Planarize polyline features

Available with Standard or Advanced license.

The Planarize tool Planarize splits overlapping features on the same layer into individual segments at each intersection and deletes coincident line segments. A cluster tolerance determines whether the selected geometry is coincident. This tool is available In the Modify Features pane.

When you use this tool, consider the following:

  • Splitting z-enabled features adds vertices with interpolated z-values and preserves the angular pitch of the split segments in 3D space.
  • Attribute values from the original feature are copied to the new features. Attributes constrained by attribute domains are determined by the domain split policy defined by the source geodatabase.

To planarize overlapping polyline features on the same layer, complete the following steps:

  1. In the Contents pane, confirm that the layers can be edited and are visible.

    Confirm that the feature layer you are editing is editable, the coordinate system assigned to the active map is suitable for the type of edits you're performing, and snapping is configured to help you work efficiently and accurately.

  2. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Modify Modify Features.
  3. In the Modify Features pane, click Planarize Planarize.

    To find the tool, expand Divide, or type Planarize in the Search text box.

  4. In the tool pane, click Select one or more lines in the same layer Active Select and select one or more line features.

    To change the selection method click the selection drop-down arrow.

    To remove features from the selection in the pane selection view, right-click a feature and click Unselect Clear Selected, or click Only Select This List By Selection to keep the feature and remove all others from the selection.

  5. Confirm the Cluster Tolerance value.

    The tolerance value specifies the distance within which segments and vertices are determined to be coincident. By default, a minimum cluster tolerance is automatically calculated based on the selected features. For most use cases, the automatic setting is the best practice. To change it, click the box and type a new value in the same units as your data.

    Note:

    If the line features are COGO enabled, the COGO attributes of lines that are split are recalculated. Any null COGO attributes remain as null values on the split lines. Otherwise, the distance attributes are used to calculate proportioned values for the split lines, and the circular arc directions are also recalculated.

    Straight linesCircular arcs
    • Direction is preserved.
    • Distance is recalculated.
    • Direction is recalculated.
    • Radius is preserved.
    • ArcLength is recalculated.
  6. Click Planarize.