Clip Layer—Portal for ArcGIS | Documentation for ArcGIS Enterprise

The Clip Layer tool allows you to create subsets of your input features by clipping them to areas of interest. The output subset layer will be available in your ArcGIS Enterprise organization.

Workflow diagram

Examples

Emergency response teams in Florida need to know which houses require immediate flood control supplies. The Clip Layer tool can identify high-risk areas by clipping homes that overlay flood zones.
A hotel company wants to develop a new location in one of three counties of interest. To decide which county will maximize business, the company needs to know the major roadways that pass through these areas. Use Clip Layer to create a subset of roadway features that fall within the counties of interest.

Analysis using GeoAnalytics Tools

Analysis using GeoAnalytics Tools is run using distributed processing across multiple ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server machines and cores. GeoAnalytics Tools and standard feature analysis tools in ArcGIS Enterprise have different parameters and capabilities. To learn more about these differences, see Feature analysis tool differences.

Usage notes

Select the input features to clip from your areas of interest using the Choose features to clip parameter.

Select the layer containing the areas of interest using the Choose area to clip to parameter.

The output result will contain fields and features from the clipped input layer. No fields or features from the areas of interest layer will be included in the output.

The output geometry type will be the same as the input features you are clipping. For example, if you clip line features within an area, the output result will be lines.

Analysis will clip features or portions of features that overlay the areas of interest.

ArcGIS API for Python example

The Clip Layer tool is available through ArcGIS API for Python.

This example clips a river layer to the boundary of California.

# Import the required ArcGIS API for Python modules
import arcgis
from arcgis.gis import GIS
from arcgis.geoanalytics import manage_data

# Connect to your ArcGIS Enterprise portal and confirm that GeoAnalytics is supported
portal = GIS("https://myportal.domain.com/portal", "gis_publisher", "my_password", verify_cert=False)
if not portal.geoanalytics.is_supported():
    print("Quitting, GeoAnalytics is not supported")
    exit(1)   

# Find the big data file share dataset you'll use for analysis
search_result = portal.content.search("", "Big Data File Share")

# Look through the search results for a big data file share with the matching name
bd_file = next(x for x in search_result if x.title == "bigDataFileShares_Waterbodies")

# Look through the big data file share for USA_Rivers
rivers = next(x for x in bd_file.layers if x.properties.name == "USA_Rivers")

# Find a feature layer named "States" in your ArcGIS Enterprise portal and apply a filter
states = portal.content.search("States", "Feature Layer")
states_layer = layer_result[0].layers[0]
states_layer.filter = "State_Name = 'California'"

# Set the tool environment settings
arcgis.env.process_spatial_reference = 3857
arcgis.env.defaultAggregations= True

# Run the Clip Layer tool
clip_layer_result = manage_data.clip_layer(input_layer = rivers,
                                           clip_layer = states,
                                           output_name = "california_rivers")

# Visualize the tool results if you are running Python in a Jupyter Notebook
processed_map = portal.map('California', 7)
processed_map.add_layer(clip_layer_result)
processed_map

Similar tools

Use the ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server Clip Layer tool to create subset layers from clipped features. Other tools may be useful in solving similar but slightly different problems.

Map Viewer analysis tools

Select and copy data to a new feature layer in your portal using the ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server Copy To Data Store tool.

Combine two layers into a single layer using intersect or erase with the ArcGIS GeoAnalytics Server Overlay Layers tool.

Export feature layer data to an item in Content using the Extract Data standard analysis tool.

ArcGIS Desktop analysis tools

To run this tool from ArcGIS Pro, your active portal must be Enterprise 10.7 or later. You must sign in using an account that has privileges to perform GeoAnalytics Feature Analysis.

Perform similar clip operations in ArcGIS Pro with the Clip geoprocessing tool.

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