Generalizing Shared Edges
Article ID :
TT100059
Software :
ArcGIS 10.1 for Desktop
Platform
:
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008/R2
Date
:
6 May, 2013
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Introduction
In previous smartips, map topology has been introduced for creating topological relationship between features.
Users can be able to make use of tools on topology toolbar such as Reshape Edge and Align Edge to edit
features that shared geometry. Sometimes, features may have extra vertices that are not necessary to maintain
the shape of the features. A large amount of vertices will degrade the performance and make features difficult to
edit. In ArcGIS 10.1 for Desktop, there is a tool called Generalize Edge in the Topology toolbar to reduce the
number of vertices while keeping features coincident. The following section shows you the procedures of using
Generalize Edge tool to eliminate extra vertices of shared edges.
Procedures of generalizing shared edges
In this example, there is a river line feature which is coincident with the borders of land parcel polygons.
However, many unnecessary vertices were found in the shared edge. I am going to use Generalize Edge tool to
simplify the shape of shared edge.
Copyright © 2013 Esri China (Hong Kong) Limited
All rights reserved.
Tips & Tricks prepared by Esri China (HK) Technical Support
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1.
Launch ArcMap and create map topology. Click Start Editing, use Topology Edit tool
to select the
shared edge that you want to simplify. Then, select Generalize Edge on the Topology toolbar.
2.
Generalize Edge dialog box prompted.
In the Generalized Edge dialog box, users can set the degree of generalization by using a slider or typing
a value. The greater the deviation, the straighter the edge becomes. When Preview result is checked, a
preview of the new edge geometry is shown on the map (Purple line) as you change the deviation.
Copyright © 2013 Esri China (Hong Kong) Limited
All rights reserved.
Tips & Tricks prepared by Esri China (HK) Technical Support
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3.
Click Generalize button to perform the simplification. The number of vertices is reduced greatly but the
general shape is maintained. In Shared Features window, it is shown that the land parcel polygons and
river line feature are still coincident after generalization.
The End
Copyright © 2013 Esri China (Hong Kong) Limited
All rights reserved.
Tips & Tricks prepared by Esri China (HK) Technical Support
P. 3 of 3