Editing: Autocomplete Polygon

[PeterWilson]

Currently "Autocomplete" only works on features that are stored within a single feature class. Autocomplete should be able to be used across multiple feature class that are stored within the same file geodatabase or feature dataset. We are currently delineating hundreds of thousands of crop fields and farm dams as part of a water allocation project. The boundaries of the crop fields and farm dams share boundaries in multiple instances. We currently store the features within a single feature class in order to use autocomplete, but have to export the dams afterwards into a new feature class in order to run calculations on the features. Any idea if a tool/script could be created using autocomplete across feature class would be appreciated.

Regards

[DanPatterson_Retired]

Peter has also posted this as an ArcGIS Ideas possibility for those that want to support it.
http://ideas.arcgis.com/ideaView?id=08730000000btaWAAQ

[PeterWilson]

Thanks Dan 🙂

Regards

[JohnSobetzer]

In the meantime could you use the trace tool along the edges of these other polygons when creating a new polygon, thereby eliminating slivering or gaps?  Alternately, although a bit clicky, could you temporarily copy these other polygons into your editing layer, use autocomplete, and then delete the unwanted polygons?

[HardolphWasteneys]

Currently "Autocomplete" only works on features that are stored within a single feature class. Autocomplete should be able to be used across multiple feature class that are stored within the same file geodatabase or feature dataset. We are currently delineating hundreds of thousands of crop fields and farm dams as part of a water allocation project. The boundaries of the crop fields and farm dams share boundaries in multiple instances. We currently store the features within a single feature class in order to use autocomplete, but have to export the dams afterwards into a new feature class in order to run calculations on the features. Any idea if a tool/script could be created using autocomplete across feature class would be appreciated. 

Regards

Peter,

Assuming you are talking about polyline features that you wish to use to create polygons, I routinely use the auto-complete polygon Task to create polygons from multiple feature classes in ArcView 9.3 (also works in 9.2 and 10). This involves copying and pasting the features into a scratch feature class and merging them, then running Auto-complete with a few tricks that don't seem to be documented by ESRI. I've posted variations on the method several times in the General forum and once here. http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/6288-Editing
http://forums.arcgis.com/threads/518...5524#post15524


Here's the step by step procedure I use:

1. start by making sure the line segments are either snapped together or overlap and set snapping in the polyline layers that you want to use.
Any existing polygons present within the area of interest will create holes in the generated polygon fabric so turn those layers off unless that is what you want.
I set up a scratch polyline feature class in the current workspace/geodatabase for temporary use to avoid messing with the originals.

2. select all the polyline segments with the edit tool or just set the layers of interest as selectable and select all (these can be in multiple workspaces/geodatabases as long as they are selectable)
3. set Task: Create New Feature and Target: the scratch polyline Feature Class
4. right click with the edit tool in the work area and hit copy, then right click again and hit paste (this creates a set of unattributed lines in the scratch feature class and deselects the ones selected from the original feature classes; ctrl-c, ctrl-v won't work for this ).
5. In the EDITOR pulldown hit MERGE, and use any of the lines as the one to be merged with.
6. leaving the merged line selected change "Target:" to a polygon layer and "Task:" to "Auto-complete Polygon"
7. using the SKETCH tool allow it to snap to the selected merged line anywhere (do not left click)
8. RIGHT-click and select "replace sketch" from the pull-down menu.
9. all the vertices of all the lines should become highlighted; hit F2 or right-click again and hit Finish Sketch.

That will generate a polygon fabric in the target Polygon feature class using any closed polyline features. There will not be any attributes transferred from the polylines; you have to attribute them separately or trnasfer attributes from other features.
The Cut Polygon Features task follows a similar procedure.

For map display purposes I then overlay the original polylines with their variable symbology as the borders for the polygons.


hope that's along the lines of what you are after.

Hardolph