Cut a hole in a polygon feature

A hole in a polygon feature is a part of a multipart feature. To create a hole, finish the primary part and sketch the hole. Alternatively, you can split the feature and delete the part, or clip a hole using an existing overlapping feature. These tools are available in the Modify Features pane.

Continue sketching the feature

The Continue Feature tool resumes sketching a selected feature. To create a hole, sketch a polygon part representing the hole inside the boundary of the unfinished polygon feature.

1. On the Edit tab, turn off topology, choose your snapping preferences, and show the Modify Features pane.
   1. In the Manage Edits group, click the topology arrow and choose No Topology .
   2. In the Snapping group, click the Snapping drop-down menu and enable your snapping preferences.

      To temporarily turn snapping off while you edit a feature, press and hold the spacebar.

   3. In the Features group, click Modify .
2. Expand Reshape and click Continue Feature .
3. In the pane, click Select , and select a polygon feature.

   If you select more than one feature, do one of the following:

   • Click the feature to be modified.
   • Right-click a feature in the tree view, and click Only Select This or click Unselect to remove features from the selection.

     

4. Sketch the part representing the hole.
5. To finish the feature, click Finish or press the F2 key.

   

Split and delete the part

The Split tool splits a feature into two or more features. To create a hole, sketch a closed polygon inside the feature and delete the resulting nested part.

1. On the Edit tab in the Features group, click Modify .

   The Modify Features pane appears.

2. Expand Divide and click Split .

   The tool opens in the pane.

3. To split editable features without selecting them, check Allow splitting without a selection in the pane and proceed to step 6.
4. In the pane, click Active Select , and select the feature you want to modify.

   The selection appears as a list in the pane, and the construction toolbar appears at the bottom of the map.

   

5. To refine your selection, right-click a feature in the list and use the following commands on the context menu:
   • Flash —Flashes the selected features in the map.
   • Zoom To —Zooms the view to the selected features.
   • Pan To —Pans the view to the selected features.
   • Only Select This —Removes all other features from the selection.
   • Unselect —Removes the feature from the selection.
6. On the Edit tab in the Snapping group, enable your snapping preferences.
   • Press and hold the Spacebar to temporarily turn snapping off.
7. Create a closed splitting line that represents the hole in the feature using the tools on the construction toolbar.

   As you create the splitting line, the x and y coordinates appear in the vertices table.

8. To close and finish the cutting line, use one of the following methods:
   • Snap to the first vertex of the cutting line or cross the first segment, right-click, and click Finish or press the F2 key.
   • Create the last open vertex, right-click, and click Square and Finish.

   The cutting line splits the selected feature, creating a nested feature that represents the hole.

9. On the Edit tab, in the Selection group, click Select , and click the center of the feature that represents the hole.
10. Do one of the following to delete the part:
    • Press the Delete key.
    • Right-click and click Delete .
    • On the Edit tab in the Selection group, click Delete .

    The nested part is deleted, leaving a hole in the polygon.

Clip with an existing feature

The Clip tool clips features using other features at a specified buffer distance. To create a hole, clip a feature using an overlapping feature representing the hole at a buffer distance of zero (0).

1. On the Edit tab in the Features group, click Modify .

   The Modify Features pane appears.

2. Expand Divide and click Clip .

   The tool opens in the pane.

3. In the pane, click Select and select the overlapping feature you want to remove as a hole.

   This is the clipping feature and it must be on the same layer as the features you want to clip.

   Caution:

   All visible and editable layers are clipped.

4. To refine your selection, use one of the following methods:
   • On the map, click the Selection Chip drop-down arrow, hover over the features in the list, and click the item when it highlights on the map.
   • In the pane, click an item in the list to flash it in the map, right-click the feature you want to edit, and click Only Select This on the context menu.

   Tip:

   The selection chip is turned on and off in project Options.

5. In the Buffer Distance text box, type 0 (zero).
6. Click Discard .
7. Click Clip.

   The selected feature splits the overlapping feature and is deleted, leaving a hole in the polygon.