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Show the extents of a projected FC in the map — Where can I draw features? (coordinates are out of bounds)

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11-30-2023 03:10 PM
Status: Open
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Bud
by
Esteemed Contributor

ArcGIS Pro 3.2; Mobile Geodatabase:

I've created a new map/project and a blank FC for testing purposes. The FC uses a projected coordinate system: NAD 1983 UTM Zone 17N.

The FC has been added to the map. When I try to create a feature, I get an error in the Create Features pane:

Failed to create main.A_TEST_FC.
The coorindates or measures are out of bounds.

Video:

I think the problem is that I'm drawing outside of the extents of the projection. If I add a different FC that already has features, use Zoom to Layer to zoom to the features, then I can create features successfully in my original FC using those extents. That works, but it seems clunky, and I still don't know the actual limits of the editable area.

Could ArcGIS Pro be enhanced so that it shows me the extents of the FC/projection? Such as display a rectangle in the map that delineates UTM 17N. Or add the projection as some sort of read-only reference layer to the map.

 

Projections aren't my area of expertise; I use UTM 17N exclusively and never think twice about it. So let me know if I've missed something. It might not even be the projection that's causing the issue; it could be some other mechanism that has limited extents.

Additionally, could the wording in the error message be improved?

Failed to create main.A_TEST_FC.

That makes it sound like I failed to create a new feature class. But that's not the case; I failed to create a feature within an existing feature class.

3 Comments
MErikReedAugusta

In my job, we exclusively use WKID 2239, which is one of the NAD1983 subsets.  In our case, we also have an aerial image basemap that's in the same coordinate system, so that's always the first thing that gets added to my maps, and automatically puts me in the right area.

What basemap(s) are you using in your work?  That might help.

 

That said, a way to zoom to the extent of a given coordinate system might be nice.  If such a thing already exists, I'm not aware of it.

Bud
by

@MErikReedAugusta 

What basemap(s) are you using in your work?

Good question. I don’t really use basemaps much. I’m usually just testing/troubleshooting technical issues. I open a blank map (basemaps disabled) and start creating testing data.

I can see how adding a base map could help. But like you said, “a way to zoom to the extent of a given coordinate system“ would still be more convenient and intuitive when starting from scratch.

Bud
by

Another idea could be to grey-out the non-editable area (the area that's outside of the projection).