What are the geoprocessing Tools that are supposed to work with Mosaics?

[MarkZweifler]

In the Help Topic "Using mosaic datasets and image services in geoprocessing tools"
http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesktop/10.0/help/index.html#/Using_mosaic_datasets_and_image_servic...
the topic states:
[INDENT]The raster or Spatial Analysis geoprocessing tools directly support the mosaic dataset or mosaic layer.[/INDENT]But in my own testing I find that only some tools seem to work with Mosaics. For examples;

• Clip seems to work OK.


• but ReClassify and INT do not.


• Raster calculator will not even recognize a mosaic as an input raster when loaded into the map document


• I have found that Extract by Mask has inconsistent results if  the mosaic and the mask raster have the same projection but the source data referenced by the mosaic is in a different projection.

I have a guess that tools that require processing of pixel values, like INT and ReClass, can not currently use mosaics as inputs.  Certain tools that transform or process geometry like Clip can work. My presumption is that there is not as robust  system for mosaics managing pixel vaues as , for example a GRID .VAT. And that there purpose is more oriented toward imagery display
Tools that rely on an on-the fly reproject for a raster overlay operation  ( like  Extract by Mask) may be problematic (even when using identical cell size as source data for mosaics)- perhaps due to less than perfect snapping of the overlay raster to the on-the-fly projected mosaic pixels?

The geoprocessing tool help documentation I have looked at does not seem to explicitly discuss whether a tool should work with mosaics or not - and my discovery is simply by some trial and error.

Please let me know what you have learned about using mosaics as inputs to geoprocessing tools. I would like to know what tools relaiably work, which ones do not and an explanation as to why some tools work and others don't

the mosaics I am working with our very simple where all source "footprint " files are of the same data type and cell size.

Thanks for any insights.

[JamieKass]

I've found that creating a reference mosaic dataset using a polygon mask to specify extent gets a piece out of the mosaic, and then a simple export of the "Image" to a GRID gets me a DEM, which can go into Raster Calculator operations. It's annoying, but it's the only workaround I've found.

[AdamPodobny]

Just to add to this old post.

I work with large mosaic datasets made out of 1x1m DEM data. I've tried to use Extract by Mask to clip my mosaic for Model Builder processing. An integer raster was used as mask. The result raster was also an integer, even though source mosaic was 32-bit float.

The only feasible way, that I've found, to extract a peace of mosaic dataset, is to use the Clip raster tool (Data Management toolbox) and a polygon mask (with "Use input features for clipping geometry" on).

Quite frustratic ESRI!


Edit: Just found a simple workaround, just convert integer raster mask into a float. Still mask are generally integer, so this ads another frustrating step into my model.