Cut a hole in a polygon feature

A hole in a polygon feature is essentially a polygon part drawn within the boundary of a multipart feature. You can add a hole to existing polygon features using editing tools that sketch, split, or clip polygon features. These tools are available in the Modify Features pane.

The following sections describe how to cut a hole in a polygon feature using three editing tools.

Continue sketching the feature

To draw a hole inside an existing polygon feature, click the Continue Feature tool , select the feature, and sketch the hole inside the polygon boundary, and click Finish .

1. Add your data and configure settings for editing.

   Confirm that the feature layer you are editing is editable, the coordinate system assigned to the active map is suitable for the type of edits you're performing, and snapping is configured to help you work efficiently and accurately.

2. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Modify .

   The Modify Features pane appears.

3. Click Continue Feature .

   To find the tool, expand Reshape, or type Cont in the Search text box.

4. Click Select a feature in the pane and select a polygon feature.

   Note:

   If you select more than one feature, reselect the feature. Alternatively, click the feature in the pane selection view to flash it in the map, right-click and click Only Select This .

5. Sketch the part representing the hole inside the boundary of the selected polygon feature.
6. To finish the feature, click Finish or press the F2 key.

   The feature representing the hole is automatically created as a component part.

Split the feature and delete the hole

To cut a hole in a polygon feature using the Split tool , select the feature, sketch the hole inside the polygon boundary and click Finish . To show the hole, select and delete the nested feature.

1. Add your data and configure settings for editing.

   Confirm that the feature layer you are editing is editable, the coordinate system assigned to the active map is suitable for the type of edits you're performing, and snapping is configured to help you work efficiently and accurately.

2. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Modify .

   The Modify Features pane appears.

3. Click Split .

   To find the tool, expand Divide, or type Split in the Search text box.

4. Click the Interactive tab.

   Note:

   The By Feature tab allows you to split features using other features such as the Clip tool .

5. Uncheck Allow splitting without a selection.

   Check this setting to split all visible and editable features without creating a selection. If this option is checked, skip the next step.

6. Click Select one or more lines or polygons , and select the polygon feature.

   Note:

   If you select more than one feature, reselect the feature. Alternatively, click the feature in the pane selection view to flash it in the map, right-click and click Only Select This .

7. Draw a closed shape representing the hole inside the polygon feature boundary.

   To close the shape, snap to the first vertex of the cutting line or click that last segment across the first segment, and click Finish , or press the F2 key.

   Tip:

   Confirm that snapping is configured to snap to unfinished features.

   Alternatively, right-click, click Square and Finish, and click Finish , or press the F2 key.

   The new geometry creates a nested feature.

8. Click the Select tool on the Edit tab, on the ribbon, and select the nested feature representing the hole.

   The Selection Chip appears near the pointer.

   Tip:

   Confirm that the selection chip is enabled.

9. Click the Selection Chip drop-down arrow , and choose the nested feature representing the hole.
10. Right-click the selected feature and click Delete , or click Delete on the Edit tab, in the Selection group.

    Alternatively, press the Delete key or press Ctrl+D.

    Note:

    If the delete prompt is enabled, click Yes to confirm your changes.

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

Clip the feature with another feature

To cut a hole in a polygon feature using the Clip tool , select the feature representing the hole as the input feature, and select the feature to be clipped as the target feature. Choose the Discard (Remainder) method, and clip the feature.

The buffer distance must be zero (0) for an input polygon feature, and greater than zero (0) for an input line feature. The input feature used to clip the target feature is not deleted.

1. Add your data and configure settings for editing.

   Confirm that the feature layer you are editing is editable, the coordinate system assigned to the active map is suitable for the type of edits you're performing, and snapping is configured to help you work efficiently and accurately.

2. On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. In the Features group, click Modify .

   The Modify Features pane appears.

3. Click the Clip tool .

   To find the tool, expand Divide, or type Clip in the Search text box.

4. Uncheck Clip all editable features.

   Check this setting to cut a hole in all editable features without making a selection and proceed to step 10 and type a buffer distance. This setting hides the input and target tabs.

   The Input Features and Target Features tabs appear in the pane.

5. Click the Input Features tab.
6. Click Select one or more points, lines, or polygons in the pane, and select the feature representing the hole.

   Note:

   If you select more than one feature, reselect the feature. Alternatively, click the feature in the pane selection view to flash it in the map, right-click and click Only Select This .

   The Selection Chip appears near the pointer.

   Tip:

   Confirm the selection chip is enabled.

7. Click the Selection Chip drop-down arrow , and choose the nested feature representing the hole.

   Tip:

   Flash the selected feature in the map to confirm your selection. Right-click the feature on the Input Features tab, and click Flash .

8. Click the Target Features tab.
9. Click Select one or more points, lines, or polygons in the pane and select the polygon feature in which you are clipping the hole.

   Note:

   If you select more than one feature, reselect the feature. Alternatively, click the feature in the pane selection view to flash it in the map, right-click and click Only Select This .

10. Click the Buffer Distance box, and type a buffer distance.

    The buffer distance must be zero (0) for an input polygon feature, and greater than zero (0) for an input line feature.

11. Click Discard (Remainder) .

    This clip method deletes the intersecting features inside the clip area.

12. Click Clip.

    A hole is clipped inside the target feature and the selected input feature is preserved.

13. To view the hole, turn off visibility for the input feature layer, or move the feature.

    Tip:

    To move the input feature separately from the target feature, confirm that map topology is off.

    On the ribbon, click the Edit tab. Click the Map Topology drop-down arrow in the Manage Edits group, and choose No Topology .