Make Closest Facility Analysis Layer (Network Analyst)

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Summary

Makes a closest facility network analysis layer and sets its analysis properties. A closest facility analysis layer is useful in determining the closest facility or facilities to an incident based on a specified travel mode. The layer can be created using a local network dataset or using a service hosted online or in a portal.

Usage

  • After creating the analysis layer with this tool, you can add network analysis objects to it using the Add Locations tool, solve the analysis using the Solve tool, and save the results on disk using the Save To Layer File tool.

  • When using this tool in geoprocessing models, if the model is run as a tool, the output network analysis layer must be made a model parameter; otherwise, the output layer is not added to the contents of the map.

  • In ArcGIS Pro, network analysis layer data is stored on disk in file geodatabase feature classes. When creating a network analysis layer in a project, the layer's data will be created in a new feature dataset in the Current Workspace environment. When creating a network analysis layer in a Python script, you must first explicitly set the workspace environment to a file geodatabase where you want the layer's data to be stored using arcpy.env.workspace = "<path to file gdb>". When the layer is created, a new feature dataset containing the appropriate sublayer feature classes will be added to this file geodatabase.

Parameters

LabelExplanationData Type
Network Data Source

The network dataset or service on which the network analysis will be performed. Use the portal URL for a service.

Network Dataset Layer;String
Layer Name
(Optional)

The name of the network analysis layer to create.

String
Travel Mode
(Optional)

The name of the travel mode to use in the analysis. The travel mode represents a collection of network settings, such as travel restrictions and U-turn policies, that determine how a pedestrian, car, truck, or other medium of transportation moves through the network. Travel modes are defined on your network data source.

An arcpy.na.TravelMode object and a string containing the valid JSON representation of a travel mode can also be used as input to the parameter.

String
Travel Direction
(Optional)

Specifies the direction of travel between facilities and incidents.

  • Toward facilities —Direction of travel is from incidents to facilities. Retail stores commonly use this setting, since they are concerned with the time it takes the shoppers (incidents) to reach the store (facility). This is the default.
  • Away from facilities —Direction of travel is from facilities to incidents. Fire departments commonly use this setting, since they are concerned with the time it takes to travel from the fire station (facility) to the location of the emergency (incident).
String
Cutoff
(Optional)

The impedance value at which to stop searching for facilities for a given incident in the units of the impedance attribute used by your chosen Travel Mode. This cutoff can be overridden on a per-incident basis by specifying individual cutoff values in the incidents sublayer when the Travel Direction is Toward facilities or on a per-facility basis by specifying individual cutoff values in the facilities sublayer when the Travel Direction is Away from facilities. By default, no cutoff is used for the analysis.

Double
Number of Facilities to Find
(Optional)

The number of closest facilities to find per incident. This default can be overridden by specifying an individual value for the TargetFacilityCount property in the incidents sublayer. The default number of facilities to find is one.

Long
Time of Day
(Optional)

Specifies the time and date at which the routes should begin or end. The interpretation of this value depends on whether Time of Day Usage is set to be the start time or the end time of the route.

If you have chosen a traffic-based impedance attribute, the solution will be generated given dynamic traffic conditions at the time of day specified here. A date and time can be specified as 5/14/2012 10:30 AM.

Instead of using a particular date, a day of the week can be specified using the following dates:

  • Today—12/30/1899
  • Sunday—12/31/1899
  • Monday—1/1/1900
  • Tuesday—1/2/1900
  • Wednesday—1/3/1900
  • Thursday—1/4/1900
  • Friday—1/5/1900
  • Saturday—1/6/1900

Date
Time Zone
(Optional)

The time zone of the Time of Day parameter.

  • Local time at locations —The Time of Day parameter refers to the time zone in which the facilities or incidents are located. This is the default.If Time of Day Usage is set to Start time and Travel Direction is Away from facilities, this is the time zone of the facilities. If Time of Day Usage is set to Start time and Travel Direction is Towards facilities, this is the time zone of the incidents.If Time of Day Usage is set to End time and Travel Direction is Away from facilities, this is the time zone of the incidents.If Time of Day Usage is set to End time and Travel Direction is Towards facilities, this is the time zone of the facilities.
  • UTC —The Time of Day parameter refers to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Choose this option if you want to find what's nearest for a specific time, such as now, but aren't certain in which time zone the facilities or incidents will be located.
String
Time of Day Usage
(Optional)

Indicates whether the value of the Time of Day parameter represents the arrival or departure time for the route or routes.

  • Start time —Time of Day is interpreted as the departure time from the facility or incident. This is the default.When this setting is chosen, Time of Day indicates the solver should find the best route given a departure time.
  • End time —Time of Day is interpreted as the arrival time at the facility or incident. This option is useful if you want to know what time to depart from a location so you arrive at the destination at the time specified in Time of Day.
String
Line Shape
(Optional)

Specifies the shape type for the route features that are output by the analysis.

  • Along network —The output routes will have the exact shape of the underlying network sources. The output includes route measurements for linear referencing. The measurements increase from the first stop and record the cumulative impedance to reach a given position.
  • No lines —No shape will be generated for the output routes.
  • Straight lines —The output route shape will be a single straight line between the stops.
String
Accumulate Attributes
(Optional)

A list of cost attributes to be accumulated during analysis. These accumulated attributes are for reference only; the solver only uses the cost attribute used by your designated travel mode when solving the analysis.

For each cost attribute that is accumulated, a Total_[Impedance] property is populated in the network analysis output features.

This parameter is not available if the network data source is an ArcGIS Online service or the network data source is a service on a version of Portal for ArcGIS that does not support accumulation.

String
Generate Directions on Solve
(Optional)

Specifies whether directions will be generated when running the analysis.

  • Checked—Indicates that the turn-by-turn directions will be generated on solve.
  • Unchecked—Indicates that the turn-by-turn directions will not be generated on solve. This is the default.

For an analysis in which generating turn-by-turn directions is not needed, leaving this option unchecked will considerably reduce the time it takes to solve the analysis.

Boolean

Derived Output

LabelExplanationData Type
Network Analyst Layer

The newly created network analysis layer.

Network Analyst Layer

Environments

Licensing information

  • Basic: Yes
  • Standard: Yes
  • Advanced: Yes