How to merge multiple featureclasses and overlapped features using ArcGIS 10.2

[X_K_YANG]

Dear folks,

Anybody know merge multiple featureclasses and overlapped features using ArcGIS 10.2? I do know ArcGIS Desktop has a Merge tool can merge multiple featureclasses into a new featureclass. However, in my case, I wanna the overlapped fetures within the new merged featureclass are also merged.

For example, I have two waterbody featureclasses delineated from remote sensing images.

The first part of Lake Michigan is in one image, the other part of the lake is in another image.

After merging the two featureclass, obviouly, the two parts of the Lake Michigan should be merged too, right?

anybody know merging the two featureclass, how to merge the overlapped waterbody features?

Thanks in advance.

[IanMurray]

Have you tried dissolving the resulting dataset?

ArcGIS Help (10.2, 10.2.1, and 10.2.2)

[X_K_YANG]

Hi, thanks for your response.

However, no. You know dissolving operation is based on attributes. As stated above, the waterbody features were delineated in remote sensing images, they dont have any specific attributes such as, feature name etc. Thus, I could not employ dissolving tool to do this job.

[IanMurray · Accepted solution]

If you dissolve without selecting an attribute, it dissolves based on being contiguous, so if they features touch they should dissolve into a single feature.

[SepheFox]

If you just want to merge a few features, you can use merge in the editor toolbar menu. Begin editing your feature class, select the features to be merged, and select merge from the editor toolbar dropdown menu. You can then pick which feature you want other features merged into. In your case it might not matter, but I usually pick the largest features, or the one that has attribute values you want to keep.

[X_K_YANG]

Yes, just gave a try, dissolving operation worked like a charm.