and not in any way based on a common tabular attribute.
What I do is select the desired features, and define a common attribute in the layer's table.