Settings tab in Suitability Modeler

Available with Spatial Analyst license.

In the Suitability Modeler, use the Settings tab to define the settings that will be used in the model. Specify the following:

  • The name of the suitability model
  • The range of the suitability scale
  • Whether to weight the criteria relative to one another by multiplier or percent
  • The name of the output suitability map

Settings tab in the Suitability Modeler

Suitability scale

Use the Set suitability scale drop-down list to select a scale. Examples include 0 to 1, 1 to 3, and the default 1 to 10.

Weight by a multiplier

Weighting by multiplier is best when the criteria can be weighted directly relative to one another. First, the transformed criteria values are multiplied by the specified multiplier. Then the multiplied transformed criteria values are added together. The range of the resulting values in the suitability map depends on the range of the suitability scale, the number of criteria, and the values of the multipliers. For example, if five criteria are entered, the suitability scale is set to 1 to 10, and the multipliers are all 1, the resulting range can be from 5 to 50.

The recommended range of the multipliers in most cases is from 1.0 to 2.0. Use caution when specifying high values beyond this range. For example, if you set a multiplier to 10, it causes that criterion to become 10 times more important than a criterion with a multiplier of 1, an extreme weighting that may produce unexpected results.

Specify the multipliers by increasing the multiplier value in the spinner control or by typing a value. Keep in mind that as more multipliers are applied, it may be difficult to know how each criterion will influence the final suitability map.

Weight by percent

The percent option is best when you want to specifically indicate how much each criterion will influence the resulting suitability map. For example, a criterion assigned a weight of 60% will influence the final output by that amount, regardless of what percent are applied to the other criterion. The sum of the percent for all of the criteria must equal 100 percent. The combined weighted values are linearly transformed to the suitability scale set in the Settings tab. That is, if the suitability scale is 1 to 10, the output values in the final suitability map will range from 1 to 10.

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