Clipping
What are the Different Clipping Methods?
There are a number of different clipping methods available, depending on your needs. One method is to use the Clip tool. This tool will neatly clip your area of interest in whatever shape you set. However, if the feature you are clipping is a polygon feature with numeric count data (such as parcels or census tracts), then you may want to make sure that no polygons are cutoff. You should use Method 2 to leave uneven edges. Finally, there is a Batch Clip available, if you would like to clip many features quickly.
Method 1
The first method is to perform a Clip. This process leaves you with neat boundaries within your area of interest. If you are performing clips on more than 3 layers using this method, we recommend you use the batch method.
If you use method 1, your output should look something like this.
Follow these instructions:
- In the analysis tab, click on Tools and search for Clip in the Geoprocessing pane. You want the one in (Analysis Tools).
- Open the Clip tool, and put the feature you want to clip as Input Feature. For the Clip Features, click on the
to make a new polygon feature that contains the region you are interested about. Then click run.
If you made a mistake and want to make adjustments, you may find it easier to delete the polygon and draw it again rather than editing the vertices. - The clipped Input Feature will be exported as a new feature class showed in the Content Pane.
Method 2
The second method available is to Export Selected Features. You should use this method for polygons with numeric count data such as parcels with value or census tracts with population count. This will ensure that no buildings are unintentionally cut off. This method is not necessary for percentages or densities.
If you use this method, your output should look something like this.
Follow these Instructions.
- In the Map tab, click Select By Location. This should open the Geoprocessing pane, titled Select Layer By Location.
- In this pane, put the feature you want to clip as Input Feature Layer. Leave Relationship set to Intersect. For Selecting Features, click on to make a new polygon feature that contains the region you would like. The pane should look something like this.
- Then click Run.
- In the Contents pane, right click on layer you are exporting. Click Data, then click Export Features.
- In the Geoprocessing pane titled Copy Features, change the Output Feature Class to the name you would like for the new layer. Click Run.
- The clipped Input Feature will be exported as a new feature class showed in the Content Pane.
Batch Clipping
Batch clipping is a feature of ArcGIS Pro v2.2 and later. It is when you use the typical clipping process however you are able to clip multiple layers at once. Further instruction can be found via the link below.