Pixel Editor in ArcGIS Pro

Available with Image Analyst license.

Pixel Editor contains a set of tools used to interactively manipulate pixel values for raster and imagery data. It allows you to edit an individual pixel or a group of pixels at one time. The types of operations that you can perform depend on the data source type of your raster dataset.

The Pixel Editor tools in ArcGIS Pro allow you to perform many editing tasks on your raster datasets, such as the following:

  • Edit elevation data to fill voids, remove spikes, or remove holes.
  • Reclassify pixels, regions, or objects.
  • Use preset filters to smooth areas.
  • Obscure or redact confidential pixels.
  • Remove above ground features to create a bare earth elevation surface.
  • Replace a cloudy region with another region of pixels.

Note:

Only raster datasets can be edited using Pixel Editor. Raster products, mosaic datasets, and image services are not supported.

Pixel Editor tab

Pixel Editor only edits one raster dataset per map view. To start Pixel Editor for the current map view, click the layer you want to edit in the Contents pane, and click the Pixel Editor button Start Pixel Editor on the Imagery tab. Pixel Editor keeps its focus on the raster layer that was used to enable it. To edit another layer, click Close Close on the Pixel Editor tab first. Then select the other layer in the Contents pane that you want to work with and click Pixel Editor. The Pixel Editor tab gives you access to all the available tools you can use on that type of raster dataset. Some of the tools will open the Pixel Editor Operations pane, where you can perform tasks on the same region of pixels, or the same task on different activated regions of pixels.

The type of raster data source determines which operations can be performed on your raster dataset. To ensure that your raster dataset will have the proper operations available to it, check and set the Source Type of the raster on the dataset properties. In the Catalog pane, right-click your raster dataset, and click Properties. Under the Raster Information section, check the value for Source Type. For digital elevation models (DEM), digital terrain models (DTM), or digital surface models (DSM), choose Elevation. For thematic or classified rasters, choose Thematic. For all other multispectral or panchromatic raster imagery, choose Generic.

There are two kinds of pixel editing tools: quick edit tools and more complex Operations tools. The quick edit tools immediately perform the edit on your raster layer. The Operations tools have parameters that you need to set to perform the operation. Once you set the parameters in these operations, click Apply to perform the edit.

The Capture group contains Copy Region Copy Region and Replace Region Replace Region. These tools copy or replace pixels from the same dataset or from a different dataset in the map. If using another dataset within the map, use the Source Layer drop-down list to set the correct map layer to use; this layer must have the same bit depth as the raster being edited. The target layer is always the raster dataset that you are editing.

The Inspect group contains tools that work with elevation data. Locate Outliers Locate Outliers highlights the pixels that statistically deviate from normal values within the selected region of interest. Pixel values that are three or more standard deviations away from the normal range of values are considered outliers. Once these outliers have been identified, you can use the Outlier Filter tool Outlier Filter to remove these anomalies from the elevation data. Find Minimum and Maximum Find Minimum and Maximum highlights the minimum and maximum values within the selected region of interest. Minimum pixels are displayed in green and maximum pixels are displayed in red. To deselect the pixels from either Locate Outliers or Find Minimum and Maximum, click the Clear Pixel Selection button Clear Search in the Inspect group. Shaded Relief Shaded Relief allows you to visualize your elevation data in its native form or as shaded relief. The shaded relief view can help you identify abrupt changes or subtleties in elevation that may be difficult to visualize on a digital elevation model (DEM).

DEM view
Shaded relief view of a DEM

The Region group includes various tools to draw or select regions that you want to inspect or edit; regions only perform edits on operations. Region Color allows you to choose the color that will be used to draw your region; keep in mind that the selected region will be highlighted in cyan. Retain Region Retain Regions will keep all of the regions that you create. When the Retain Region button is turned off, the previously created region will be cleared each time you create a region. The Region Mode drop-down arrow allows you to create a region or edit an existing region. The Region drop-down arrow allows you to choose the tool to create or edit an area of interest. You can create as many regions as you want, but editing is only performed on the currently selected region. The selected region is the area that is highlighted in cyan. Use Select Select Region to choose the region you want to work on. Use Zoom Zoom to zoom into the selected region. Use Clear Selection Clear Selection to unselect the region. The Region Visibility check box allows you to turn off the visibility of the region outlines; this allows you to see raster edits at the edge of the region. Remove Remove removes the currently selected region. Remove All Remove All removes all the regions in your map.

You can use the following four Region Mode options to help you create or edit your region:

  • New Define New Region—Use this mode to create a region.
  • Add To Add to Region—Use this mode to edit an existing region by adding to the selected region.
  • Remove From Remove from Region—Use this mode to edit an existing region by removing some of the region.
  • Intersect Intersect Region—Use this mode to create a region only where the regions all intersect.

There are six Region tools as follows:

  • Rectangle Sketch Rectangle—Draw a rectangle to create a new region or edit an existing region.
  • Polygon Sketch Polygon—Draw a polygon to create a new region or edit an existing region.
  • Lasso Sketch Lasso—Draw a free-form shape to create a new region or edit an existing region.
  • Circle Sketch Circle—Draw a circle to create a new region or edit an existing region.
  • Feature to Region Feature to Region—Select an existing feature to create or modify an existing region.
  • Segment to Region Segment to Region—Select a segment to create or modify an existing region.

The Edit group provides you with the tools you can use to edit an area of interest interactively. The tools that are available depend on the data source type you are editing. Imagery, such as multispectral and panchromatic, will have different editing capabilities than thematic data or elevation data.

You can use the Undo button Undo to reverse the last action that was performed by the tools on the Pixel Editor tab. The undo action can also be performed by pressing Ctrl+Z; this shortcut can also be used to undo actions that were performed in the Pixel Editor Operations pane. You can use the Redo button Redo to reverse the undo action that was performed by the tools on the Pixel Editor tab. The redo action can also be performed by pressing Ctrl+Y; this shortcut can also be used to redo actions that were performed in the Pixel Editor Operations pane.

The Edits Log displays the list of the edits that you performed on your raster dataset layer. For more information about the Edits Log, see Edits Log tab.

The Save group gives you the option to save or discard your edits. The Discard button Discard Edits will undo all of the edits that you performed and are not committed yet. The Save button Save allows you to commit your edits to the current layer that you are editing. The Save as New button Save As allows you to save your edits to a new raster dataset. This is helpful if you do not want to overwrite your source data, or your data source is a format that is not writable.

Note:

It is recommended that edits to datasets in .MRF format be saved to a new raster dataset. See Overwriting an MRF for more details.

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