Operations that are particularly vulnerable to Godzillas are:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Editing operations, such as cutting, pasting, reshaping, or moving a feature.<\/li>\n
- Geoprocessing tools that operate on feature geometry, such as most of the tools in the\u00a0Analysis toolbox<\/a>, tools found in the\u00a0Features toolset<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Feature Class toolset<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0Data Management toolbox<\/a>. Tools that don\u2019t manipulate features, such as Add Field, are not affected by a Godzilla.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Godzillas typically raise the geoprocessing error codes\u00a0000426 (Out Of Memory)<\/a>,\u00a0010005 (Unable to allocate memory)<\/a>,\u00a0999998 (Something unexpected caused the tool to fail)<\/a>, and\u00a0999999 (Something unexpected caused the tool to fail)<\/a>.<\/p>\n
How Godzillas are created<\/h3>\n
- \n
- Data entry using\u00a0stream digitizing<\/strong>\u00a0(as opposed to point-by-point digitizing) is the usual culprit\u2014it is easy to create features with too many vertices using stream digitizing.<\/li>\n
- Features\u00a0imported from other software<\/strong>\u00a0are another source of Godzillas. Typically, the software that creates them is single-purpose data entry software with no analytic capability like ArcGIS.<\/li>\n
- The\u00a0Dissolve<\/a>\u00a0tool can create a Godzilla by combining smaller (but still fairly large) features into one feature. This is known as the\u00a0combinatorial problem<\/strong>. The Dissolve tool has logic that prevents it from creating a Godzilla (you\u2019ll receive the warning code\u00a0000059<\/a>) but this logic is based on the machine\u2019s available memory at the time Dissolve is run. So, while the output may not be a Godzilla on the machine where Dissolve ran, it may be on another machine with less available memory.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
How many vertices define a Godzilla?<\/h3>\n
Unfortunately there is no simple answer since it depends entirely on the available memory your machine has\u2013more memory means more vertices per feature can be processed. You can increase available memory by closing down all other applications other than ArcGIS , if using ArcGIS Desktop 10.x and earlier turning off background processing as described in the Desktop help topic Foreground and background processing<\/a>, and re-running your operation. But this is a one-time solution: what you really need to do is get rid of the Godzilla.<\/p>\n
Finding Godzillas<\/h3>\n
If you think you\u2019ve got a Godzilla, your first task is to count the number of vertices for every feature in your feature class. The recipe for this is:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Use the\u00a0Add Field<\/a>\u00a0tool to add a new field named VERTEXCOUNT. The field type is LONG.<\/li>\n
- Next, use the\u00a0Calculate Field<\/a>\u00a0tool with this expression:\u00a0!shape!.pointcount, as illustrated below.<\/li>\n
- After Calculate Field runs, open the feature class attribute table and sort on the VERTEXCOUNT column, or use the\u00a0Summary Statistics <\/a>tool to find the MAX of VERTEXCOUNT<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/edn1.esri.com\/blogimages\/gp\/072310_1920_DicingGodzi1.png\")
![](\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/072310_1920_DicingGodzi1.png\")
<\/p>\nThe VERTEXCOUNT field you added and calculated is not automatically recalculated or maintained. Anytime the geometry of features change, you\u2019ll have to run Calculate Field again. Of course, if you no longer need the VERTEXCOUNT field, use\u00a0Delete Field<\/a>\u00a0to remove it.<\/p>\n
Simplifying your data<\/h3>\n
The first question you should ask is if you really need all those vertices to describe the shape of your Godzilla. If you don\u2019t need all the vertices, use the\u00a0Simplify Polygon<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Simplify Line<\/a>\u00a0tool. These tools weed out unnecessary vertices. After running Simplify Polygon or Simplify Line, recalculate VERTEXCOUNT by running Calculate Field again. If the vertex count does not drop dramatically (or the tool fails to run because of the Godzilla), you\u2019ll need to dice your Godzilla as described next.<\/p>\n
Using the Dice tool<\/h3>\n
The\u00a0Dice<\/a>\u00a0tool takes input features and a vertex limit and outputs a new feature class with diced features, as illustrated below. The Dice tool works with multipoints, lines, and polygons.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/edn1.esri.com\/blogimages\/gp\/072310_1920_DicingGodzi2.png\")
![](\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2023\/02\/072310_1920_DicingGodzi2.png\")
<\/p>\nChoosing a vertex limit for the Dice tool<\/h4>\n
Obviously, the vertex limit value for the Dice tool needs to be less than the maximum of VERTEXCOUNT. Smaller vertex limits create more features, but this is hardly ever a concern since adding more features is rarely a computational issue\u2014it\u2019s the Godzilla that\u2019s the problem. Here are some suggestions:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Use half the maximum VERTEXCOUNT<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 A good starting point is to set the vertex limit to half of the maximum VERTEXCOUNT.<\/li>\n
- Experiment with the Godzilla instead of the entire feature class\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 The Dice tool works on selected features, so you can select your Godzilla, run the Dice tool, visually inspect the result, and try different vertex limits until you\u2019re happy with the results. At this point, you can either run Dice on the entire feature class, or replace the Godzilla with its diced version as follows:\n
- \n
- Select the Godzilla and run the Delete Features<\/a>\u00a0tool, inputting the layer with the selected Godzilla.<\/li>\n
- Run the\u00a0Append<\/a>\u00a0tool to append the diced Godzilla into its original feature class.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Apportioning attributes<\/h4>\n
When using Dice (or any overlay tool found in the\u00a0Overlay toolset<\/a>), all attribute values from the input feature class are carried across to the output feature class. If any of the input attributes contain values that are apportioned by area (such as a population count), you\u2019ll want these attribute values to be apportioned among the new features created by Dice. To apportion attributes, use the\u00a0Make Feature Layer<\/a>\u00a0tool and check \u201cUse Ratio Policy\u201d for any attribute that needs to be apportioned by area, and use the output of Make Feature Layer as the input to Dice. The ratio is based on the ratio in which the original geometry is divided. If the geometry is divided in half, each new feature\u2019s attribute gets one-half of the value of the original object\u2019s attribute.<\/p>\n
Maintaining parentage<\/h4>\n
The Dice tool does not maintain the parent Object ID of the original feature, so unless you have a unique ID field, you\u2019ll have no way of knowing the original feature from which the new feature was created. Therefore, you should add a unique ID field before Dice is run. If you don\u2019t already have a unique ID field, do this:<\/p>\n
- Run the\u00a0Append<\/a>\u00a0tool to append the diced Godzilla into its original feature class.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- Experiment with the Godzilla instead of the entire feature class\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 The Dice tool works on selected features, so you can select your Godzilla, run the Dice tool, visually inspect the result, and try different vertex limits until you\u2019re happy with the results. At this point, you can either run Dice on the entire feature class, or replace the Godzilla with its diced version as follows:\n
- Next, use the\u00a0Calculate Field<\/a>\u00a0tool with this expression:\u00a0!shape!.pointcount, as illustrated below.<\/li>\n
- Features\u00a0imported from other software<\/strong>\u00a0are another source of Godzillas. Typically, the software that creates them is single-purpose data entry software with no analytic capability like ArcGIS.<\/li>\n
- Data entry using\u00a0stream digitizing<\/strong>\u00a0(as opposed to point-by-point digitizing) is the usual culprit\u2014it is easy to create features with too many vertices using stream digitizing.<\/li>\n
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