#Merge rasters arcgis 10.3 update#

Tools like erase, intersect, and union are so common that two of the three can be found in the Geoprocessing shortcut menu, along with some of the foundational proximity analysis tools. The majority of the work we do in the GIS is using vector files, and while the software has some really neat and very complex tools in it's toolbox, the basic overlay analysis tools are foundation of all the work technicians do, regardless of how in-depth the project is or how long that technician has been in the field. There are actually more overlay analysis tools then those presented here, but examining how a few of them work will help you understand the entire category of tools. To better understand how overlay analysis tools are used to solve problems in the GIS, we will dive right in to several of the tools.

#Merge rasters arcgis 10.3 update#

In ArcGIS specifically, overlay analysis tools update both the geometry and the attribute table, by creating a new output feature class or shapefileВ where the 'answer' to the spatial question is depicted. We begin our discussion of geoprocessing tools with the overlay analysis category because it is the foundation of all geoprocessing tasks, as well as many of the most commonly used tools.

This category of tools examines how datasets interact with each other in a spatial way and answers questions like вЂњDoes this point or polyline feature lie inside or outside of some designated polygon?вЂќ, вЂњDo these roads start or end on public land?вЂќ, or вЂњHow many feet of river land inside the water districtвЂ™s jurisdiction?вЂќ.

Resulting from a time where cartographers solved location problems using clear sheets printed with features such as roads and rivers, we get the name Overlay Analysis to refer to the set of geoprocessing tools the software uses today.