I use 'Generate near table' to measure distances from a set of points to a point of interest. I got my results, but the distances came in some odd units. To resolve this issue, I manually measured the distances for 10 randomly selected points. The outcome was that my 'unit' equals approx. 131 km - I wonder what unit it could be. Even more worryingly, whilst 131 was the average multiplier, it differed point-by-point from 111 to 171 which is quite a lot. Why could this be? Has anyone met with a similar problem? Thank you.
Solved! Go to Solution.
distances are in the units of the coordinates of the data. If the units are "strange" there is a good chance that your data are in decimal degrees and your distances are in decimal degrees.
From Generate Near Table (Analysis)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation
They suggest to use an appropriate projected data set prior to calculating the distances (ie use the Project tool)
distances are in the units of the coordinates of the data. If the units are "strange" there is a good chance that your data are in decimal degrees and your distances are in decimal degrees.
From Generate Near Table (Analysis)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation
They suggest to use an appropriate projected data set prior to calculating the distances (ie use the Project tool)
Got it, thank you so much! On my map the system was set to Web Mercator, I changed it to British National Grid...and got the same 'strange' units again. What am I doing wrong?
Sorry, I kept trying and know the answer now. Had to set the method to geodesic. Thank you again for your help!