Divide a polygon by a value

Divide Divide divides a selected polygon feature into multiple features comprising equal areas, proportional areas, or equal widths. A clicked edge or a sketched line specifies the angle and side from which the polygon is divided. This tool is available in the Modify Features pane.

  • Dividing a z-enabled feature 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.
  • The optional preview shows the direction and divisions on-screen before you modify the feature.
    Divide polygon
    Example of preview
Note:

This tool is limited to creating a maximum of 100 features during a single operation.

Specify proportional areas

Proportional Area Proportional divides a selected polygon into a specified number of polygons. The area for each new polygon is calculated by the tool.

  1. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Modify Modify Features.
  2. In the Modify Features pane, expand Divide and click Divide Divide.
  3. In the pane, click the Select tool Active Select and select a polygon feature. If you select a multipart feature, click the feature again and select the component part.

    Methods for dividing the feature appear in the Method section when a single polygon feature is selected.

  4. If you select more than one feature, refine the selection in the pane to a single feature.
    • To select a single feature, double-click the feature you want to keep, or right-click it and click Only Select This List By Selection.
    • To remove a feature from a selection, right-click it and click Unselect Clear Selected.
    Context menu
  5. Check or uncheck Show Preview.

    Checked

    Preview the new polygons on-screen before modifying the feature.

    Unchecked

    Modify the feature and do not show a preview.

  6. In the Method section, click Proportional Area Proportional.

    The total area of the selected feature is reported at the bottom of the pane. Additional information about the resulting new polygons updates as you type values for each parameter.

  7. In the Direction section, click a direction tool and complete the steps described in the following table to specify the angular direction and starting edge.

    Choose a polygon edge to set the direction

    Choose a polygon edge to set the direction

    Click an edge on the selected polygon to specify the angle and the starting edge.

    Draw a line to set the direction Set Direction

    Draw a two-point line to specify the angle.

  8. Click the Number of parts arrow and increment or decrement the number of polygons you want to create.

    Alternatively, click the box, clear the contents, and type a value.

  9. Click Divide.

Specify equal areas

Equal Area Equal Area divides a selected polygon into a specified number of polygons containing a specified area. You can distribute the remaining area equally among the new polygons or create an additional part.

  1. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Modify Modify Features.
  2. In the Modify Features pane, expand Divide and click Divide Divide.
  3. In the pane, click the Select tool Active Select and select a polygon feature. If you select a multipart feature, click the feature again and select the component part.

    Methods for dividing the feature appear in the Method section when a single polygon feature is selected.

  4. If you select more than one feature, refine the selection in the pane to a single feature.
    • To select a single feature, double-click the feature you want to keep, or right-click it and click Only Select This List By Selection.
    • To remove a feature from a selection, right-click it and click Unselect Clear Selected.
    Context menu
  5. Check or uncheck Show Preview.

    Checked

    Preview the new polygons on-screen before modifying the feature.

    Unchecked

    Modify the feature and do not show a preview.

  6. In the Method section, click Equal Area Equal Area.

    The total area of the selected feature is reported at the bottom of the pane. Additional information about the resulting new polygons updates as you type values for each parameter.

  7. In the Direction section, click a direction tool and complete the steps described in the following table to specify the angular direction and starting edge.

    Choose a polygon edge to set the direction

    Choose a polygon edge to set the direction

    Click an edge on the selected polygon to specify the angle and the starting edge.

    Draw a line to set the direction Set Direction

    Draw a two-point line to specify the angle, and click Switch to choose the side of the line from which to divide the polygon.

  8. Click the Area box and type the area you want each new polygon to contain.
  9. Click the Number of parts arrow and increment or decrement the number of polygons you want to create.

    Alternatively, click the box, clear the contents, and type a value.

  10. Check or uncheck Distribute remaining area equally.

    Checked

    Distribute the remaining area equally among the specified number of parts.

    Unchecked

    Create an additional part to contain the remaining area.

  11. Click Divide.

Specify equal widths

Equal Width Equal Width divides a selected polygon into a specified number of new polygons at a specified width. If the remaining width is less than the specified width, you can merge the smaller part with the adjacent new polygon or create an additional part.

Note:

When ground to grid corrections is turned on, the width values you enter are scaled for the resulting polygon widths.

  1. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Modify Modify Features.
  2. In the Modify Features pane, expand Divide and click Divide Divide.
  3. In the pane, click the Select tool Active Select and select a polygon feature. If you select a multipart feature, click the feature again and select the component part.

    Methods for dividing the feature appear in the Method section when a single polygon feature is selected.

  4. If you select more than one feature, refine the selection in the pane to a single feature.
    • To select a single feature, double-click the feature you want to keep, or right-click it and click Only Select This List By Selection.
    • To remove a feature from a selection, right-click it and click Unselect Clear Selected.
    Context menu
  5. Check or uncheck Show Preview.

    Checked

    Preview the new polygons on-screen before modifying the feature.

    Unchecked

    Modify the feature and do not show a preview.

  6. In the Method section, click Equal Width Equal Width.

    The total area of the selected feature is reported at the bottom of the pane. Additional information about the resulting new polygons updates as you type values for each parameter.

  7. In the Direction section, click a direction tool and complete the steps described in the following table to specify the angular direction and starting edge.

    Choose a polygon edge to set the direction

    Choose a polygon edge to set the direction

    Click an edge on the selected polygon to specify the angle and the starting edge.

    Draw a line to set the direction Set Direction

    Draw a two-point line to specify the angle, and click Switch to choose the side of the line from which to divide the polygon.

  8. Click the Width box and type the width you want each new polygon to contain.
  9. Click the Number of parts arrow and increment or decrement the number of polygons you want to create.

    Alternatively, click the box, clear the contents, and type a value.

  10. Check or uncheck Merge remaining area.

    Checked

    Merge the remaining polygon with the adjacent part.

    Note:

    If the remaining width is equal to or greater than the specified width, the remaining polygon is not merged.

    Unchecked

    Create an additional polygon to contain the remaining width.

  11. Click Divide.