{"id":168351,"date":"2010-05-24T17:24:59","date_gmt":"2010-05-25T00:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&p=168351"},"modified":"2018-12-18T12:05:54","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T20:05:54","slug":"geodesic-features-and-measurements-in-arcgis","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-desktop\/defense\/geodesic-features-and-measurements-in-arcgis","title":{"rendered":"Geodesic features and measurements in ArcGIS"},"author":7551,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[24641],"tags":[34051,30341],"industry":[],"product":[36991],"class_list":["post-168351","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-defense","tag-geodesic","tag-intelligence","product-arcgis-desktop"],"acf":{"short_description":"When you find the shortest flight path between distant points, measure the true length of a flight path with multiple waypoints, or model.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

When you find the shortest flight path between distant points, measure the true length of a flight path with multiple waypoints, or model the effective range of a directional antenna, the geometry you use needs to take the Earth\u2019s curvature into account.\u00a0 Geometry that takes into account the curvature of the Earth is called geodetically-correct geometry, or geodesics, and it can be useful in a variety of Defense and Intelligence tasks.<\/p>\n

The new\u00a0Construct Geodetic<\/a>\u00a0tool in ArcMap lets you construct geodetically-correct geometry.<\/p>\n

\"BostonFor example, you can use the tool to create a feature showing the shortest flight path between Boston and Cape Town.<\/p>\n

The geodesic line between Boston and Cape Town is the shortest distance between the two points on the curved surface of the Earth. A straight line drawn in most projected coordinate systems will diverge from this route.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"ConstructThe tool works in an edit session; first select the feature template you want to edit, select the type of geodetic geometry you want to create (in this case, a Geodesic Line), and click the start and end points (or type them).\u00a0 Click Create to finish the line, or click Add to add another geodesic line segment to the line.<\/p>\n

Adding a segment can be useful when you are drawing a flight line with multiple waypoints; each segment will represent the shortest distance (following a geodesic) between each waypoint.<\/p>\n

You can also create geodetic circles and ellipses.\u00a0 These may be used to represent range rings for aircraft, weapons, or directional antennas.<\/p>\n

\"Construct<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Measuring along geodesics<\/b><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Measure tool<\/a>\u00a0has been enhanced to allow geodetically correct measurements.\u00a0 You can use it to measure the distance between way points in a flight path, or the major axis of a directional antenna range ring.<\/p>\n

With\u00a0snapping<\/a>\u00a0enabled you can easily snap to endpoints or vertices of geodetic features for high accuracy geodetic measurements.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Geoprocessing geodetic features<\/b><\/p>\n

\"GeodeticallyThe\u00a0Buffer<\/a>,\u00a0Bearing Distance To Line<\/a>,\u00a0Table To Ellipse<\/a>, and\u00a0XY To Line<\/a>geoprocessing tools can create geodetically correct features.<\/p>\n

For the\u00a0Buffer tool to create geodetically-correct buffers,\u00a0the input geometry must be point or multi-point, the coordinate system must be geographic, and the buffer distance must be given in linear units. For more information on geodesic buffering, see\u00a0this Help topic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Storage of geodetic features<\/b><\/p>\n

Geodetic features are constructed as curves using calculations based on your input parameters, but they are converted to standard feature geometry for storage in the geodatabase when you click the Create button.\u00a0 They\u2019re stored in the geodatabase as a series of densely spaced vertices that closely approximate the geodesic on the GCS spheroid.\u00a0 Since they are densified, rather than parameterized (like arcs and Bezier curves), geodetic features don\u2019t require any special treatment for storage in geodatabases.<\/p>\n

Known limit<\/b><\/p>\n

If you are designing an ArcSDE geodatabase in which you plan to store geodetic features, we recommend that you avoid using the MS SQL Server 2008 Geography type for feature geometry storage.\u00a0 The SQL Server 2008 Geography type can only store feature geometries that fit in a single hemisphere.\u00a0 This can cause unexpected results when creating or editing geodetic features, and makes the type unsuitable for storing large geodetic features.<\/p>\n

Content provided by Dave McGuire<\/i><\/p>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":7551,"user_firstname":"Bob","user_lastname":"Booth","nickname":"BBooth","user_nicename":"BBooth","display_name":"Bob Booth","user_email":"BBooth@esri.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2018-03-22 17:58:13","user_description":"","user_avatar":""}],"related_articles":"","card_image":false,"wide_image":false},"yoast_head":"\nGeodesic features and measurements in ArcGIS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-desktop\/defense\/geodesic-features-and-measurements-in-arcgis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Geodesic features and measurements in ArcGIS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" 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