Add an area or perimeter field to a shapefile or feature class in ArcGIS Desktop
Note:
Esri has announced that ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap and its associated suite of tools, including ArcGlobe, etc.) will no longer be available through the Education Site License beginning July 1, 2024. This means that all current ArcGIS Desktop (ArcMap) users will need to transition to ArcGIS Pro or ArcGIS Online by June 30, 2024. For further details, see ArcMap Retirement in Education Programs.
Typically, polygon feature classes in ArcGIS already have a length and area field defined. However, if you do not see this information reported in the attribute table, you can add a new field to an existing polygon feature class or shapefile.
To create a new field containing values for each feature's area, perimeter, or x and y coordinate of centroid:
- Verify that the data layer has a coordinate system. In ArcMap, right-click the data layer and select , and then choose the tab. If the coordinate system is undefined, you will need to project the data before continuing.
- To open the layer's attribute table, right-click the data layer, and then select .
- In the attribute table, click and select . ArcGIS allows you to add a new field only if you are not in an editing session.
- Name the new field, specifying the field type as either
float
ordouble
, according to your needs. A new field is added with null values for each feature. - Begin an editing session for this feature class. Using the Editor toolbar, select . If you do not see the Editor toolbar, select from the main menu of ArcMap, click , and then select .
- In the attribute table, right-click the new field heading (the name of the field at the top of the table), and select .
- In the "Calculate Geometry" window, select the type of calculation: , , , or .
- Choose the coordinate system and units.
- Click . The new field will be populated with the calculation for each feature.
- To preserve values in the new field, save the editing session.
You can also calculate area values for a polygon feature class by using the
tool in ArcToolbox. Under "Spatial Statistics Tools", select and then . This tool will create a new polygon feature class with an "Area" field and feature values. Make sure to save the new feature class within a geodatabase.For more, see ArcGIS
Desktop Help. Search using the term calculate
areas
. To display details, select the first listed item,
.
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Last modified on 2023-06-30 15:49:32.